ARM is also called a variable rate mortgage or floating mortgages.
It is a type of mortgage in which the interest rate applied on the outstanding balance keeps varying throughout the life of the loan. the initial interest rate in ARM is fixed, for a period of time.
Then the interest rate changes periodically, sometimes yearly, and sometimes at monthly intervals. This reset of interest rate is based on a benchmark or index and ARM margin.
For instance, a 2/28 ARM means a fixed rate for two years followed by a floating rate for the balance of 28 years.
A 5/1 ARM has a fixed rate for five years, then a variable rate that adjusts every year, which is indicated by the number one.
The adjustable-rate mortgage caps are limits set on the level to which the interest rates and/or payments can rise each year or over the lifetime of the loan.
For instance, a common rate cap is 2/1/5, which breaks down like this:
The initial cap is the maximum amount that the interest rate can adjust the first time it’s changed after the fixed period.
So your interest rate can change only up to 2% the first time it adjusts.
A periodic cap is a limit put on the interest rate increase from one adjustment period to the next.
The initial cap and the periodic cap could be the same or different. Every change after that is limited to 1% every 6 months.
A lifetime cap a limit is put on the increase or decrease of interest rate over the life of the loan, and all ARM have a lifetime cap.
Although they are put for rate increases, it’s important to note that interest rates can also decrease.
As the margin for the life of the loan remains the same it is added to the index to get the interest rate, the rate will never fall below the margin.
So for the rest of the loan term, the interest rate can increase or decrease to a maximum of 5% of the fixed rate.
So, if the initial rate was 3.5%, your interest rate can go up to a maximum of 8.5% during the life of your loan.
Cap structure is a representation of each cap for the loan in a series of three numbers that represent the three caps: initial cap, periodic cap, and lifetime cap.