retirement savings

November 26, 2018 Reverse Mortgages No Comments

HECM or Jumbo Reverse Loans

Due to some recent changes in the last year, the FHA reverse loan has lost some “traction”, due to the return of the historical MIP calculation, a reduction in the amount of funds available to the borrower, and most recently a collateral review of each applicant’s appraisal.

And if there are any concerns that the first appraisal may have been inflated, a second one will be required at a cost to the borrower and no one would like being told that they might have to pay for an additional appraisal.

This latest policy change will cause the loan processing period to possibly extend out an additional two weeks, but this will be another post for a later date.

But like the Calvery coming to the rescue, Jumbo reverse loans might very well be an ideal solution for some senior homeowners as there are more options to consider then there were in the past.

Jumbo reverse loans are less expensive than the FHA option and ideal for those properties that would be considered “high value”, such as 1MM or more and for California, that could apply to many seniors who own a home which might exceed the current HUD Lending Limit of $679,650.00.

Another name for this option is a proprietary reverse loan, meaning it’s not a government program as the FHA loan is, but is offered though investors and they work exactly like the traditional reverse mortgage.

And what are the new proprietary loans like and how similar are they to the FHA reverse loan?

I will share those details in the next post very shortly.

June 21, 2018 Retirement Planning No Comments

There Are a lot of Boomers

10,000 Americans each day are turning 62 and few of them have any funds saved for retirement and those that do, are underfunded in their retirement portfolios and they may not have enough funds to protect them as they grow older and face medical expenses due to aging and other unplanned life events.

I feel that the FHA and proprietary reverse loans will become part of everyone’s retirement plan, because a home is a senior’s greatest assist and why not use the equity in it to pay for unplanned expenses and still be able to remain in their home?

Seniors will start to see that by using a reverse loan to assist in funding their retirement as a viable option to protect them from drawing down on their retirement funds too often and also potentially avoid tax consequences such as paying Capital Gains on any withdrawals.

It’s an obvious and safe solution and should not be overlooked by any senior homeowner and they owe it to themselves to consider the loan as a possible solution allowing them to eliminate their concerns, age in place and not be afraid to consider its use as a possible solution to remaining financially secure.

http://reverseloanmoney.com

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?

February 7, 2018 Selling my home No Comments

Senior Dilemma

American seniors retain over 6 trillion dollars in their homes and more of them are beginning to use their equity to extend their retirement funds (Everyone is worried about out-living their savings) by using a reverse loan to leverage their portfolio’s longevity.

Another reason, might be to eliminate an existing mortgage payment and thus free up some extra money each month to be used for other expenses.

But maybe they decide to sell their home instead and take the remaining equity after Broker fees and expenses related to selling it and possibly rent instead of “own”.

What are the costs to the seller if they opt this route? I’m going to give a very simple example in this post, but obviously it would depend on the sales price, if they are paying off a mortgage and the Broker fee and other miscellaneous expenses related to the transaction.

Sales Price: $450,000 @ 6% Broker Fees ( Might be less) = $27,000; Paying off existing loan $150,000 = $273,000 remaining equity.
Now there are the “other” costs associated with the sale of a home.
Escrow Fees and Title Insurance Policies Approx: $1800
Repair and any “staging” fees; approx: $2,000 assuming any repairs are minor, etc.
Moving expenses. Local rates can be $25.00 per “mover” and the average cost is $1000 to $2000. If the move is out of the state then it’s obviously more expensive and can be between $4000 to $8000. But again, it depends on the amount of items being packed and moved and the size of the home.
Surprise expenses: There is no way of knowing what could happen in the process of selling one’s home. But it could be more money out of your pocket. Such as a Buyer wanting you to pay for some of their loan’s Closing Costs.
Hassle and stress factor? It’s impossible to determine the “costs” of the amount of stress just trying to organize, pack, toss and find a new home to live in.
And where? Going to rent or buy?

So if we deduct the estimated costs associated with our fictitious Seller and deduct it from the equity they have leftover after paying the Broker to List and sell their home, they would have somewhere in the “middle” of $260,000 and $245,000 left over after the entire, frustrating experience ends.

Now what? Rent until the money runs out or possibly consider buying another home, but this time use a Reverse mortgage to purchase it.

In the next post, let’s discuss why using a Reverse loan to purchase a property can be very beneficial method to qualify for a mortgage on a new residence.

March 23, 2017 Underwriting Reverse Loans No Comments

Life Expectancy Set Aside

LESA is a bit easier and less “tongue twisting” to say rather then the entire term in the title of this post.

In my previous post, I explained the changes that have taken place two years ago in Underwriting a Reverse loan and what the Lender is reviewing to determine whether or not the client can be relied upon to continue to pay their property tax payments, Homeowners Insurance and any other housing obligations they are responsible for in relationship to their home.

If they have been late on any of these items the previous 24 months, the Lender may elect to create a LESA for the borrower. They will set aside funds in an impound account from the Reverse loan to cover all of these expenses for the rest of the borrower’s lifetime.

And it can be a big figure depending on the age of the borrower.

And if the borrower is using the loan to payoff an existing mortgage along with the costs associated with doing the new mortgage, there is the possibility that there will not be enough funds to include a LESA and the loan will end up being cancelled.

The reason for the change in Underwriting was due to the fact, that in the past there were some borrowers who lost their homes in foreclosures to their County Tax Assessor due to non-payment of their property taxes and of course the Lender wants to be sure that this isn’t a risk in the future for the new borrower.

Using the current Underwriting standards that is referred to as the Financial Assessment, they will determine if there is any risk or not for the possibility of non-payment in the future due to the borrower’s inability or unwillingness to be financially responsible for these on-going obligations.

Therefor if it appears that the borrower is capable of paying all housing expenses but was unwilling to do so, they might have to have a LESA put into place to make sure that in the future, these obligations will be met and there will be no risk for a foreclosure on the secured property.

The post following this one will discuss a bit more in detail what you need to know.