Financing
Sources...
A variable rate
mortgage (VRM)
introduced in the
late 70's is a
mortgage loan with
an interest rate
that could be
adjusted up or down
during the life of
the loan to reflect
the rising or
falling cost of
funds to the lender.
The Federal Home
Loan Bank Board
(FHLBB) limited
adjustments to no
more than 1/2 of 1%
per year and a total
upward adjustment of
no more than 2 1/2 %
during the life of
the loan. Rate
adjustments are
based on an index of
borrowing costs for
savings and loan
associations
published by the
FHLBB. The rules
specify that if the
index falls, the
lender must reduce
the interest rate.
If the index rises,
the lender may
increase the rate.
Additionally, the
lender was required
to offer the
prospective borrower
the choice of a
fixed-rate loan or a
VRM and to disclose
to the borrower what
would happen to the
monthly payments if
interest rates
increased. Despite
these safeguards and
the fact that VRMs
usually carry lower
initial interest
rates than
fixed-rate loans,
there was skepticism
from the public.
After all, long-term
fixed-rate loans had
been the standard
method of real
estate lending for
more than a
generation.
Variable
Rate Mortgage To
Renegotiable
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