Variable Rate Mortgage

See: Adjustable-Rate Mortgage.

An ARM's interest rate varies. There exist other forms of mortgage where the rate varies. Lots of different flavors where the rate is pegged to different drivers, or where the bank, for example, wants to encourage the lender to pay off the loan sooner than later. So one variance might come with the loan being 5% for the first 3 years, then going up 1 percent every 3 years until it's paid off.

The opposite? A fixed-rate loan. One interest rate "forever," i.e., until the loan is fully paid off.