What’s a 5/1 ARM?

Before defining a 5/1 ARM, we should first define an adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM. An ARM is a type of mortgage that has an interest rate that changes, or adjusts, multiple times over the life of the loan.

Different types of adjustable-rate mortgages have interest rates that change at different intervals and are limited to certain levels of increase each time. Most ARMs start out with a fixed interest rate for several years and eventually transition to a period with an variable interest rate for the rest of the term, usually a total of 30 years.

In the case of a 5/1 ARM, the mortgage rate is fixed for the first five years. That’s what the “5” refers to. Then, the mortgage can adjust each year thereafter for the remaining 25 years of the loan term. That’s what the “1” refers to, since the rate changes after one year.

Since the 5/1 ARM is a blend of a fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loan, it can also be known as a hybrid mortgage.

How 5/1 ARM interest rates adjust

Adjustable-rate mortgages are less predictable than fixed-rate loans and are directly impacted by economic factors after you’ve started repaying the loan.

Changes to the interest rate on an adjustable-rate mortgage are based on an index, which is a benchmark interest rate that reflects general market conditions, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The most common index used for mortgages is the one-year London Inter-Bank Offer Rate, or LIBOR for short.

Mortgage lenders use the index and then add on a fixed margin to determine your interest rate. A margin is a set number of percentage points added on to the index. So, if the one-year LIBOR is 2.65% and your lender’s margin is 2.15%, your mortgage rate, or “fully indexed rate,” at that time would be 4.8%.

Interest rates on 5/1 ARMs typically start out lower than those for fixed-rate mortgages. As of mid-May 2019, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.07%, while the 5/1 ARM was 3.66%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Let’s take a look at how a 5/1 ARM stacks up against a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage after the first five years. We’ll use a hypothetical $250,000 house and assume the buyer is putting down 20%, which means they’ll borrow a $200,000 mortgage.

As shown above, because the 5/1 ARM has a lower interest rate during its fixed-rate period than the 30-year fixed does, the buyer would pay $767.34 less in interest after five years and pay down $217.37 more of the principal balance of the loan. The results could quickly reverse once the 5/1 ARM’s interest rate begins adjusting, however.

Let’s look at the 5/1 ARM (on a $250,000 home with a $50,000 down payment) after two interest rate adjustments to understand how the changes can impact the monthly mortgage payment.

In the above scenarios, the 5/1 ARM interest rate jumps significantly higher than 3.7%. By the time the rate jumps to 4.8% and again to 4.95%, the monthly payment increases by nearly $130 and $150, respectively.

Pros and cons of 5/1 ARM

As with any financial product, there are benefits and drawbacks. Consider the following pros and cons of borrowing a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage.

Pros

• ARM interest rates are usually lower than 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (and sometimes 15-year fixed-rate mortgages) for the first five years, which means you’ll pay less in interest during that time.
• Monthly mortgage payments are also typically lower in the first five years, thanks to the lower interest rate.
• There is a limit to how high your interest rate can increase over the life of your loan, which is called a lifetime adjustment cap. The cap is typically five percentage points, but your lender’s cap could be higher, according to the CFPB.

Cons

• After the first five years of a 5/1 ARM, the interest rate can adjust each year and is not predictable. Although there’s a cap on how much your rate can increase the first time it adjusts, it can still be significantly higher than the fixed rate you’re losing.
• Because your interest rate adjusts over the life of your loan, so does your monthly mortgage payment. If a higher mortgage payment would greatly impact your budget, this could cause you some affordability problems.
• If you want to keep a fixed interest rate, you must refinance into a fixed-rate mortgage, which comes with closing costs and other fees. You must also qualify for a refinance in order to get out of your existing mortgage.

A 5/1 ARM might work for you if …

“For certain people, like first-time homebuyers, 5/1 ARM mortgages are very useful,” said Doug Crouse, a senior loan officer with nearly 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry.

Homebuyers in the following scenarios could benefit from a 5/1 ARM:

• First-time buyers who plan to move within the first five years of owning their home.
• Buyers who plan to pay of their mortgage very quickly.
• Buyers who are borrowing a jumbo mortgage.

Crouse explained that with some first-time buyers, the plan is to move after a few years. This group can benefit from lower interest rates and lower monthly payments during those early years before the fixed rate changes to a variable rate.

Mindy Jensen, a real estate agent and community manager for BiggerPockets, an online community of real estate investors, agrees. “You can actually use a 5/1 ARM to your advantage in certain situations,” she said.

A 5/1 ARM could work well for someone who wants to aggressively pay down a mortgage in a short amount of time, Jensen explained. After all, if you know you’re going to pay off your loan early, why pay more interest to your lender than you have to?

“The lower initial interest rate frees up more money to make higher principal payments,” Jensen said.

Another group of people that can benefit from 5/1 ARM are those who take out or refinance jumbo mortgages, Crouse added.

For these loans, a 5/1 ARM makes the first few years of mortgage payments lower because of the lower interest rate. This, in turn, means that the initial payments will be much more affordable for higher-end properties.

Plus, if buyers purchased these more expensive homes in desirable areas where home prices are projected to rise quickly, it’s possible the value of their home could soar in the first few years while they make lower payments. Then, they can sell after five years and hopefully make a profit.

However, keep in mind that real estate is a risky investment and nothing is guaranteed.

A 5/1 ARM isn’t right for you if …

For homebuyers who plan to stay put for longer than five years, Crouse and Jensen share the sentiment that a 5/1 ARM might not be as beneficial for them.

Homeowners should also consider whether they want to be landlords in the future, Jensen added. If you decide to move out of your home but keep the mortgage and rent out your home, a 5/1 ARM may not serve you.

Additionally, if you think there’s a chance you might not be able to refinance out of a 5/1 ARM by the time your interest rate starts adjusting, you might consider a fixed-rate mortgage instead.

Before making a huge financial commitment like this, make sure you ask yourself these crucial questions:

Can I afford a second home?

Many families love the idea of buying a second home, but think about all the costs you incurred when buying your primary residence:

• Down payment
• Closing costs
• Monthly mortgage payment
• Property taxes
• Property insurance
• Private mortgage insurance (PMI)
• Utilities
• Landscaping and upkeep

You’ll incur many of these same costs with a second home, too. For example, Doug Crouse, a senior loan officer with nearly 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry, says PMI can be especially costly: “When it comes to second homes, PMI rates are about 50% higher than what they would be for a primary residence.”

However, a second mortgage isn’t inherently more expensive than a first mortgage. Dan Green, founder of Growella and a former top producing loan officer with 15 years of mortgage lending experience, says, “There is no closing cost difference on a second home [or] vacation home mortgage as compared to a primary residence.”

Keep in mind that if your second home is in a faraway location, you have to consider the long-distance costs of upkeep.

Will this be a vacation rental or an investment property?

There are typically two reasons people want to purchase a second home: buying it as a vacation home or buying it as an investment property. How you use it will have implications for your taxes.

According to the IRS, your home is a vacation home if you spend the greater of 14 days a year or 10% of the time you rent it to others.

Keep in mind that if you use your home solely for your family to vacation there, you can’t deduct items on your tax returns like utilities and real estate taxes like you would if it was an investment property. While you can deduct mortgage interest on a vacation home like you do for your first home, the new tax law for 2018 only allows you to deduct mortgage interest on your total properties up to $750,000. So if you already own a $750,000 home, you would not be able to deduct your mortgage interest on a second home.

If you use your second home to generate income from rent, you may be able to deduct items on your tax returns like utilities, real estate taxes, the fees you pay your property manager and more, according to the IRS. (Think of it like being a business owner who gets to deduct business expenses versus a vacation home owner.)

If you don’t want to choose between your second home being a vacation home or being an investment property, you don’t have to. It can be used as both, but you have to keep impeccable records that show when it’s being used and how, so you can properly itemize your deductions. For example, if you use it for half the year as a vacation home and rent it out the other half of the year, the IRS says you can only deduct your utilities, etc., on your taxes for the portion of the year you’re treating your home as a business and renting it out. It’s a good idea to consult a tax professional about how such an investment will affect you before you commit to buying a second home.

Is a second home a good investment?

Whether or not a second home is a good investment depends on the individual. Roger Wohlner, a fee-only financial planner, says, “One should be buying a second home for a specific reason such as a family gathering spot, an affinity to a location (a lake, etc.) or some other reason. Because of that, it can’t really compare to another investment.”

In other words, you can’t quantify relaxation, memories or family time as part of a return-on-investment calculation. That’s why it’s crucial you make sure you can afford the second home from the get-go.

If you’re considering a second home strictly as an investment property, whether or not it’s a good decision depends on many other decisions you make along the way, like how much you choose to charge in rent, which improvements you make to the property and how you plan to manage the property, to name a few. Before you decide to rent out an income property, make sure you’ve considered these seven major cost areas.

What’s the difference between your primary mortgage and your second home mortgage?

There are a few differences between these two mortgages. Depending on your credit score and other qualifications, you may be able to get a conventional mortgage for a primary residence with as little as 3 percent down (but you will have to pay private mortgage insurance, or PMI.) You might also qualify for an FHA loan with 3.5 percent down. Generally, the higher your credit score, the better interest rate you will qualify for, but lenders may consider your application with a 620 or lower credit score. (You can read more here about the most important factors in getting approved for a mortgage.)

For a second home, you could be required to put 10 percent to 30 percent down, depending on your credit or debt to income ratio. Lenders like to see cash reserves, as well, to show that you can cover one to 12 months of payments. Additionally, lenders like to see a 640-700 credit score for second homes, and your interest rates might be a quarter of a point to a half a point higher than your primary mortgage, although Green says, “Mortgage rates on second homes may be slightly higher, or may not be higher at all.”

When it comes to credit qualifications for a second home, Crouse says, “Second home credit requirements are typically the same as primary residence for conventional lending.” Additionally, he says there’s no difference in the approval process. Green corroborates this. He says, “Minimum credit score thresholds aren’t usually different for vacation homes as compared to primary residences. However, lenders often ask for additional monies down.”

If you want to find a mortgage for a second home, Crouse says, “Typically lenders who offer primary home loans would also offer second home financing.” Green advises, “The mortgage-comparison process is the same. Do your research, talk to two or more lenders, and choose the lender that works best for you.”

You’ll also want to ask yourself these questions in order to avoid common mistakes:

Can I really afford this place? Wohlner says, “If you don’t have the cash for the down payment on a second home you shouldn’t be buying one.”

What loan terms make the most sense for this property? Just because you have a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage on your primary residence doesn’t mean that’s the right choice for a second home. Crouse says, “A common mistake is not looking at adjustable rate loans as an option,” because second homes are often “a luxury item and therefore something people liquidate when there is a change financial situation.”

Have I explored all my options? Green says, “When you’re shopping for a mortgage on a second home, make sure to actually shop.” He adds, “You’re looking for the best combination of price and service on your loan. It’s good to shop around.”

What are some ways to pay the down payment on a second home?

The best way to pay for a down payment on a second home is to pay for it with cash. Crouse says, in his experience, most people use cash as their down payment on second homes. The reason, he says, is, “Most buyers don’t want to tie up personal residence equity into their second home.”

If you don’t have the cash on hand and you’re committed to buying a second home, you can consider taking out a HELOC on your primary residence and using that money for the downpayment for your second home.

Taking out a HELOC comes with risks, though. You are leveraging your primary residence to purchase a second residence, which could cause you to lose your home if you fail to make your HELOC payments. In fact, Wohlner completely advises his financial planning clients against getting a HELOC to pay for a down payment on a second home. He says you should pay for it in cash.

Getting a mortgage for a second home isn’t the only way to get the vacation property or investment property you want. Here are some other options:

Pay cash

Paying cash for your second home is a great way to ensure you don’t pay interest to a bank. It also means you’ll have no monthly mortgage payments on your second home, and that’s a great feeling. Of course, you’ll no longer have easy access to that money in case of an emergency. You might also prefer to get a mortgage at a low-interest rate and instead invest your cash in the stock market. Again, this is up to you, your risk tolerance and your cash reserves.

Get a joint mortgage with family

Sharing a second home and getting a mortgage with a family member could be a great way to split the costs and responsibilities of having a second home. Of course, involving multiple applicants in the mortgage process may make it a bit more logistically challenging.

You should also know that there are tax implications. When claiming the mortgage interest deduction, you may have to include an attachment in your tax return showing how much of the mortgage interest you paid. If you’re the person who receives the Form 1098 (the mortgage interest statement), you will deduct only the portion you paid and have to let the other borrowers know what their shares are.

Timeshare

Timeshares are an $8.6 billion industry, and the average price of a timeshare interval is $20,040, according to the American Resort Development Association. (A timeshare interval is the set number of days and nights per year an owner uses the property, usually a week, according to the ARDA.)

Now, you can go to large, well-known companies like Disney to find your own timeshare. With a timeshare, you typically get to visit a specific place every year for a set amount of time, like one week. So, you don’t have the flexibility of getting to visit your second home any time you want, but it can be more cost-efficient. Another con is that timeshares come with hefty dues that can increase each year.

Ultimately, buying a second home is an exciting prospect. If you vacation often to the same place, it can be a great way to become an official part of that community. However, buying a second home is a serious financial commitment that requires a large down payment and other maintenance costs. Luckily, if you decide you aren’t ready to buy a second home yet, you can still use vacation rental websites and continue to try new locations until you’re finally ready to take the plunge.