[Fred911]

Geez.....I heard the same doom and gloom in the 70's.....

[Toby06]

Damn, imagine having an ARM in the 21% Carter era? Worse than credit card debt!

I used to make 6% on my passbook saving account as an 8 year old.

[Arkinsaw]

Geez.....I heard the same doom and gloom in the 70's.....

Well...it was doom and gloom during the '70s. I lived through the Carter years and watched the adjustable rate people scream and cry in agony. I learned. My rule is FIXED RATE ONLY.

Lots of people buying now did not live in the Carter era and have to relive the pain and agony of history. Oh well.

[Edit35]

I heard the same doom and gloom in the 70's..

Exactly.

This article is more 'chicken little' hyperbole. After all, the fed recently indicated they will stop raising rates at 5.25 percent, barring some spurt of super inflation which at this point seems highly unlikely.

In fact, the futures market this week indicated that the federal reserve could (emphasize could) begin lowering rates in early to mid 2007, as long as the inflation/growth bugaboo remains in check (which it seems to be so far).

Bottom line: mortgage rates ARM or otherwise are in the 6-7 percent range, which is low in comparison to the past 35 years.

Homeowners were spoiled at 4.5 percent or 5 percent mortgage money, but everyone knew it wouldn't last because bankers could barely make a living with rates that low.

[CDHart]

".....I heard the same doom and gloom in the 70's....."

And there was a lot of legitimate doom and gloom. I remember having a VA mortgage with a fixed rate of 14-15%. I also remember the skyrocketing prime rate which in Florida shut down the construction jobs and caused people to go from riches to repossession in one short week. Very scary times.

Carolyn

[Busywhiskers]

"Geez.....I heard the same doom and gloom in the 70's....."

And if you think about it a bit the doom and gloom actually occurred in the late 70's and early 80's.