Get More for Your Money with an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage
Wellington, Fla. – Mar. 1, 2023 – When considering residential financing options, the first products that come to mind, for many, are 20 or 30-year-fixed mortgages. And it’s with good reason—they’re stalwarts. However, in the current climate, another lesser-known workhorse might deserve some extra consideration: the Adjustable-Rate Mortgage.
Adjustable-rate mortgages (or ARMs) have made a comeback in popularity as interest rates continue to steadily rise and it is largely due to one of their key attributes: ARMs typically start with lower rates (more on that later). Even if you know about ARMs, there’s a chance you may still need a bit more information on how they work. To begin with, ARMs seem to come with their own lingo and shorthand. They are also still partially living with the bad rap they wrongfully received after the housing market crash of 2008—many borrowers didn’t fully understand or weren’t fully briefed on all the ins and outs of their loans, and they ended up being exposed as rates rose. (FYI, I do feel for them. As a banker, I’d never let a client sign a loan document without understanding all the details.)
But this spate of bad press shouldn’t drown out the other key attributes and potential benefits of ARMs. I playfully consider them to be
the “reformed bad boys” of residential financing, and I want to use this blog to clarify how they work and explore why they can be a great tool in today’s marketplace—how in certain cases, an ARM may even be just the tool you need to buy your dream house or farm.
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