Advice on best mortgage rate option an non us citizen

[Louise L.]

My husband and I are in the process of buying our first property in the US and are planning to house hack.

We are in the process of getting our US visa but in the interim we have to have a 'foreign investor loan' where the rates are between 7.99% - 8.99%. We are also putting 30% down

Our plan is once we have the visa + social security number we can build credit then refinance with a 'standard' loan in around one year from now.

My question is we have been offered 8.74% with 1.25 in borrower paid points, these points translate to a $2,811 fee added to your closing costs.  Should we keep this rate or should we look to buy it down more? From what I've read buying down more is if you plan to keep the property for a longer time?

Thanks for any help or advice. We are new to this plus new to american mortgages and how they work so learning everything as we go.