A Bamboozling Dilemma: Fixed Rate or Adjustable Rate Mortgage?

A lot of people who plan to buy a house often wonder what kind of mortgage is right for them: an adjustable rate mortgage or a fixed rate mortgage. To be able to determine the suitability of a mortgage type, potential buyers should familiarize themselves with the advantages and disadvantages. This way, they enable themselves to come up with informed decisions.

Depending on the term of the mortgage and a borrower’s financial needs, both the adjustable rate mortgage and the fixed rate mortgage are appealing to various types of homebuyers. But it is essential that homebuyers become aware of the difference between the two kinds of mortgages.

An adjustable rate mortgage, or an ARM for short, is commonly known as a variable rate mortgage. This mortgage features an interest rate linked to an economic index. Interest rates and mortgage payments are occasionally adjusted in keeping with the changes in the said index. The primary interest rate for an adjustable rate mortgage is lower compared to the rate of a fixed rate mortgage, which features an interest rate that remains unchanged for the entire life of the loan. In contrast to the fixed rate mortgage, the adjustable rate mortgage offer borrowers the choice to make an early repayment of the initial principal borrowed without a penalty charge.

A principal reason why you should consider an adjustable rate mortgage is that you may end up with a lower monthly mortgage payment. Because you’re taking a risk with unpredictable interest rates, you are rewarded with an initial rate that’s lower compared to an adjustable rate mortgage. You can consider an adjustable rate mortgage a good option if: you plan to stay in your home for only a few years; you anticipate an increase in your future income; or, the existing interest rate for a fixed rate mortgage is too high.

One disadvantage of the adjustable rate mortgage is that there is a risk that the rates will rise on you, which means that your monthly mortgage payment will increase significantly. It is possible that the payment can get too high that you may have to default on your loan.

On the other hand, a fixed rate mortgage features an interest rate that is fixed for the entire life of the loan, even if the mortgage lender’s interest rate rises and falls in the future. Because the payments are predetermined, homeowners can budget the amount they need to set aside for their monthly mortgage payment. They can also afford to plan their finances for the long-term.

The drawback is that this type of mortgage comes with higher interest rates. Also, with a fixed rate mortgage, lenders often set up a prepayment penalty that dissuades borrowers from paying off their mortgage early or refinancing their mortgage loan with a lower interest rate. This type of mortgage also puts borrowers at a disadvantage when interest rates fall. However, borrowers can shift to a mortgage program that enables them to benefit from lower interest rates. One way to do this is to qualify and pay for mortgage refinancing.

Compared to an adjustable rate mortgage, the fixed rate mortgage is a more attractive choice for borrowers who opt for a long-term plan. The fixed rate mortgage also offers more security for buyers and is best suited for homeowners who wish to keep their houses for a longer period of time.

The Pros and Cons of Adjustable Rate Mortgage

An adjustable rate mortgage, commonly referred to as an ARM, is a mortgage where the interest rate on the mortgage changes periodically, on a schedule, according to an index. The most common indexes used to determine the interest rates are:

One-year constant maturity treasury securities (CMT)
Cost of Funds Index (COFI)
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)
A lending institution’s own costs of funds.

The mortgage payment that you pay will thusly change, either up or down, to ensure a steady margin for the lending institution.

For many people who are looking at mortgages, the adjustable rate mortgage can seem like a great idea, however there are many pros and cons to an adjustable rate mortgage – items that need to be weighed over the short and long term to decide whether an adjustable rate mortgage is right for you or not.

The Pros of an Adjustable Rate Mortgage

The initial interest rate on an adjustable rate mortgage looks great on paper. Most often, the adjustable rate mortgage inserts rate is much lower than a fixed rate mortgage, which also means that the payment is lower. As a borrower, this lower interest rate can also mean that they can qualify for a higher loan amount if the lender is willing to base their ability to pay on the initial monthly payment amount. It’s important to do some research on the interest rates and see where they are sitting at in comparison to the six months to a year prior.

An adjustable rate mortgage is a good idea for people who only plan on staying in a house for a few years – from three to five years. Taking advantage of the lower interest rate that accompanies an adjustable rate mortgage is a good idea in this case. It means that you will ‘pay less’ for the home that you will be living in over the period of the three to five years, and gain more in equity in your home.

The Cons of an Adjustable Rate Mortgage

The biggest issue with an adjustable rate mortgage is that the interest rate will rise and thusly, so will your monthly mortgage payments. You have to decide whether the gamble is worth it or not. If you are looking at getting a raise in the next year from your job, then you may be able to handle an increase in your mortgage payments.

Some of the adjustable rate mortgages that are offered by lending institutions have a prepayment penalty, which you incur if you pay the mortgage off early. By having this prepayment penalty, you could be opening yourself up to a lot of strife – having a prepayment penalty on your mortgage contract is never a good idea because you simply just do not know what the future will bring.

You must also consider the payment cap. A payment cap sounds great – your mortgage payment can not go above “x” amount of dollars, however, that doesn’t mean that the interest charge is capped. If the interest rate raises high enough that you go over your payment cap, the lender adds the interest to your mortgage debt, which then finds you in the position of paying interest on the interest. This can translate to you paying much more for your home than you did when you bought it – this is called negative amortization. Many lenders have a cap on negative amortization that you can have, and if you reach that point, your payment cap goes out the window and your mortgage’s monthly payments are adjusted to begin repaying the negative amortization debt.

Factors that can go either way

There are a few factors of adjustable rate mortgages that can fall on either side of the pro/con debate. Due to the fact that there are many different types of adjustable rate mortgages available from different lenders, it’s important that you research the adjustable rate mortgage and find out whether it is right for you. Some of the ‘ambiguous’ factors that you have to consider can make or break the decision to go with an adjustable rate mortgage.

One of the first things you need to consider is the lifetime interest rate cap on the mortgage. This is the maximum amount that the interest rate can raise through the period of the mortgage. There are also the periodic adjustment caps that limit the amount that your mortgage interest rate can raise from one adjustment period to the next. The law states that adjustable rate mortgages have some type of lifetime cap.

Most lenders use one of the index rates to base their interest rates on. The index rates change and fluctuate with the movement of the economy. To determine the interest rate that you will be charged, the lender adds a margin (profit percentage) to the index rate. The margin that the lender will add is also important – it determines your future interest rates with an adjustable rate mortgage. The margin is different from lender to lender, so it’s important to find out what the margin is.

Advantages of an Adjustable Rate Mortgage

Adjustable rate mortgages have taken a bad rap in the latest mortgage crisis. Financial pundits from all ends of the spectrum blame the irresponsible use of adjustable rate mortgages and hybrid adjustable rate mortgages for the increasing number of home owners who are delinquent or in foreclosure on their mortgages.

That’s unfortunate, since adjustable rate mortgages can offer real benefits to home buyers in many situations. Here’s the scoop on the pros of an adjustable rate mortgage.

What an adjustable rate mortgage is

There are many kinds of mortgages, but all of them fit into one of three different types – fixed rate mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages and hybrid mortgages which use features of both adjustable and fixed rate mortgages.
A fixed rate mortgage is one in which the interest rate for the mortgage remains the same for the entire life of the loan, no matter what market interest rates do.

An adjustable rate mortgage is one with an interest rate that can fluctuate up or down. It is usually tied to a specified market index, and has specific rules for when and how much the rate can be adjusted.
The most common hybrid mortgage type features an initial low fixed rate that remains the same for two, three or five years, then adjusts to the market and becomes and adjustable rate mortgage.

Pros of an adjustable rate mortgage

There are a number of advantages to choosing an adjustable rate mortgage. Some of them are advantageous for only one type or buyer or another, others are an advantage for everyone.

1. An adjustable rate mortgage may help you afford a bigger mortgage than a fixed rate mortgage.
Because adjustable rate mortgages often have lower initial interest rates than fixed rate mortgages, they can allow you to qualify for a larger mortgage than a fixed rate mortgage. That means that you can buy a more expensive home because your monthly payments start out smaller. If you’re a young home buyer just starting in a career, this can be a major advantage because it allows you to pay smaller monthly payments in the first years when your salary is smaller.

2. The initial payments are lower than they would be with a fixed rate loan because the interest rate is lower.
With a fixed rate loan, lenders accept that if interest rates rise, they will make less money on the mortgage than they would with an adjustable rate mortgage. They offset that ‘loss’ by charging higher interest rates on fixed rate mortgages than they do on adjustable rate mortgages. That means that you start out with a lower monthly payment. As long as interest rates don’t rise, you’ll continue to pay lower monthly payments.

3. If the interest rates go down, your interest rate and monthly payments will adjust down automatically.
If you have a fixed rate mortgage and the market interest rates drop significantly, you can only take advantage of that by refinancing your mortgage. Refinancing incurs early repayment fees and other costs that you avoid by having a mortgage that adjusts automatically to the prevailing interest rates.

4. An adjustable rate mortgage can save you a considerable amount if you only intend to stay in your new home for a short time.

Because the interest rate and monthly payments are likely to be considerably lower for an adjustable rate mortgage, If the difference between the rate for a fixed rate mortgage and an adjustable rate mortgage (the spread) is considerable, you could save several thousand dollars a year in those first few years.

In order to figure out if an adjustable rate mortgage is right for you, it’s important for you to consider all of the facts about the loan. You should know the following about the mortgage that you’re considering:

How often does the rate adjust? Most adjustable mortgage rates adjust annually, but the adjustment period is up to the individual lender. Some may adjust as often as once a month.
What is the cap on single adjustments? No matter how much the index used to determine adjustments rises, your mortgage agreement will place a cap on how much the interest rate can increase in a single adjustment.
What is the annual cap on adjustments? If your mortgage adjusts more often than once a year, what is the most that the lender can raise your interest rates in a single year?
What is the lifetime cap on adjustments? In addition to the annual cap, your mortgage agreement will also spell out the lifetime cap on adjustments. Can you afford the monthly payment at the cap?
What adjustment index does the lender use to determine rate increases? A lender can link the adjustment rate to any index that it chooses, and may be allowed to change the index according to the terms of your loan.
What is the margin? The interest rate that your lender charges will be a certain percentage above the index. This is called a margin. You should know what the margin is so that you can decide if it’s fair.

Potential Disadvantages of an Adjustable Rate Mortgage

There are both advantages and disadvantages to adjustable rate mortgages. Your lender may be pushing an adjustable rate mortgage for any number of reasons, including that they are more profitable for the lending company. If you only look at the advantages of an adjustable rate mortgage, they can sound pretty good. You start with a lower interest rate, which means lower monthly payments. Because of the lower payments and rate, you may be able to afford a larger mortgage. Your lender may be pitching it as a way to buy a bigger house than you could otherwise afford, or suggest that it’s a good way to get into the housing market. Most commonly, the lender may suggest that you should take the adjustable rate mortgage for now, and refinance later when the rates adjust up.

While all of these things are true, there are also cons to an adjustable rate mortgage. It’s important that you consider both sides of the issue before making a decision on the type of mortgage that you want to take out.

What an adjustable rate mortgage is

Unlike a fixed mortgage, which comes with a specific interest rate that remains the same for the life of the loan, an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) has an interest rate that fluctuates according to a specified index. Your adjustable rate may be tied to the interest rate on Treasury Bonds, to the Consumer Price Index or to a number of other indicators. If that index rises, your interest rate – and your monthly payment – will rise. If it drops, so will your interest rate and monthly payment.

Why adjustable rate mortgages can be attractive

When lenders approve a fixed rate mortgage, they are placing a finite limit on the amount of money they’ll make from that mortgage. An adjustable rate mortgage offers the lender the possibility of making more money if interest rates rise over the life of the loan – which is a good possibility. To offset the limit on fixed rate mortgages and make adjustable rate mortgages more attractive to home buyers, lenders typically offer lower interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages than they do on fixed rate mortgages. In essence, they are offering borrowers a more attractive rate in return for assuming the risk that their mortgage rate and monthly payment will rise over the term of the loan.

The down side of adjustable rate mortgages

When looked at in that light, some of the cons of an adjustable rate mortgage become obvious.

1. Interest rates can go up, raising monthly payments as well.

Most borrowers understand and accept that their monthly mortgage payment may rise, but are willing to take the chance that their mortgage will continue to remain affordable. It’s important to know the caps on interest rate rises by which your lender is bound. When you shop around for the best adjustable mortgage, it’s important to look further than the initial interest rate so that you understand exactly what expenses you may be agreeing to.

2. Over time, payments nearly always surpass the payments on a fixed rate loan for the same amount.

If you’re planning to stay in your home for the long haul, this can be an important consideration. Depending on the specific loan agreement that you make, it may be several years before the interest rate and monthly payment reach and surpass the monthly payment for a fixed mortgage. If you’re only planning to stay in your new home for a few years, this can work to your advantage, because you’ll be paying lower monthly payments for most of that time. If, on the other hand, this is your dream home where you plan to live the rest of your life, a fixed rate mortgage is probably more economical.

3. Fluctuating payments can make it difficult for you to make a budget.

While many ARMs only adjust once a year, some may adjust as often as once a month. More frequent adjustments can make it very difficult to fit your monthly mortgage payment into your budget because you will only know what your next month’s payment will be when you receive your notice. Even in the longer term, a fluctuating mortgage payment can make it difficult for you to plan long-term savings and investments.

4. If fixed rate mortgages become favorable enough that you decide to switch, you’ll have to refinance and incur the costs and fees related to refinancing your mortgage.

5. The annual interest cap may not apply to the first interest adjustment, and it may be a big one.

Many lenders offer very low initial interest rates on ARMs to attract first time home buyers. Often, these mortgages exempt the first increase from the annual cap on adjustments. This can be especially difficult if the ARM was one of the hybrids that offered a low fixed rate for one to five years, with a jump to market interest rates at the end of the specified period. When that happens, your monthly mortgage payment can suddenly rise by hundreds or even more than a thousand dollars.

Taking the Guesswork Out of Adjustable Rate Mortgages

Next to critiquing the decorating taste of your home’s previous owner, playing the “adjustable mortgage game” may rank as one of the most popular (and least pleasant) pastimes of Canadian homebuyers.

Here’s how it works.

As you’re exploring your mortgage options, you review the long and steady slide of mortgage rates in Canada over the last decade and make the decision to go with an adjustable mortgage when you buy, at renewal or when refinancing. You’re now a player. Then you watch for clues about mortgage rate movement, trying to guess the perfect moment to lock in your mortgage. The objective of the game is to try to guess the bottom… and you won’t know it’s the bottom until it’s too late. In today’s low rate environment, we should acknowledge that most of the players are already winners; but it can still be a stress-inducing game.

One way to remove all of the guesswork is to consider a capped-rate adjustable mortgage, although there are only a few options available in the marketplace.

There is a unique adjustable mortgage that is not based on the Canadian Prime Rate (the usual benchmark) – but on what is known as the Banker’s Acceptance rate: a benchmark that is used for professional money managers. In effect, the BA rate, as its known, is the rate lenders charge one another.

Not surprisingly, it’s typically much lower than prime. In fact, the effective rate of this adjustable mortgage has been consistently lower than competitive variable or adjustable rate products based on Prime. A capped version is now available.

An adjustable rate mortgage with a cap offers unlimited downside rate movement, but also provides a guarantee that the rate will never rise more than a certain percentage higher than the starting base rate – no matter what happens to the lending rates.

The rate cap takes the guesswork out of the adjustable mortgage game. If rates continue to drop, your Mortgage rate also drops accordingly. But if rates begin to rise, you know that your own mortgage rate has a fixed ceiling. Imagine, no more worrying about when to lock in your mortgage, and no more second-guessing your decisions when rates go back down again. Of course, this kind of flexibility comes at a small premium over a regular adjustable-rate mortgage.

In the past several years, more and more Canadians have passed on the security of traditional fixed-rate mortgages for the savings potential of an adjustable rate. And in an environment of dropping rates, the adjustable rate choice has proven its value to homebuyers. With today’s rates among the lowest in memory, many homeowners continue to worry about whether or not they should lock in or not. After all, we don’t want to lose the flexibility of having our rate adjustable downward… but we’d also like to have it fixed upward.

If we had a crystal ball, we could make perfect decisions about our mortgage options, and we’d know how to secure the best rate. But a mortgage that passes on declining rates and has a rate cap on the upside can be the next best thing to seeing into the future. And the result is an adjustable mortgage game that the homebuyer is heavily favoured to win.

Refinance Options – Fixed Rate vs. Adjustable Rate Mortgages

When is a good time to refinance your mortgage to a fixed rate loan?

The very best time to refinance is when the interest rates are at an all time low. If you’re waiting for this option, you’ll want to follow the market and keep an eye on what direction our financial leaders are heading. Usually it’s based on the status of our economy and there is a lot of discussion about it before the prime interest rate moves in either direction. Keep your ear to the ground.

It’s also a good idea to refinance to a fixed rate if you plan on living in your home for the life of the loan. Ninety percent (90%) of our population moves to a new or different home for one reason or another within 5-7 years. But, there are those who stay put and want the stability of steady payments. It makes financial planning much easier to know for certain how much your expenses are from month to month. If you are one of these people, your best refinance option is a fixed rate mortgage.

By all means… if you can’t sleep at night worrying about the ups and downs of your mortgage payment, then contact a good mortgage broker and start the refinance process right away. It’s not worth the stress!

When is a good time to consider an ARM?

When you DON’T qualify for the purchase of a home or refinance to a fixed rate mortgage. Sometimes this is the only way to qualify for a purchase due to credit history, debt to income ratio or not enough income. Later on you can refinance into a fixed rate loan if the ARM loan makes you nervous.

When your monthly payment, after the refinance, will be significantly less than the total of your current payment plus the payments of all your credit cards and loans. If you’re in a home for 5-7 years and you are paying 10, 15 or even 20% interest rate on consumer debts, refinance your mortgage and use your equity to pay off your high interest debts. This will make a significant impact on your monthly cash flow and may give you the necessary breathing room you need.

When you DON’T plan on staying in your home for more than 5-7 years due to family size increasing, kids going off to college, job relocation, etc. Why pay for a higher fixed rate long term mortgage if you are only going to move or refinance in a few years anyway.

Homeowners who refinance with long term fixed rates pay between 1.00-2.00% higher than those who refinance with an ARM. That may not seem like a lot but when you have a $250,000 mortgage, it makes a BIG difference in your payment.

When you CAN anticipate increases in your income due to promotions and raises. Some employees receive a raise each year based on a percentage of their current income and can come relatively close to determining what their raise will be. If you’re due for and expect to get a promotion, you’ll probably know ahead of time what that new position will pay you. These are perfect opportunities to consider a refinance.

When you ARE comfortable with moderate adjustments in your mortgage payment. Some people are just more relaxed about finances than others. Most often this is due to not having to worry about their basic survival needs and having a steady, generous income.

What it all boils down to is level of risk. If you can’t sleep at night unless you know your mortgage payment is $XXX.00 every month, then a long term fixed rate mortgage is the best option for you.

If you can sleep at night taking some calculated risks, other options may be available to you.

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All About Denver Adjustable Rate Mortgages

There has been a lot of talk about adjustable rate mortgages these days. Are they to blame for the housing crunch and the problems that people are facing? Not necessarily. There are still adjustable rate mortgages out there that can be the best options for hopeful Denver home owners. These can be goodDenver mortgage products.

How Does An Adjustable Rate Colorado Mortgage Work?

If you want to understand a Colorado mortgage with an adjustable rate, it is a mortgage which has an interest rate will change at a certain point, depending on other key interest rates rules connected to home lending. During the loan, the adjustable rate Denver mortgages will move up and down and effect the interest paid on the loan.

There will be a period in which the interest rate on a Colorado mortgage product is fixed. After that, the adjustable rate loan (also known as an Adjustable Rate Mortgage, or ARM) will change depending on the current rate (and the terms of the Colorado mortgage deal as well as current market conditions). The fixed rate the loan starts with is usually much lower than a person would have gotten if they had qualified for a fixed-rate loan. So, for a certain amount of time, the rate will be fixed and the payments will be consistent, predictable and very low, but after that period, in sometimes two to five years, the interest rate and mortgage payment will change at set periods of the loan.

Are There Any Adjustable Rate Denver Mortgage Worries?

Of course, there is a risk that goes along with an adjustable rate Denver mortgage, but this is what allows lenders to give borrowers a lower rate at the beginning of the term. This is what makes them different than fixed-rate Colorado mortgages, which may have a higher initial rate.

The risk with the loan comes because what the interest rate will eventually become is unknown at the outset of the loan. So then the mortgage payment becomes equally unpredictable. If you have an adjustable rate Colorado mortgage that goes into its adjustment period, you will see your mortgage payment fluctuate. But there is a ceiling to how much the rate can change and how often the rate can be adjusted.

In order to avoid the risks of an adjustable rate Denver mortgage, the best thing to do is refinance your loan before the end of the fixed-rate period of your loan. Now there is a risk since there is no way to predict when and if and how your loans will adjust. When you refinance your Colorado mortgage, there is a chance your fixed rate will move up.

Positive Aspects of Adjustable Rate Colorado MortgagesThere are some periods in life in which the adjustable rate Denver mortgage could be beneficial to you and your finances. It all depends on your particular situation at the time. Here are some scenarios in which an ARM might work:

• If you plan on selling your home soon

• If you won’t stay in your house for the length of the loan

• If you need to a influx of additional cash-flow

• If you have a low credit score, which won’t allow you to get the best fixed rate. However, you can use the fixed-rate period of the ARM to improve your credit and refinance for a good fixed rate.

• If you have another way out of a mortgage before the rate goes up.

• When you still have good terms and a ceiling on the interest rate.

There are good lenders out there who will be able to work with you in handling your ARM. There are Denver mortgage lenders who have built up a good reputation working with customers to deliver them good mortgage products that won’t be a financial burden.

If you want to discover the advantages of ARM products by working with a Colorado mortgage lender , you need to find someone who has an established business, rather than someone who has not been around a long time and may have more questionable Denver mortgages for sale.

This article is written by J.B. of 1st American Mortgage and Loan, LLC, a Colorado mortgage lender who offers access to information on obtaining a Colorado mortgage loan as well as other information on loans inColorado online mortgage quotes, and rates through his website TrueMortgageQuote.com http://www.truemortgagequote.com).

Pick the Right Perks for your Adjustable Rate Mortgage

These are heavy days for Canadian homeowners. If you’ve been in your home even a few years, you’ve probably already enjoyed a modest climb in the value of your home. Even if you don’t intend to sell, it’s good to know that your real estate investment is doing well. But we’re also enjoying an environment in which mortgage rates have reached historic lows.

That combination — strong valuations and low mortgage rates — has an unprecedented number of Canadians looking for ways to capitalize on the great opportunities available to them.

Whether it’s to buy their first home, trade up, or take equity back out of their homes, Canadians are jumping at the opportunity to borrow at today’s rock-bottom rates.

While many homebuyers are reconsidering the value of fixed-rate mortgages to lock in those low rates, you should keep in mind that adjustable-rate mortgages – the darling of the dropping rate trend – can still offer real value to homeowners. It’s a matter of finding the right combination of mortgage features and options.

As banks have been joined by other lending institutions, we have seen our menu of ontario mortgage options grow accordingly – with some innovative new mortgage types now available to help Canadians take advantage of today’s unusual opportunities.

One of the most innovative mortgages we’ve seen in a very long time is a new adjustable-rate mortgage with some very compelling features. First, it’s based on an institutional rate benchmark known as Bankers Acceptance. Most of us are familiar with the rate benchmark known as Canadian Prime – and we are accustomed to assessing mortgage rates based on Prime. The BA, on the other hand, is the rate at which banks will lend money to one another – and it’s typically a lower rate (sometimes much lower) than the prime rate offered to a bank’s best customers. The new BA-based mortgage – compared to the best prime-based mortgage available – could have saved a mortgage client a bundle over the last several years, primarily because the prime rate tends to be “stickier” in an environment where rates are falling. Often, the more fluid, market-based BA rates deliver the rate change more quickly. The BA rate is no trade secret, by the way; pick up a copy of your favourite financial paper and look for the published money rates to find the Bankers Acceptance Rate.

But the attractive rate structure is not the only perk. The same BA-based mortgage – so welldesigned to help clients wring the last quarter point from their mortgage rate – now also comes with a rate cap which guarantees that your rate will never climb higher than 2.15% above the starting base rate – no matter what happens to rates during your mortgage term. There’s no worry about locking in too high because the rate is always adjustable down.

Only the ceiling is fixed. It’s a homebuyers’ dream:

A mortgage with limited upside and unlimited downside. If you’re thinking about buying a home this year, or you haven’t had your mortgage reviewed in the last several months, take the opportunity to get an expert assessment of your many options from a mortgage professional. It could be the best investment you’ll make this year!