Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow: The Option ARM Dies

Well, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but it seems to me that the Option ARM, if not technically dead, certainly joined the endangered species list today with Countrywide's sweeping changes to program qualification. Big hat tip to Bill and Paul who alerted me to the changes. The news of the day is Countrywide's announced changes to loan qualification which include the Option ARM: Dear Valued Business Partner: As you may be aware, federal regulatory agencies have issued joint guidance which impacts the qualifying methodology for non-traditional mortgage products. This guidance was designed to better address risks associated with non-traditional mortgage products that offer interest-only and/or negative amortization payment features and to better support the needs of those borrowers wh