An adjustable rate mortgage(ARM): Should you opt for one?
As of a few years ago, the ARM was the best way to buy a home. If you do not have the money to buy your dream home, then you can choose a mortgage with an adjustable rate over a fixed one. In an adjustable rate mortgage, the rate of interest changes every year depending on the market condition. As for a fixed rate of mortgage, the rate of interest is not dependant on the market scenario and remains the same over the term of the loan.
There have been extended time periods where the adjustable rate mortgage was the best mortgage option. Borrowers had their home mortgage payments reduced year after year. In the long run, mortgage rates are cyclical. When the condition of the world financial markets change, adjustable rate mortgages can skyrocket.
The rate in the case of an adjustable mortgage is determined at the beginning of each fiscal year. A fiscal year, for 1 year ARMs starts 1st January and ends on 31st December of the same year. Right at the beginning of the fiscal year, your lender will calculate a rate of lending depending on the index that your mortgage rate is attached to. This rate is calculated based on the index which is influenced by a number of factors like the rate of inflation, rate of lending, credit worthiness, and so on.
The index that affects your Adjustable Rate Mortgage goes up and down with the market. Per the terms of your specific mortgage note, most rates adjust every 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or yearly.
The pitfall is that this rate can increase substantially, and people may find it more and more difficult to make their payments and retain their property. For example, if the interest rate goes up by 1%, people, who earlier had to pay about $500 towards an adjustable rate mortgage payment, may have to shell out as much as $ 570-600 for the same home (depending on the mortgage details).
Any sudden increase in adjustable rate mortgage payments will make it more and more difficult for people to retain their property, especially if their income is either constant or shrinking due to wage cut amidst an increase in the interest payment on their property.
If there are good economic conditions and the credit cycle favors, you may benefit from the fall in interest rates of your adjustable rate mortgage. If you are unsure of how interest rates will behave, the only thing that one can do is switch to a fixed rate of mortgage. In case of a fixed rate mortgage, the rate of interest is pre-fixed at the time of taking the mortgage, and hence, is not dependant on any external market conditions.
