Are more propeller blades better? Jeremy Kinney, a curator at the National Air and Space Museum, shares his thoughts. A sailor hoses down the propeller on a P-3 Orion during an aircraft wash on the flight line at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.
There's the silly, the foolish and the completely harebrained. And then there's the adjustable rate mortgage -- ARM for short. Like unprotected sex or one more drink, it always seems like a good idea at the time. In an environment of only low and lower rates, an ARM has looked like a good idea for many years now.
In today's market, the mortgage rate of a 5-year ARM is a 94 basis points (0.94%) lower than a comparable 30-year fixed. Rates for the 5-year ARM average 2.99% and rates for the 30-year loan average 3.93%. Because its rates are lower, 5-year ARMs save $52 per $100,000 borrowed at today's mortgage rates. Getting access to cheaper payments, though, should not be the reason you choose an adjustable-rate mortgage over a fixed-rate one.