The reverse mortgage is a fantastic financial tool, but it’s not perfect for everybody. Is it right (or wrong) for you? Author Mike Roberts is the founder of MyHECM.com and a successful veteran of the reverse mortgage industry. Writing in plain language, Roberts cuts through all the nonsense, rumors, and hype you may have heard about reverse mortgages. There are no sales pitches here! Just the inside scoop about how … Read More…
It’s a crazy world out there right now. Entire nations locked down, people confined to their homes, the stock market crashing (then rebounding), businesses shut down, and unemployment rising. If there’s one silver lining in all of the craziness, it’s falling mortgage rates. According to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, average 30-year fixed interest rates fell from 3.72% on January 2, 2020 to 3.23% on April 30, 2020. … Read More…
What do you think it’s like to be in your late eighties, in declining health, without a dime in the bank, and facing foreclosure? I had the chance to find out when I chatted with a woman in this exact situation. Folks, I’ll tell you, it isn’t fun. This woman, who we’ll call Norma, was 88, if I remember correctly. Her husband, who we’ll call Fred, was just a few years … Read More…
FHA has increased the HECM lending limit to $765,600 for HECMs with case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2020. This is the fourth annual increase in a row and reflects the continuing trend of rising home values across the nation. The new lending limit applies to the entire U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Note that our HECM calculators have already been updated to … Read More…
In a recent post, I addressed the common perception that a reverse mortgage is only for broke and desperate people. I’ve talked with many seniors over the years who were embarrassed about looking into a reverse mortgage. Some went to almost comical lengths to explain that they weren’t desperate and broke and didn’t really need it. They were just looking into it because they were “curious”. Amusingly, some even tried … Read More…
If you’re not familiar with the term sequence risk, you definitely should be. It’s a potentially devastating lurking danger that can completely swamp an otherwise solid retirement plan. Brian Davis wrote a great article over at Bigger Pockets on this topic a while back and I’d like to build on what he wrote. If you haven’t read his article yet, you may want to now. I’ll hang tight until you get … Read More…
Is a reverse mortgage only for broke and desperate people? Many people seem to think so, but I respectfully disagree. A reverse mortgage can sometimes help broke and desperate people, but often it can’t. The reason? You have to qualify for a reverse mortgage. Your income and credit must meet certain standards or you won’t be eligible for a reverse mortgage. I would argue that a reverse mortgage is best … Read More…
So you’ve paid off your house and are headed for a mortgage-free retirement. Fantastic! Retiring without a mortgage payment means you can more easily live on a lower retirement income and preserve your retirement savings for longer. Though retiring mortgage-free is a great accomplishment, it comes with a potentially big problem. And I’m not referring to the “problem” of losing your mortgage interest deduction. Let me explain. An Unusable Asset According to US … Read More…
I recently ran across a somewhat annoying article written by Utah real estate agent Jen Kirchhoefer in the Ogden Standard-Examiner. Like many articles written by people with little reverse mortgage experience, it was filled with inaccuracies. The inaccuracies themselves didn’t bother me because I’ve come to expect them from media outlets. Reverse mortgages have been highly misunderstood for a long time. Even well-meaning journalists who do their homework commonly get … Read More…
A man who I’ll call Jack contacted me about using a reverse mortgage to pay for future medical expenses. Jack made it clear from the get-go that he didn’t want a reverse mortgage now. He just wanted to explore some options and call back in five years to set it up then. Jack basically wanted to use the reverse mortgage as an “insurance policy” to protect against the financial risk … Read More…