When purchasing a home, you may choose to take out an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). In some cases, this move makes sense (as long as interest rates are low, the monthly payment will stay low as well). But consider the worst-case scenario: you lose your job, and interest rates rise as the recession starts to abate. During the 2008 recession, the housing market crashed. In the years prior to what’s been called the Great Recession, subprime mortgages made buying a home accessible to almost anyone, including those who couldn’t afford to. As a result, there was a boom in homeownership and mortgages with little or no money down.