For example, if a 30-year fixed-rate loan of $100,000 at 8.5% is interest only, the payment is .085/12 times $100,000, or $708.34. This is an example of interest only payment.

Each loan payment consists of Interest and Principal. Here you will be paying an interest each month and your principal will be adding to your balance, thus increasing it. You may also pay both principal and interest.

Interest only Loans have these options:

1) Index: CMT - MTA - COFI - CODI - COSI - LIBOR - Prime Rate .

2) Margin: Is given to you by your lender, and it is the difference between the index rate and the interest charged to the borrower

For example 5/1 ARM. This loan is fixed for 5 years after which in 6th year it becomes an adjustable loan. Your loan officer will tell you what your index is and what your margin is. Usually 5/1 arm is tied to 1-year treasury index and margin is around 2.00%-3.00%

Your index + margin = Fully Index rate . Your new note rate (interest rate) after 5th year.

What about the 6th year? What would your payment be?

Let's say that your loan officer told you that your margin is 2.5% with 1 year treasury index. You will have to look up 1 year treasury index for a specific month.

1 year treasury as of Oct.2005 is 4.18, and you know that your margin is 2.5%. Therefore you new interest rate is 1 year treasury 4.18% (index) + 2.5% (margin) = 6.68% for the beginning of 6th year.

Index rate are move on monthly basis, therefore your payment may fluctuate each month. In most cases banks wills end you a statement advising you that your rate will change.

3) To protect consumers from high index rates, lenders implemented a CAPS.

An example of this is a 2/6 cap, which allows the interest rate on your ARM loan to go up or down by no more than two percent every adjustment period, and has a total limit of six percent for cumulative changes. Therefore a 2/6 cap on a 5% ARM will allow a maximum rate (6 + 5%) of no more than 11%.

In some cases you will see 2/2/6, which means 2% adjustment with 2 year prepayment penalty and total of six percent of cumulative changes.