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Reverse Mortgage GuideReverse Mortgage GuideThe unofficial guide to reverse mortgages. A record number of senior homeowners are today using reverse mortgages as part of their retirement planning. This site is for consumers and industry professionals interested in learning more about reverse m Articles
?Look Back? When Thinking of Gifts
2008-02-11 20:29:00 A confusing issue for seniors regards the matter of gifts — and possible federal penalties. In general terms, under Medicaid states can “look back” as much as five years to see if gifts have been made. If the answer is yes, then Medicaid eligibility can be impacted. Attorney Kim Boyer says “at the time of application, the ... read more More About: Gifts , Back , Thinking , Reverse Mortgage
How To End Monthly Mortgage Payments
2008-02-11 07:00:00 For many Americans, making that mortgage payment each month has become increasingly difficult. Whether due to a payment adjustment on a variable rate mortgage or other factors, mortgage delinquencies are on the rise. It’s no different for our senior homeowners. However, our seniors do have one weapon in their arsenal that’s not available to younger ... read more More About: Mortgage , Reverse Mortgage
Reverse Mortgage Loan Limits To Rise By More Than $365,000
2008-02-08 14:01:00 Seniors with large homes who have been waiting for higher loan limits will be pleased to know that the Congress has effectively doubled the FHA loan limit, meaning that far-larger FHA reverse mortgages (HECMs) are about to become available. The old FHA loan limit was $362,790 in the lower 48 states. The stimulus package passed by ... read more More About: Loan , Mortgage , Limits , Rise , Reverse Mortgage
Crystal Ball Time
2008-02-07 20:29:00 The National Association of Realtors is predicting that “existing-home sales are projected at an annual pace of around 4.9 million in the first half of this year, rising notably to 5.8 million in the second half, and totaling 5.60 million for all of 2009. The aggregate existing-home price should decline 1.2 percent in 2008 ... read more More About: Time , Crystal , Ball , Reverse Mortgage
Kiplinger?s Looks At Reverse Mortgages
2008-02-06 20:04:00 The March issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has an interesting article regarding reverse mortgages entitled “A New Mortgage Mess on the Way?” “As the industry grows,” says the magazine, “some see eerie parallels to the subprime mess roiling the country. Could reverse loans become the mortgage scandal of the next decade?” The concern, says Kiplinger, “include ... read more More About: Mortgages , Reverse Mortgage , Ages
New Effort To Limit Annuities
2008-02-05 20:19:00 So far it’s just an idea on Capitol Hill, but if passed a Senate bill would significantly impact reverse mortgage originations. S. 2490 — the Reverse Mortgage Proceeds Protection Act — was introduced in December by Sen Claire McCaskill(D-MO). The bill would get to an issue we have repeatedly noted — the use of reverse mortgages to ultimately ... read more More About: Annuities
How Will The Stimulus Plan Impact Senior Borrowers?
2008-02-04 20:30:00 AARP, a strong reverse mortgage proponent, is taking part in the stimulus package debate. Bill Novelli, AARP’s CEO, has issued a statement in response to a federal economic stimulus proposal offered by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. Please read it, and then consider the questions which follow: ?Chairman Baucus understands that Americans of all ages are ... read more More About: Senior , Plan , Reverse Mortgage
The Younger Spouse and the Reverse Mortgage
2008-02-03 20:13:00 Here’s a question I get quite often from potential reverse mortgage clients: ?What happens if my spouse has not yet reached the age of 62? You say that all borrowers have to be at least that age to get most reverse mortgages.? Yes, indeed that is correct. All borrowers on the deed at the time the ... read more More About: Mortgage , Reverse Mortgage , Spouse
Will The Stimulus Plan Leave HECM Borrowers Behind?
2008-02-01 18:46:00 Remember FHA modernization? Both the House and the Senate passed modernization bills last year, but there has been no final measure between the two congressional chambers. For reverse mortgage borrowers this is a concern and a loss. Here’s why: Under the Senate bill, S. 2338, the origination fee for HUD-backed reverse mortgages — HECM financing in HUD-speak ... read more More About: Leave , Plan , Reverse Mortgage
HUD Says HECM Production Steady
2008-01-31 21:44:00 HUD is reporting that for the first 15 days of January that it had 5,097 reverse mortgage applications — what it calls “HECM” financing. The number is up by nearly a thousand applications when compared with the last two weeks of December — however the last two weeks of December are a holiday period and ... read more More About: Production , Reverse Mortgage
Homeownership Drops In 2007
2008-01-30 20:25:00 The latest figures from the Census Bureau show that homeownership is down. In fact, the homeownership rate in the last quarter of 2007 was back to where it was in 2002. What does this have to do with reverse mortgages? Many reverse mortgage programs assume that borrowers will be able to increase the number of dollars available ... read more More About: Reverse Mortgage , Homeownership
Can I Get A Reverse Mortgage For My Condo?
2008-01-29 20:10:00 Robert asks if he is a good candidate for a reverse mortgage. “My Florida condo is worth approximately $400,000. It has a $99,000 first mortgage and a $123,000 home equity loan. I would like to pay off both and have about $20,000 to save as a reserve. Can I get a reverse mortgage?” The answer, I ... read more More About: Mortgage , Condo , Reverse Mortgage
Medicaid & Reverse Mortgages
2008-01-28 19:07:00 The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had an excellent story over the weekend regarding reverse mortgages and Medicaid . Quoting Zoran Basich, an elder law attorney and operator of Nursing Home Solutions, the article offered the following comment: “Depending on where you live, Mr. Basich says the proceeds from a reverse loan could prove a barrier to qualifying for Medicaid, which ... read more More About: Mortgages , Reverse Mortgage , Ages
Reverse Mortgages: Are They A Penalty-Free Zone?
2008-01-27 20:46:00 You say your parents are considering a reverse mortgage and they have asked you to research it for them? Don’t worry; I hear that story at least a couple of times a week. Of course they want you to do the up front research and they will trust your recommendation. Your parents have probably not taken out ... read more More About: Free , Mortgages , Zone , Penalty , Reverse Mortgage
Will The Reverse Mortgage Ceiling Increase by More Than $270,000?
2008-01-25 11:17:00 It may happen in the next few weeks that the size of FHA-insured reverse mortgages could increase to more than $635,000. That’s a huge jump from today’s maximum size of $362,790. The Congress is now considering an economic stimulus package to help the country avoid a recession or, at least, a bigger recession. Whether such a ... read more More About: Mortgage , Reverse Mortgage , Mort
Miller?s The First Law of Real Estate Finance
2008-01-24 22:18:00 Bill White writes and discusses the recent Wall Street Journal advice to someone able to pay off a $50,000 mortgage. Bill raises the idea of a reverse mortgage as a solution to the problem. Bill says: “This is a perfect example of how a reverse mortgage can be used as a retirement planning tool. My recommendation would ... read more More About: Finance , Estate , Real Estate , Real , Miller
Are Seniors Paying Too Much For HECM Insurance?
2008-01-23 20:42:00 Insurance is a big cost for reverse mortgage borrowers, but is it too high? In my Realty Times column today I note that of some 3750,000 reverse mortgages insured by HUD only 1609 resulted in claims against the program. These figures were current as of the time in December when I spoke with Meg Burns, the ... read more More About: Insurance , Seniors , Reverse Mortgage
Will The Fed?s Rate Cut Help Seniors?
2008-01-22 22:45:00 Today’s emergency rate reduction by the Federal Reserve is great news if you have a home equity loan tied to the prime rate. That’s a lot of people — but that is not all people and certainly the rate reduction has little to do with mortgage rates in general or reverse mortgage borrowers in particular. How ... read more More About: Seniors , Rate , Reverse Mortgage
Should This Retiree Grab An Annuity?
2008-01-21 18:23:00 Over at the Wall Street Journal, a retired reader asks if he should pay off his mortgage early. The answer omits the use of reverse mortgages. Question: “I retired five years ago at age 55 with a pension and a 401(k) from which I took fixed withdrawals through age 59˝. Then, I rolled over the 401(k) ... read more More About: Annuity , Reverse Mortgage , Grab , Tire
Monday School: How Do I Decide Between A Reverse Mortgage and A Regular (Fo
2008-01-20 20:44:00 As with any financial product, you need to be armed with all the facts before making a decision. Be sure you are getting your information from a reputable source and weigh the pros and cons of each. A frequently asked question from both seniors and their family members is, ?Shouldn’t we just take out a ... read more More About: School , Mortgage , Regular , Monday , Reverse Mortgage
Another Tale of Woe
2008-01-18 19:37:00 We wrote the other day about reverse mortgages and annuities — and how the two should not be sold together. Several of our lender readers wrote in to say that their companies literally ban such related sales. Now we have still-another tale-of-woe relating reverse mortgage pitches to annuity sales, this time from USA Today. “After her husband ... read more More About: Tale , Reverse Mortgage
Does This Loan Make Sense?
2008-01-17 18:13:00 Gary writes and asks about getting a reverse mortgage: “I have a balance of 170K on a house that was appraised almost 2 years ago for 450K. I am 63, 3 lenders have indicated that I would need 9k to close. 170 less the 200k max leaves 30k plus the 9k to close. Soooo, it’s going ... read more More About: Sense , Loan , Make , Reverse Mortgage
It?s Official: 2007 Was A Banner Year
2008-01-16 20:12:00 We have been regularly covering reverse mortgage growth during the past year by following HUD reports. Now the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association offers a year-end round-up which shows that 2007 was a banner year. In looking at these figures it is important to recognize that the market for reverse mortgage is relatively young and ... read more More About: Banner , Official , Year
How To Stop The Rip-Offs
2008-01-15 18:51:00 You hear about reverse mortgage horror stories with some frequency — more frequency than ought to be the case. An elderly person gets a reverse mortgage and then gets scammed into an “annuity” with weak terms and terrible prepayment penalties. There ought to be a solution to these problems, so let me outline an idea. Long ago ... read more More About: Stop , Reverse Mortgage
HECM Originations Drop In Late December, Says HUD
2008-01-15 18:08:00 New figures from HUD show that HECMs — reverse mortgages to everyone else — did enormously well in December . “So far this fiscal year,” says HUD, “FHA has received 297,625 applications under the single family programs. Most of these (93%) involved existing home transactions. In addition, looking at mortgages by type, 113,098 were purchase money applications ... read more More About: Late , Reverse Mortgage , Drop
A Plain & Simple Explanation
2008-01-14 21:09:00 The folks at the Charlotte News & Observer have come up with a really good reverse mortgage summary. A reverse mortgage, says the newspaper, “is the exact opposite of a traditional mortgage. Rather than the borrower making monthly mortgage payments, the lender pays the borrower. Income and credit history are irrelevant. “Instead, the mortgage is based on ... read more More About: Plain , Simple , Reverse Mortgage
Monday School: So Is It Really Is All About My Age?
2008-01-14 08:45:00 (This is the first installment in a series of reverse mortgage educational postings by Sue Haviland, a Maryland-based reverse mortgage specialist. Please check back each Monday for more.) With the rise in popularity of reverse mortgages, specifically HUD’s HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) it may seem surprising that there is still so much confusing information floating ... read more More About: School , Reverse Mortgage
Is A Short-Term Mortgage Ever A Good Idea?
2008-01-10 22:56:00 Depending on who you ask, the current mortgage melt-down is destined to last until 2009, 2010 or 2011. I have no idea which projection is correct — if any — but such economic thinking raises an idea, the reverse mortgage as short-term financing. I’m usually the last person who thinks positively about short-term financing because such ... read more More About: Mortgage , Idea , Short-term , Good , Short
HUD Issues New Tweaks For Senior Loans
2008-01-09 19:28:00 HUD has come out with two interim rules which would impact the HECM program if finalized. In general terms, the first new rule for federally-insured reverse mortgages “extends the date for calculating the maximum claim amount in the HECM program from the date of the underwriter?s receipt of the appraisal report to the date of closing. ... read more More About: Senior , Loans , Issues , Reverse Mortgage , Issue
Could There Be A Mortgage Meltdown For Seniors?
More articles from this author:2008-01-09 01:19:00 There is an interesting discussion regarding reverse mortgages at AllFinancialMatters.com discussing whether or not reverse mortgages will be the next subprime debacle. The central worry is that as more reverse mortgages are issued that they, like other loans, will be packaged and securitized. As JLP writes “I don’t know about you but this concerns me. Isn’t the ... read more More About: Mortgage , Seniors , Reverse Mortgage , Mort 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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