Just in case you though most ARM holders WEREN'T ignorant...

[c1ue]

A recent survey of 500 ARM holders by the AFL-CIO:

http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/pr...r10152007b.cfm

Some juicy tidbits:

Asked if they feel confident or worried about making their monthly mortgage payments over the next few years, 41 percent of homeowners whose ARMs had reset said they were worried, compared with 18 percent of those whose ARMs had not reset. Among borrowers with incomes under $50,000, 59 percent were worried, including 38 percent who were very worried.

The poll shows that of those homeowners whose ARMs had reset, 37 percent had interest rates at 8 percent or higher, above the current market rate for prime, fixed-rate loans, and 16 percent had interest rates at 10 percent or higher. After the reset, the average increase in monthly mortgage payments is approximately $291, a 10 percent cut in after-tax pay for a family earning $50,000 a year.

Two in three (64 percent) of those whose rate has reset do not recall their lender telling them how much more their payment would increase, and 32 percent don’t recall being told when their interest rate would increase. Twenty-three percent of all respondents said they had been late making a mortgage payment at least once in the past 12 months. And that proportion jumps to 37 percent among those whose rate has increased.

And last but not least - in case you thought it was just the slimy mortgage companies...

Despite a general lack of understanding about their adjustable rate mortgages, 79 percent said they believe the information they received from their lenders was mainly accurate and truthful. Sixty percent said they got their ARMs from mortgage brokers, and 39 percent said they got their mortgages directly from banks.