(Bloomberg file photo)

Adjustable-rate mortgages got a bad rap after the housing bust. Many homebuyers used the low initial interest rates on adjustable loans to keep payments low, but weren't able to pay their mortgage when the loans reset to a higher rate a few years later.

In the years since, banks have tightened their lending standards to ensure that borrowers who get adjustable-rate loans, or ARMs, can afford a rate reset.

But is an adjustable-rate mortgage right for you?



Lending requirements. Bank lending standards were tightened after the housing crash.

Expect that anything above 43 percent in the borrowers' debt-to-income ratio will rule out most borrowers.