Reverse Mortgages

Living on a fixed income can be tough going for many seniors and that is even if they own their own home.  If you live on a fixed income then what can you do if an unexpected cash crisis arises for a medical expense, a new roof or other home repairs maybe a need to help out a child or a grandchild financially, rising home care costs, long-term care costs, or any other expense item that you don’t have the cash to pay? Perhaps you may have the cash tied up in an investment but to ‘cash out’ of that investment may have undesirable financial consequences for you? Or, how about just plain old desires? Perhaps you are now just living pension check to pension check without enough money to go anywhere or to do anything. Would you like to change that? Well, happily, there is a solution for many seniors. And that solution is a reverse mortgage. So what is a reverse mortgage?

A reverse mortgage is a special type of home loan that lets a homeowner convert the equity in his or her home into cash. The equity built up over years of home mortgage payments can be paid to the homeowner in a lump sum. But unlike a traditional home equity loan or second mortgage no repayment is required for the reverse mortgage until the borrowers no longer use the home as their principal residence. You do not make payments because the loan is not due as long as the house is your principal residence. Like all homeowners, you still are required to pay your real estate taxes and other conventional payments like utilities, but with a reverse mortgage, you cannot be foreclosed or forced to vacate your house because you missed your mortgage payment… because there is not one to make!