[Rick Lee]

I've had several ARM's and they have often adjusted down. It all depends on how long you plan to stay in the house and if you want to make extra principal payments.

I had a 5/1 interest-only LIBOR ARM on my house in VA. I did that because I couldn't imagine keeping it more than three years and didn't make as much money then. That was seven yrs. ago and I still own it. But the ARM went to 30 yr. amortization after the 5th year and adjusted down. It started out at 4.675%, bottomed out at 3.0% and just went up to 3.125%, which is a $17 per month increase over 3.0%. Not gonna kill me. At this point, as long as I can raise my rent every other year or so, I'll not be out any extra money if the ARM moves up a little. It's way too low to even consider refi'ing into a 30 yr. fixed, especially since it's now an investment property.