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Real Estate: Tom Kelly


Tom Kelly
Tom Kelly
The Real Estate Adviser
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March 19, 2009

The Real Estate Adviser: 30-year, fixed rate may not be your best option

By Tom Kelly
Special to the Journal

Adjustable-rate loans, especially those with an interest-only component, recently have been shunned and criticized, hammered and nailed. If you are looking for sympathy in your daily life, simply mention at your kid's weekend basketball game that you have an ARM set to adjust in May.

Ever since the mortgage mess began to unravel, consumers have raced to fixed-rate loans, reportedly with a newly found “pay-it-off” mindset. While this appears to be great news, it does not ensure that these same folks will not dip into their home's equity when the housing market eventually returns. That sort of discipline has yet to be proven among the baby boomers that have showed a tendency to refinance, or take out a home equity loan, for cars, vacations or a hot stock tip.


 
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