Fixed vs. Adjustable-Rate Guide About How adjustable-rate mortgages really move
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Fixed vs. Adjustable-Rate Guide is an independent education site about adjustable-rate mortgages. It does not lend, quote rates or collect information.
Last reviewed October 30, 2026 against the primary sources listed below.
Standards Primary sources. No rate figures supplied. Tool fields start empty. Related reading Simulator Enter your loan amount, initial rate, fixed period, margin, caps and an index scenario to see the rate and payment at the first resets and the worst case. ARM anatomy: initial period, adjustments and names like 5/6 How adjustable-rate mortgage names describe the initial fixed period and adjustment frequency, and what happens at each reset. ARM indexes explained: what SOFR is and why LIBOR ended What an ARM index is, what SOFR stands for, why LIBOR was replaced, and where the New York Fed publishes SOFR data. ARM margins and caps explained, including 2/1/5 How the ARM margin works, what initial, periodic and lifetime caps mean, and how to read a cap structure such as 2/1/5.