retirement funds

April 3, 2020 Reverse Mortgages No Comments

Covid-19 and Seniors at Risk

It has been a while since I have written anything in my blog, because like everyone else, my life was turned upside down with the pandemic and it’s destructive swath across the world, taking lives, ruining economies, creating fear, anxiety, and uncertainty.

Anyone who had a 401-K, some sort of a retirement plan or at the least, a savings account have seen them dashed, drained away and depleted within days and the Stock Market will continue to reel in uncertainty for most likely, a very long time.

Eventually, we will get through this terrible time, but if you are a senior, you may not have the ability to wait it out until the markets recover and are very worried about running out of money. I am here to say, that this is the one time a senior has an advantage over younger people because they have an option that younger people don’t have.

If a senior age 62 or older, lives in their home (even if they have a mortgage on it), they could apply for a reverse loan. However, too many are afraid of them because they think the Lender will end up owning their home (false), they have to still make payments (false), there is “fine print” to trick them (false) and they are “too good to be true”. (False again.)

The FHA HECM is the most regulated mortgage in the lending industry, to protect seniors from financial abuse.
Anyone who wants to apply for a reverse loan must complete telephone counseling with a HUD-approved Counseling Agency.
There are no mortgage payments, however, the borrower must continue to pay property taxes, Homeowner insurance and keep their home in good repair.
There are no restrictions on how the borrower uses their funds, except they are discouraged from buying annuities or other investment products.
They can remain in their home for their entire lives and leave it to their estate.

The reverse loan industry is seeing an increase in loan applications at this time because obviously money from a reverse loan will give them the safety and security they need and take away the fear and anxiety about running out of money.

The loan is safe, well-regulated and an ideal solution for all senior home-owners to consider right now. From the time the HUD Counseling is completed, the loan processing time takes about 45 days, however, it might begin to take longer with the increase in applications.

Although I am located in California, anyone who reads this may contact me if you have questions. I can point you in the right direction for a reverse loan consultant in your state.

Don’t hesitate. If you have a home or Condo and you are old enough, you have this opportunity for financial security. Look into a reverse mortgage. Now.

December 1, 2018 Jumbo Reverse Loans No Comments

Money From Jumbo Reverse Loans

California obviously has the most expensive properties in the country and a very high rate of citizens who are seniors but are carrying mortgages on their homes which are preventing them from retiring due to mortgage debt.

Many working seniors would like to retire but they can’t because of the ongoing mortgage payments and sometimes they find themselves withdrawing funds from their retirement investments to make the payment each month.

And depending on how many years are left on the mortgage, many are concerned about running out of money to make the payments and the other monthly obligations.

The average home value in California generally exceeds the HUD Lending Limit that is currently at $679,650 and if a homeowner has a home with a great deal more equity than the FHA HECM would allow them to withdraw, then a Jumbo reverse loan would be an additional option for consideration.

See what my clients are saying!

There are many new Jumbo loan programs to choose from that are superior to the FHA HECM in many aspects and are considerably less expensive in regards to fees. Here are some highlights and are subject to change in the future.

Maximum loan amounts to 4 MM
Fixed rates or a LOC
2^nd T.D’s for those who would like access to their equity but currently have a 1^st T.D. in place with a favorable interest rate they wish to keep, preserving more of their equity. This option can also be used as a 1^st T.D.
Origination fees vary by the loan choice but are “none” to either 6K or 8K maximum.
No Mortgage Insurance Premiums.
Non-Recourse Loan. The borrower continues to own their home. No equity sharing or pre-payment penalties. The property will go to the heirs of the borrowers when they (the borrowers) have passed away.
Can be used to purchase a home. “Right-Sizing/Down Sizing”.
No payments are required other than the borrower must continue to pay property taxes, Homeowners Insurance, and HOA fees and keep the property well maintained.
No loan terms.
Borrowers must be at least age 60 or 62. It depends upon the loan choice to determine the minimum age.

August 10, 2018 Jumbo Reverse Loans, Reverse Mortgages No Comments

Reverse Loan Choices

Most of the reverse loans that are originated are the FHA HECM program and over the years has been the “workhorse” for allowing seniors to utilize their home’s equity without having to qualify for a mortgage payment.

And as of this post, that continues to be the most commonly used reverse mortgage, however, in the last few years, another option has become available to seniors, especially those who have expensive properties at one million dollars or more.

The FHA HECM loan has a cap on the value of the subject property ( As of 2018) of $679,650 and the new loan will use that as the maximum appraised value, a percentage of “that” and the youngest borrower’s age to determine the amount of money the senior will receive at the close of escrow.

But what if you want more money than it will provide or you have a large mortgage you want to be paid off, but the funds in the HECM are insufficient to achieve this goal?

A Jumbo proprietary reverse mortgage might be the solution because the loan will consider properties valued as much as 6MM and as low as $700,000 and the interest rates are “fixed”. An additional benefit would be if someone lives in a Condo that is not on the approved FHA Condo list (That means they cannot do a HECM), a proprietary Jumbo reverse loan is the answer to this common problem.

An additional benefit to using this loan is that the Closing Costs are less than the FHA HECM because the borrower is not being charged the MIP insurance premium that all FHA loans require. And some are not charging an Origination fee, making the loan much more inexpensive to the borrower in comparison to the HECM.

As more lenders are offering Jumbo reverse loans and the industry evolves to meet the demand for them, I am sure that there will be new programs and opportunities for seniors to access the equity in their homes into the future making their retirement years more affordable and comfortable.

June 19, 2018 Financial Planning and Retirement No Comments

Retiring With More Money

As the need for utilizing one’s equity to leverage a retirement fund increases, more seniors will consider using a reverse loan to protect themselves from outliving their savings and running out of money.

Boomers are living longer than previous generations and the number 1 fear for any senior, is that they will not have enough funds saved for the remainder of their lives and what will happen to them if they use up all of their retirement funds and investments?

But the use of a reverse loan can possibly remove that fear and the negative image and myths that have plagued the FHA HECM for many years, are finally changing and are now seen in a positive light.

http://reverseloanmoney.com

More Financial Advisors and CPA’s are recommending to their senior clients that they consider using it to protect their retirement funds from unnecessary draw-downs, taxable consequences and preserve their portfolio.

And now the mortgage is being seen as a creative and beneficial option to allow seniors to continue to live independently in their homes and be free of the stress and worry of running out of money in the future.

With the current concerns about Medicare and Social Security becoming insolvent in the near future and that Medicaid/MediCal will not be able to meet the needs of an aging population, is very scary and depressing and how will seniors be able to live comfortably and have enough money to maintain their lives?

March 5, 2018 Annuities No Comments

Reverse Mortgages and Annuities

An annuity should never be purchased using money from a reverse loan, but in the past there were times when a reverse loan borrower would unwisely do just that and sometimes these vulnerable seniors were (for lack of a less sensitive term) “robbed”.

But what has happened since then to protect seniors from this kind of scam?

In 1987 Congress passed the FHA Insurance and Uniform Lending practices and the FHA insurance bill that would insure Reverse mortgages.

The first reverse mortgage to be insured by FHA was in 1989 and they continue to oversee this program very closely as an added protection to seniors and since that time additional oversight has come from Housing & Economic Recovery Act, HUD, Ginnie Mae, the National Reverse Lenders Association and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Prior to this time, reverse loans were created and offered by other entities such as insurance companies in exchange for a portion of the equity of the borrower’s home when they passed away and at very high interest rates.

And quite often an annuity was tied to this transaction by obligating the borrower to use the funds from the reverse loan to purchase this insurance product.

Is this an acceptable suggestion for a senior to utilize in their “later” years?