Adjustable Rate Mortgages: What Is a "Coffee" Loan?
January 10, 2000
"My loan officer recommended a coffee loan… What is a "coffee" loan?"
I smiled the first time this question popped up in my Email. The one
cited above is now my seventh, however, and I'm no longer smiling. The
question is a sad commentary on the inability of all too many loan
officers to communicate effectively with loan applicants.
There is no such thing as a "coffee loan". The loan officer is referring
to a "COFI ARM", meaning an adjustable rate mortgage with an interest
rate tied to a cost of funds index. The acronym "COFI" sounds like
"coffee", but any loan officer who allows a customer to walk away
believing that they are the same ought to be fired on the spot.