July 2018

The True Cost of Waiting

Too often in my profession as a Reverse Loan Consultant, I see this happen.   The potential borrower wants to wait and “think about it” as to whether or not they wish to apply for the loan.   Depending upon their situation this may prove to be very costly if they are withdrawing funds from their savings to make mortgage payments and especially if they are on a fixed income as most seniors are.

How long will their savings last and will the funds they withdraw have possible tax consequences?

Or it’s the adult children of a senior who now requires professional caregiving services and they are running out of money to pay for their care but they hesitate to use the equity in their parent’s home to cover this expense, because they want to “protect” their inheritance or they are withdrawing their own funds from a savings to pay for the monthly expenditure.

Sometimes the adult children feel that the best solution is to sell their parent’s home and use the funds they receive from it’s sale to pay for caregiving in a senior community or Board and Care home.

See what my clients are saying!

The costs of selling the home can be exorbitant, especially if there is a monthly mortgage payment due each month and if there are any repairs needed prior to Listing it and the long hassle factor of waiting for someone to purchase it and get approved for their own mortgage.

Surveys have found that overwhelmingly seniors want to remain in their homes and do not want to move out.   They want to stay “put”.

Professional caregiving is very expensive and can run from $3500 to $8,000 a month or more.  Waiting can quickly deplete a savings and a retirement fund and any money received from the sale of their home.

Using funds from a reverse loan and the equity in the senior’s home is a safe and realisic option to pay for their care and allow them to enjoy continuing living in their home.

But they hesitate and hesitation can be expensive and would be considered an example of the “cost of waiting”.

Mortgage interest rates have increased recently making borrowing money more expensive and from one day to the next, we never know how much the cost of money will effect mortgage rates in the future.

As of this writing, rates are still excellent even though they have increased a bit this year, but if anyone is thinking about looking into getting a reverse loan and continues to wait because they are afraid, they may find out by the time they decide to do anything, the interest rates will have increased and they will receive less money from the loan.

What is the” cost of waiting?”

Continue Reading

Decision Making and Fears

I think it tends to be human nature in that for some people, they hesitate to make a decision for just about everything that requires one.   Whether it is getting married or maybe divorced, having children, taking a leap at a new career or choosing a paint color for their house.

And it’s prudent not to blindly rush into anything, you should be well informed before making decisions that are especially crucial to your life.

Most of the time these decisions are minor, but what about the ones that are not and could potentially have a huge impact on your life and future?

Sometimes this hesitation comes from looking for the best price for something if you are considering doing a large purchase, but other times it comes from a place of being worried about the possibility of making a “wrong” decision.

See what my clients are saying!

Or not being educated enough about whatever it is you are considering.  So, you put off making any decision about it indefinitely.

A good question to ask yourself is, “what is the worst thing that could happen if I make a decision and it turns out to be awful?”   Asking yourself that question can potentially take away your fear and help you to move forward.

However, hesitating or waiting can continue for a very long time and it can be costly.    And what is the “cost’ of waiting?

If you are hesitating in learning about reverse loans because you have heard “bad things” about them, why are you allowing yourself to be influenced by other’s opinions that generally are incorrect instead of doing some research with a professional?

What is this inertia costing you every month that you wait to find out how much money you could possibly receive from the HECM loan?

It’s fear.

Continue Reading
Reverse Loan Consultant