|
How would you like a
mortgage loan where you did not have to make the whole payment if you did not
want to? Or would you like a loan with an interest rate about one percent below
a thirty-year fixed rate mortgage and pay zero points? Or a loan where you did
not have to document your income, savings history, or source of down payment?
How would you like a mortgage payment of only 2.95 percent? You can have all
that with the 11th District Cost of Funds (COFI) Adjustable Rate Mortgage.
Sound too good to be true? Sound like a bunch of hype?
Each statement above is true. However, it is also only part of the story and
loan officers do not always tell you the whole story when promoting this loan.
Then other loan officer try to scare you away from the adjustable rate
mortgages. However, once you become aware of all the details of the loan, it is
an excellent way to buy the house of your dreams, especially when fixed rates
begin to go up.
ARMs in General
Adjustable rate mortgages all have certain similar features. They have an
adjustment period, an index, a margin, and a rate cap. The adjustment period is
simply how often the rate changes. Some change monthly, some change every six
months, and some only adjust once a year. Indexes are simply an easily
monitored interest rate that moves up and down over time. Adjustable rate
mortgages have different indexes. The margin is the difference between your
interest rate and the index. The margin does not change during the term of the
loan.
So if you have an adjustable rate mortgage and you wanted to calculate your
interest rate on your own, all you have to do is look up the index in the paper
or on the internet, add the margin, and you have your rate.
Indexes and the 11th District
The "Prime Rate" you hear about in the news is one interest rate
index, although it is very rare that mortgages are tied to this index. It is
more common to find adjustable rate mortgages tied to different treasury bill
indexes, the average interest rate paid on certificates of deposit, the London
Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR), and the 11th District Cost of Funds.
Currently, the Cost of Funds Index is the lowest of these indexes, though this
is not always true.
To simplify, the 11th District Cost of Funds (COFI) is the weighted average of
interest rates paid out on savings deposits by banking institutions in the the
11th district of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB), which is located in San
Francisco. The 11th District includes the states of California, Nevada, and
Arizona.
The COFI index moves slower than the other indexes, making it more stable. It
also lags behind actual changes in the interest rate market. For example, when
rates begin to go up, the COFI index may continue to decline for a couple of
months before it also begins to rise. However, when interest rates start to
decline, the COFI index may continue to go up for another couple of months,
too. It lags behind the market.
The Margin and Interest Rates
The margin on the COFI ARM can be on either side of 2.5%. For example the COFI
index as of July 31, 1998 is 4.504%. With a margin of 2.44%, your interest rate
would be 6.944%. During this same time, thirty year fixed rate loans on
conforming mortgages are close to eight percent. Fixed rates on jumbo loans
(above $240,000) are higher.
Monthly Adjustments Sound Scary, but...
Although you can get a COFI ARM with an adjustable period of six months, you
can get a lower margin if you go for the monthly adjustment period. Since the
margin plus the index equals your interest rate, the lower margin is an
advantage and most people choose the monthly adjustment.
Monthly adjustments sound scary to the uninitiated, but keep in mind that this
is a slow moving index. Most other ARMS have an annual cap of two percent a
year. Since 1981, when the FHLB began tracking the index, the most it has moved
during any calendar year is 1.6%. So why get a higher margin just to get a rate
cap that you probably will not use anyway?
The "life-of-loan" cap for the COFI ARM is usually 11.95%. The most
recent year that this cap could have been reached was 1985. Plus, most experts
do not expect a return to the interest rates of the early 1980's when interest
rates were pushed up artificially to combat the inflation of the 1970's.
Make Only Part of Your Payment?
This is the really interesting feature of the loan. You do not have to make the
whole payment. Each month you get a bill that has at least three payment
options. One choice is the full payment at the current interest rate. A second
choice allows you to pay only the interest that is due on the loan that
particular month, but does not pay anything towards the principal. Finally, the
third option gives you the choice to pay even less than that and is called the "minimum
payment."
The minimum payment when you start your loan can be calculated as low as 2.95
percent. Keep in mind that this is not the note rate on your loan, but just a
way to calculate your minimum payment.
Deferred Interest and Amortization
Of course, if you only make the minimum payment each month, you are not paying
all of the interest that is currently due that month. You are deferring some of
the interest that is currently due on the loan and you will pay it later. The
lender keeps track of this deferred interest by adding it to the loan and the
loan balance gets larger. Neither you nor the lender wants this to continue
forever, so your minimum payment increases a bit each year.
The payment cap on the loan is 7.5%, which also has nothing to do with the
interest rate. All it means is the most your minimum payment can increase from
one year to the next is seven and a half percent. For example, if your minimum
payment is $1000 this year, next year the most it could be is $1075. This
continues each year until your payment is approximately equal to the payment at
the full note rate.
Just in case, there are fail-safes built into the loan. If you continue making
the only the minimum payment and your current balance ever reaches 110 percent
of the beginning balance, the loan is re-amortized to make sure you pay it off
in thirty years (or forty years, whichever option you chose). Every five years
the loan is re-amortized to make sure it pays off within the term of the loan.
Stated Income and Other Features
Many COFI lenders allow homebuyers with good credit to apply without
documenting their income, assets, or source of down payment. Of course, you
have to make a twenty or twenty-five percent down payment on your home
purchase. This is helpful for self-employed borrowers or those who have jobs
where it is difficult to document their income. Plus, some people just do not
like the bother of supplying W2 forms, tax returns and pay-stubs. Anyway, it
makes for a quick and easy loan approval.
Sub-Prime COFI ARMs
Some people have less than perfect credit and they are used to being charged
outrageous rates for past problems. Some COFI lenders offer this same loan but
have a slightly higher starting payment and a higher margin. The end result is
that your interest rate would be about one percent higher. As of August 18,
1999, that would be around eight percent on this loan instead of seven percent.
Who Should Get This Loan?
In my personal experience, most people who get the COFI ARM are purchasing a
home between $300,000 and $650,000, but it is not limited to that. It is a real
favorite of those working in the financial industry and those with higher
incomes. One reason they like it is because they consider any deferred interest
to be an extended loan at a very attractive rate. By making the minimum
payment, they do other things with the money.
Homebuyers whose income has peaks and valleys, such as self-employed or
commissioned salespeople also like the loan, because it provides flexibility in
the monthly payment. During a slow month they can make the minimum payment if
they choose.
Another reason borrowers like the loan is because it allows for tax planning.
The borrower can defer interest payments and at the end of the year, analyze
their tax situation. If it serves their tax interests, they can make a lump sum
payment toward any interest that has been deferred and deduct it for tax
purposes.
Skipping the Starter Home or Move-Up Home
If you're buying a home with the intention of living in it for only a few years
before you move up to a bigger home, the COFI ARM makes sense, too. With this
loan and its low start payment you can often qualify for a larger home than you
can when applying for a fixed rate loan. This allows you to skip the
intermediate purchase and move up immediately to the home you really want,
which makes more sense and saves you money.
If you buy a home, then sell it to move up to a bigger home, you are going to
have to pay Realtor's commissions and closing costs. On a $300,000 house, this
would be around $25,000. If you skip buying that home and buy the home you
really want, you save that money. Plus, you save money in another way. Say you
live in your intermediate purchase for five years, then move up and buy another
home with another thirty year mortgage. That is thirty-five years of home
loans. If you buy your ideal home now, you save five years of mortgage
payments. Depending on your loan amount, that can be a lot of cash.
Conclusion
So, when rates start going up this is an attractive alternative to fixed rates.
It even makes sense for some borrowers when rates are low. Something we also
did not mention is that most COFI lenders also give you a fourth option on your
monthly mortgage statement which allows you to pay it off quicker.
|
