My New Blog

I have done my homework on this subject. 

The "Home Equity Conversion Mortgage" also known as the HECM is the government insured reverse mortgage I am speaking about.  I want to go one step further and tell you to stay away from any other reverse mortgage product.  If you quit reading this moment, please take with you that this is the only type of reverse mortgage you want to look into.  It is rare that proprietary products (other types of reverse mortgages) will be in your best interest.

I believe any senior who is making a mortgage payment and is not employed needs a reverse mortgage.  Yes this is a bold statement, but lets be honest with ourselves, the cost of living keeps going up.  I just paid $5.29 for a gallon of milk! I know Social Security is enough to keep the utilities on, but how do we eat, or even have a little fun while we are shelling out a couple hundred dollars or more a month for a mortgage payment?  Haven't we earned the right to have a little fun and not have to pinch pennies?  I say yes we have.

Lets face it, leaving the house to the kids is not what they want.  I have spoken to the children and they always say, I have my own home, I don't want mom and dads.  Yes, they want the equity in the home and the beauty of the reverse mortgage is that it leaves equity in the home.  It is a win win for most everyone!  When the day comes that we are not around, the kids sell the house pay off the reverse mortgage and split the remaining equity between them. 

Is a reverse mortgage right for everyone, no probably not, nothing works for all the people.  But don't do an injustice to yourself and not look at what the reverse mortgage could possibly do for you.

Are they expensive?  I say no, the government controls the fees that can be charged, it has almost the same fees you paid to obtain the mortgage you currently have.  This has an extra fee that guaranties you that you will never owe more than your home is worth.  What a great little insurance policy, one can use the equity in their home, never paying it back as long as you live in your home, and your heirs will never owe a dime more than the house is worth.  With today's declining markets, this is a very good policy.

Rates are low, each county has a lending limit for an FHA reverse mortgage, and the national average is $225,000 so it really does not matter if your home is worth over this amount.  Remember we want you to be able to "Leave A Legacy."