Elaine

It does not matter where you look these days, every mortgage company is offering unbelievable low interest mortgages. Somewhere, somehow, somebody came up with a new loan type that essentially helps those that would no normally afford their piece of the American Dream. Is this the right move for you?

Throughout the ages, the American Dream has always been to own your own home. With the advent of the Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) this has actually become possible for millions of Americans'. With an attractive introductory low interest rate and even lower payments than a fixed loan, people began to hop on the bandwagon and BAM! a boom in home ownership made these savy mortgage companies millions of dollars virtually overnight. Were you one of those?

ARMs provided all walks of life the opportunity to better themselves. Whether it was used to refinance and get lower monthly payment and get several thousand dollars cash out, or just the prospect of owning your own home; the Adjustable Rate Mortgage was your answer.

With every reward comes risk, and with the Adjustable rate Mortgage came the real prospect that you are risking your credit, along with your most prized possession, your home. Was the risk worth it?

Unlike other general loans, if you miss a payment or two, your interest increases and it hurts your pocketbook a little more as well as your credit rating. With the Adjustable Rate Mortgage, if you miss just one payment, they can literally take your house away from you and there is nothing you can do. One thing that is rarely explained during the terms of the loan.

If you have a long term, say 3-5 year fixed ARM, you get used to making a certain monthly payment every month. Before you know it, you open your bill and the payment has increased by a couple of hundred dollars. Now the shock comes in; along with the thought of How am I going to afford this?

There are options. However, since you went to the end of your fixed interest period, it will take a little bit of more work on your part and you dont want to waste any time. Drop everything and get to work, the quicker you take car of this, the more likely that you will be able to keep you home.

If you originally took cash out with your ARM, you more than likely owe more on your loan than your house is worth and this can cause problems. Dont settle for that massive new payment, do your homework and get out of your ARM and into a FIXED loan ASAP.

If you have watched any news station the past 6 months, you hear all over that house foreclosures are up and over 100,000 homes are in the middle of foreclosures. More than seventy-five percent of these homes are due to Adjustable Rate Mortgages . Are you going to be on that list?

You dont want to loose your home and you know that you cant afford the new payment. Get out of your Adjustable Rate Mortgage now. Take the hit and refinance at a new fixed 30 year loan. If you owe more on your mortgage than your house is worth, find a way to get a separate loan from relatives or other finance sources and get back into a fixed mortgage. It is better to pay now, than pay later and loose your home.

M.S. owns TM-MotorWorks Scooter Store and writes for the consumer on topics ranging from electric scooters, global warming, debt management, as well as other consumer related issues. While business is centered around electric powered scooters and gas powered scooters; his goal is to pass on knowledge from these other areas of interest. Check him out at tm-scooterhaven.com for more info.