When Michael Shuken recently bought his family’s first home, a four-bedroom in Los Angeles’ Mar Vista area, his adjustable-rate mortgage helped them stay on the pricey Westside.
For now, his interest-only loan costs him about 35 percent less per month than a 30-year fixed mortgage, he said. But he’ll have a much bigger monthly bill in 10 years, when the loan terms require him to start paying off principal at potentially high rates.