Homeowners in Harm's Way
There has been plenty of wailing in recent months over the soaring property tax bills that homeowners have been receiving, thanks to their similarly soaring home values. Families complain of being "taxed out" of their homes through no fault of their own.</br></br>But less attention is being paid to a group of homeowners who could be in even greater peril: those who stretched themselves thin to buy an expensive house that they could afford only by borrowing on a low-interest, adjustable-rate mortgage.</br></br>Interest rates now appear to be starting back up, and many of these borrowers will soon face higher mortgage payments, often accompanied by those higher taxes.</br></br>It's hard to tell exactly how many such homeowners there are, but if the popularity of adjustable-rate mortgages is any indication, there are a lot.</br></br>According to an analysis by Barry Glassman of Cassaday & Co., a McLean-based financial advisory firm, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) last year took a startlingly large share of the mortgage market, accounting for roughly a third of new originations for much of the year and topping out at 36 percent in October.