When my now-ex and I were looking for a mortgage for our condo, we wanted a fixed-rate loan. We were educated shoppers, and knew that ARMs were a recipe for trouble.
Guess what? WE COULD NOT GET A FIXED-RATE MORTGAGE. There was literally no lender who would offer us anything but an ARM. The best we could do was one that had a 1% cap (that is, they could not change the rate by more than 1% per year). And they really pushed us to go for one with a 2% cap instead, dangling a lower initial monthly payment.
So y'know, it just chaps my ass to hear people blithely talking about how STUPID all those people must have been to take ARMs. You can't take options that aren't being offered to you! Add in predatory bank lending practices and lack of due diligence on the part of the lenders, and nothing about this mess surprises me one bit.
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Guess what? WE COULD NOT GET A FIXED-RATE MORTGAGE. There was literally no lender who would offer us anything but an ARM. The best we could do was one that had a 1% cap (that is, they could not change the rate by more than 1% per year). And they really pushed us to go for one with a 2% cap instead, dangling a lower initial monthly payment.
So y'know, it just chaps my ass to hear people blithely talking about how STUPID all those people must have been to take ARMs. You can't take options that aren't being offered to you! Add in predatory bank lending practices and lack of due diligence on the part of the lenders, and nothing about this mess surprises me one bit.