Having just read an article about Adjustable Rate Mortgages, stating that they have resulted in many many foreclosures…..I just had to jump on the opposite side of the band wagon. The public has been so mislead by the media regarding adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs), the record needs to be set straight.
ARM’s are tied to market indexes, these indexes are tied to several criteria, most significantly, the Fed’s “Prime Rate”. Obviously, the Prime is way down from where it was several years ago, and in turn…so are mortgage payments.
Any ARM that has adjusted recently has resulted in payments going down, not up. While I don’t recommend getting an ARM, except in unique situations (rates and the associated indexs are going to go up eventually), I do want to point out the the non-sense regarding Adjustable Mortgages. Politicians and the media are enjoying “bank bashing”, when in many cases it is government policy that frustrates us with the banking system. In the case of ARM’s, take what you read and hear with a grain of salt….most of it is simply not true.