Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM) Application

Simplify Your Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Applications with Paperform

An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) offers homebuyers the potential for lower initial interest rates compared to fixed-rate mortgages, making homeownership more accessible during the crucial early years. However, the complexity of ARM products—with their hybrid fixed periods, adjustment schedules, index types, and cap structures—can create confusion for both applicants and lending teams.

This Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Application template helps mortgage brokers, banks, credit unions, and lending institutions streamline the ARM application process while ensuring borrowers understand the loan product they're considering. Built with Paperform's intuitive form builder, this template captures all essential applicant information, loan preferences, and financial details in one professional, branded experience.

Why ARM Applications Need a Better Digital Experience

Traditional mortgage applications often rely on lengthy PDF forms that applicants abandon midway, or disjointed systems that require multiple submissions. For adjustable-rate mortgages specifically, borrowers need clear explanations of how rate adjustments work, what indexes are used, and how caps protect them from dramatic payment increases.

This template addresses those challenges by presenting ARM-specific information alongside the application fields, using conditional logic to show relevant options based on the borrower's choices, and creating a smooth, conversational flow that reduces confusion and increases completion rates.

What Makes This ARM Application Template Effective

Comprehensive borrower information collection: The form captures personal details, employment history, income verification, assets, liabilities, and property information in a logical sequence that mirrors the underwriting process.

ARM product education built-in: Rather than assuming applicants understand ARM mechanics, the form includes clear explanations of fixed-period options (3/1, 5/1, 7/1, 10/1 ARMs), common indexes (SOFR, Prime Rate, Treasury), and cap structures (initial, periodic, and lifetime caps).

Flexible loan configuration: Borrowers can select their preferred fixed period, understand when and how their rate will adjust, and see how different cap structures protect them from excessive rate increases.

Professional presentation: The form maintains your institution's brand identity with customizable colors, fonts, logos, and messaging, ensuring a consistent experience from marketing materials through to application.

Mobile-responsive design: Since many applicants research and apply for mortgages outside business hours, the form works seamlessly on smartphones and tablets, allowing people to complete applications at their convenience.

Who Benefits from This Template

Mortgage brokers and loan officers can send a professional, branded application link to prospects, reducing the back-and-forth of missing information and allowing you to focus on qualified leads who've provided complete details.

Banks and credit unions can embed this form directly into their website's mortgage section, creating a streamlined path from product research to application submission without requiring applicants to visit a branch.

Online mortgage lenders can use this as part of their digital-first lending experience, collecting all necessary information upfront and routing applications through automated underwriting systems.

Mortgage marketing teams can customize the form for specific campaigns, adjusting the messaging and fields based on the audience (first-time homebuyers vs. refinancers, for example).

Automate Your Mortgage Workflow with Stepper

Once an ARM application is submitted, the real work begins—and that's where Paperform's integration with Stepper (stepper.io) becomes invaluable for lending teams. Stepper is an AI-native workflow automation platform that can transform your mortgage processing:

Automatic lead routing: Send high-value applications to senior loan officers, route refinance applications differently than purchase loans, or assign applications based on loan amount or property location.

CRM and LOS integration: Push applicant data directly into your loan origination system (LOS) or CRM like Salesforce, HubSpot, or industry-specific platforms like Encompass or Calyx, eliminating manual data entry.

Document collection workflows: Automatically send follow-up emails requesting income verification, bank statements, or tax returns based on the information provided in the application.

Credit check triggers: Initiate soft or hard credit pulls through your credit bureau integration as soon as an application is submitted and initial qualification criteria are met.

Team notifications: Alert underwriters, processors, and compliance teams via Slack, email, or SMS when new applications require their attention.

Multi-step approval processes: Route applications through your institution's specific approval chain, from initial review to final underwriting, with status updates sent to applicants automatically.

This level of automation means your lending team can process more applications without adding staff, while applicants enjoy faster responses and clearer communication throughout their mortgage journey.

Secure, Compliant Mortgage Data Collection

Mortgage applications contain highly sensitive personal and financial information, making security and compliance non-negotiable. Paperform is SOC 2 Type II compliant and provides enterprise-grade security features including SSL encryption, secure data storage, and role-based access controls.

While Paperform is not HIPAA compliant, it meets the rigorous security standards required for financial services, protecting applicant data throughout the submission and processing lifecycle. You can also configure data residency options to ensure information is stored in compliance with regional regulations.

For institutions subject to specific regulatory requirements, Paperform's audit trails and submission logging provide the documentation needed to demonstrate compliance with fair lending practices and data protection regulations.

Customization for Your Lending Programs

Every lending institution has unique ARM products, qualification criteria, and application requirements. This template serves as a comprehensive starting point that you can customize to match your specific needs:

• Add or remove ARM product options based on what you offer (1/1 ARMs, interest-only ARMs, etc.)
• Adjust qualification questions to pre-screen applicants based on your underwriting guidelines
• Include state-specific disclosures or questions required by your compliance team
• Modify the language and explanations to match your institution's communication style
• Add co-borrower sections for joint applications
• Include fields for specific loan programs (VA, FHA, USDA) if you offer government-backed ARMs

Paperform's document-style editor makes these customizations straightforward, even for team members without technical backgrounds.

Calculate Complex Mortgage Scenarios

One of Paperform's most powerful features for mortgage applications is its calculation engine. You can add fields that automatically calculate:

• Debt-to-income (DTI) ratios based on stated income and monthly obligations
• Estimated loan amounts based on property value and down payment percentage
• Maximum rate increases based on the selected cap structure
• Worst-case monthly payment scenarios at lifetime cap rates

These calculations help set appropriate expectations and can also serve as preliminary qualification indicators, allowing your team to prioritize applications most likely to proceed to closing.

Brand Experience That Converts

In a competitive mortgage market, the application experience itself is a differentiator. A clunky, confusing application process sends prospects to competitors, while a smooth, professional experience builds confidence in your institution.

This template uses Paperform's design flexibility to create an application that can match your brand completely—from background images and color schemes to button styles and typography. You can make it feel like a natural extension of your website, or create a distinctive standalone experience that stands out in email campaigns and social media advertising.

Get Started in Minutes

Rather than spending weeks working with developers to build a custom mortgage application system, you can launch this ARM application template in minutes. Simply customize the fields, adjust the branding, add your logo, and share the link or embed it on your website.

As your lending programs evolve, you can update the form just as easily, ensuring your application process always reflects your current product offerings and underwriting requirements.

Trusted by over 500,000 teams worldwide and fully SOC 2 Type II compliant, Paperform provides the professional forms and automation capabilities that modern lending institutions need. Whether you're a boutique mortgage broker or a regional bank with multiple branches, this Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Application template helps you collect complete, accurate borrower information while providing the educational context that today's informed borrowers expect.