Facts About ARM's, Adjustable Rate Mortgages  What is an ARM?
An Adjustable Rate Mortgage, called an ARM for short, is a mortgage with an interest rate that is linked to an economic index. The interest rate, and your payments, are periodically adjusted up or down as the index fluctuates.
ARM Terminology
Index
An index ia a guide that lenders use to measure interest rate changes. Common indexes used by lenders include the activity of one, three, and five-year Treasury securities, but there are many others. Each ARM is linked to a specific index.
Margin
Think of the margin as the lender's markup. It is an interest rate that represents their cost of doing business plus the profit they will make on the loan. The margin is added to the index rate to determine your total interest rate. It usually stays the same during the life of the loan.
Adjustment Period
The adjustment period is the period between potential interest adjustments.
• You may see an ARM described with figures such as 1-1, 3-1, and 5-1.
The first figure in each set refers to the initial period of the loan, during which your
interest rate will be the same as it was on the day of closing.
• The second number is the adjustment period, showing how often adjustments can be
made to the rate after the initial period has ended. The examples above are all ARMs
with annual adjustments.
If my payments can go up, why should I consider an ARM?
The initial interest rate for an ARM is lower than that of a fixed rate mortgage, where the interest rate remains the same during the life of the loan. A lower rate means lower payments, which might help you qualify for a larger loan.
More ARM Considerations
• How long do you plan to own the house? The possibility of higher rates isn't as much
of a factor if you plan to be in the home for a relatively short time.
• Do you expect your income to increase? If so, the extra funds might cover the higher
payments that result from rate increases.
• Some ARMs can be converted to a fixed-rate mortgage. However, conversion fees may
be high enough to take away all of the savings you saw with the initial lower rate.
• While you can't dictate which index a lender uses, you can choose a lender based on
the index that will apply to your loan. Ask how each index used has performed in the
past. Your goal is to find a loan linked to one that has remained fairly stable.
• When comparing lenders, consider both the index and the margin rate being offered.
 The Best Mortgage Calculators On the Web! Please try our Java loan and mortgage calculators. They take a minute to load, but they are worth it! Each calculator has dynamic graphs and charts that change - right before your eyes - as you enter different information. Each financial calculator also includes a View Report option. The mortgage repayment schedule and other reports are fully customizable. These reports are designed for you to print out and keep... Should You Rent or Buy?
Should you rent or should you buy your home? It takes more than looking at your mortgage payment to answer this question. This calculator helps you weed through the fees, taxes, and monthly payments to help you make a good financial decision. Click the "View Report" button for a detailed look at the results.
Definitions
- Price of home
- Purchase price of the home you wish to buy.
- Cash on hand
- Cash you have for the down payment and closing costs.
- Interest rate
- The current interest rate you can receive on your mortgage.
- Term in years
- The number of years over which you will repay this loan.
- Property tax rate
- Your property tax rate. 1% for a $100,000 home equals $1,000 per year in property taxes.
- Home insurance rate
- Your homeowner's insurance rate. 0.5% for a $100,000 home equals $500 per year for homeowner's insurance.
- Loan origination rate
- The percentage the lending institution charges for its origination fee. 1% for a $100,000 home equals $1,000.
- Points paid
- The total number of points paid to reduce the interest rate of your mortgage. Each point costs 1% of your mortgage balance.
- Other closing costs
- Estimate of all other closing costs for this loan. This should include filing fees, appraiser fees and any other miscellaneous fees paid.
- Total closing costs
- Total upfront costs to close your loan. This is the sum of the loan origination fee, amount paid for points and other closing costs.
- Total for down payment
- Total funds remaining for down payment.
- Mortgage amount
- Total amount of loan.
- Investment return
- The rate of return you could receive if you invested your closing costs and down payment instead of purchasing a home.
The actual rate of return is largely dependant on the type of investments you select. From January 1970 to December 2003, the average compounded rate of return for the S&P 500, including reinvestment of dividends, was approximately 11.7% per year. During this period, the highest 12-month return was 64%, and the lowest was -39%. Savings accounts at a bank pay as little as 1% or less. It is important to remember that future rates of return can't be predicted with certainty and that investments that pay higher rates of return are subject to higher risk and volatility. The actual rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long-term investments. This includes the potential loss of principal on your investment.
- Monthly rent payment
- Amount you currently pay for rent per month.
- Income tax rate
- Your current marginal income tax rate.
- Expected inflation rate
- Inflation rate used to adjust amounts subject to annual increases. These amounts include rent, insurance and tax payments.
- Home appreciates at
- Annual appreciation you expect in the home you are purchasing.
- Future sales commission
- The percent of your home's selling price you expect to pay to a broker or real estate agent when you sell your home.
- House payment
- Total of principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) paid per month for your home. Insurance includes Principal Mortgage Insurance (PMI) and homeowner's insurance.
- Principal payment
- Total of principal paid per month on your mortgage.
- Tax savings
- The value of the tax deduction you receive on your mortgage's interest and home's property taxes. For example, if you have $900 in interest and $100 property taxes per month, the value of the tax deduction would be $280. (At a tax rate of 28%).
- Net house payment
- Your house payment minus the value of the tax deduction and principal payment.
- Net home price
- Net selling price of your home after subtracting any sales commissions.
- Monthly PI
- Monthly principal and interest payment.
- Monthly PMI
- Monthly cost of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). For loans secured with less than 20% down, PMI is estimated at 0.5% of your loan balance each year.
The mortgage calculators are provided by KJE Computer Solutions, LLC and made available to NUMBER1EXPERT as self-help tools for your independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We can't guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regards to your individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues. |
- NUMBER1EXPERTS™ 
