Do people ever get their adjustable mortgages switched to a fixed rate mortgage that is permanant?

for example back in 2001 -2003, when they had a deal to get the low rates.





or is it not possible to get it switched to a permanant fixed rate ?





why and how so?





Thanks for your answers!Do people ever get their adjustable mortgages switched to a fixed rate mortgage that is permanant?
A fixed rate mortgage should always be permanent. That is why it is called fixed.Do people ever get their adjustable mortgages switched to a fixed rate mortgage that is permanant?
In order to ';switch'; from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate (or another adjustable or any other type of mortgage) a person needs to refinance. In essence the person gets a new loan for their property and uses that money to pay off the old loan. Then they have only the new, hopefully fixed rate, loan.


The problem that many people are having is that either they bought a house that they could not afford, their credit wasn't good enough to get a fixed rate loan, or they did not have enough money for a big enough down payment and so did not qualify for a fixed rate loan, they did not have a provable income sufficient to purchase the house that they wanted with a fixed rate loan, or did not have enough income to be able to afford the adjustable rate loan when it adjusted upwards increasing their payment.


Many people assumed that the price of homes would always go up and that, if they waited a year or so, they could resell the home at a profit before the adjustable rate on their mortgage adjusted upward. But, as we all know, the housing market has gone down and with it the value of the homes. Many people currently owe much more on their home then they could sell it for on the open market. Mortgage lenders no longer wish to make loans (fixed or otherwise) that are for more money than the property is currently worth. So people have three choices:


1. Pay the new mortgage payment that has gone up so that they can keep their home. It may be necessary to take a temporary part time job or two just to make the mortgage payment.


2. Ask the lender for a ';short sale';. The lender MAY allow you to pay however much money you can sell the house for and write off the balance that you owe. But it shows up on your credit record and you have lost any money that you put into the house.


3. Foreclosure. The mortgage company takes back the house and sells it for whatever they can get. The mortgage company can then sue you for the difference between what they sold the house for and what you owe them. This also stays on your credit record and you have lost any money that you have put into the house.


During the early 2000's some people believed that Real Estate would always increase in value. They either didn't know about or didn't remember the Real Estate decline in the early 1990s. Banks and mortgage brokers didn't help the situaution because they permitted bigger loans to people than they could realistically afford. Consumers didn't help themselves either because they would borrow money with ';no money down'; or ';no principal payments'; or they would get NINJA loans (no income, no job) or liar loans (they did not have to prove their incomes and/or lied about their actual income to get a more expensive house figuring that the value would rise and they could sell if the payments got too tough.


There is more than enough blame to go around for the housing market mess. But the consumer (home buyer) is ultimately responsible for their own loan because they signed the agreement and pledged that they would pay the money back.
If you d have done your homework, you wouldnt have got talked into one........best hope is to refinance w/ a lower fixed rate.......there time for making money off of selling your adj. rate, is over......anybody that offers an ajd. rate, is a crook............