Definition of "Discretionary ARM"

An ARM on which the lender has the right to change the interest rate at any time, for any reason, by any amount, subject only to a requirement that the borrower be notified in advance. The discretionary ARM is at the opposite pole from Indexed ARM's on which rate adjustments are completely rule-based. Discretionary ARM's were long the standard mortgage in the U.K. and in other English-speaking countries that imported it from the U.K., such as India and South Africa. They never caught on in the U.S., where the indexed ARM prevails.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Mortgage Terms

Interest from the day of closing to the first day of the following month. To simplify the task of loan administration, the accounting for all home loans begins as if the loan was closed ...

The assumption of a mortgage, with permission of the lender, from a borrower unable to continue making the payments. ...

A mortgage lender or mortgage broker. ...

The sum of all interest payments to date or over the life of the loan. This is an incomplete measure of the cost of credit to the borrower because it does not include upfront cash ...

The highest rate possible under an ARM contract; same as 'lifetime cap.' It is often expressed as a specified number of percentage points above the initial interest rate. ...

A measure of interest cost on a reverse mortgage. ...

A mortgage on which half the monthly payment is paid twice a month. It should be called a 'semi-monthly mortgage' but market practice often trumps logic. In contrast to a biweekly, a ...

A mortgage lender that sells all the loans it originates in the secondary market. ...

The federal law that specifies the information that must be provided to borrowers on different types of loans. Also, the form used to disclose this information. Truth in Lending (TIL) is ...

Popular Mortgage Questions