Reverse Mortgage 2018 | Click Quote Save

What is a reverse mortgage?

The Reverse Mortgage, has always been viewed as a mortgage of last resort because the more you borrow, the less your children and grand children will inherit. Reverse mortgage closing costs are higher as well due to the up front FHA mortgage insurance expense at closing which will be 2.5% of the appraised value of your home on top of the normal closing Costs.

The Reverse Mortgage is simply an FHA interest only loan that allows you to skip the monthly interest payments for the rest of your life if you wish. This is a great option for Elderly home owners on a fixed income that are struggling to make ends meet . This is also a great option to help you avoid the mental anguish of selling your sentimental belongings in order to downsize into a small apartment or worse yet an assisted care facility.

A Reverse Mortgage loan will no exceed 50-60% of the appraised value of your home. In order to qualify for a Reverse Mortgage, first and foremost, you have to live in an FHA approved property. Some condominiums are not FHA approved and will not qualify. Co-ops are also not an approved property type. For homes in urban areas, there have to be an acceptable amount of comparable sales or you will not qualify. Then there is an age restriction and you will have to have substantial equity in your property, adequate verifiable income and bankable credit.

For some who still owe a mortgage on their home, the Reverse Mortgage program offers them an option to stop making principle and interest payments, which is a great help for home owners that are struggling with their monthly budget. Other qualified home owners may have their homes paid off and they have more options.

Qualified Reverse Mortgage Borrowers who have their homes paid off can borrow 50- 60% of the value of their homes and have several different programs to choose from.

A Reverse mortgage is not a Government loan. A Reverse Mortgage is a loan program established by FHA which requires Mortgage insurance

Getting a Reverse Mortgage is an important financial decision and it is in your best interest to do your homework and research.

A qualified home owner that is thinking about getting a Reverse Mortgage needs to compare programs, closing costs and title fees and most important, the lending contracts.

It is crucial to compare Reverse Mortgage lending contracts to see the difference in the obligation you will be required to meet after you close on your Reverse Mortgage.

Reverse Mortgage Lenders Direct helps protect you against predatory lending practices and excessive lending fee’s by helping you shop and compare interest rates and lending fees with the biggest and most reputable Reverse Mortgage lenders in the industry. Our service is free, we are here to protect and help you and your family.

To get the best Reverse Mortgage deal or more information and a free no obligation or sales pressure quote, simply fill out the contact information below along with the best time of day to be reached for competent help and answers to your questions

What a reverse mortgage is NOT?

It is very important for seniors to realize that the HECM reverse mortgage is not the perfect solution for all, and that there times when it should be avoided. Here are some instances or scenarios for which the reverse mortgage should not be taken out.

Shorter time period than 5 years. If you are thinking about taking out a HECM for short term needs there may be cheaper options such as a home equity line of credit. Those who want to avoid payments for the 5 years should do research on home price appreciation to make sure that the area has a decent appreciation to offset any lending costs.
Spouse is not listed on the title. Avoid doing a reverse mortgage when the spouse is under 62 years of age and or not on the title. The loan becomes due and payable when the borrower passes away.
Taking out the funds to invest into a stocks or any investment with risks. If you are comfortable in your retirement and have been approved to take out your home’s equity for any investment be very careful to not fall into any scams. Investments can go up but they can also loose all of your initial investment.
Homes with low value. Please note that the closing costs will be a very high % of your homes current value. Higher value homes the closing costs will be a much smaller percentage of the value and, therefore, not that significant.
Invest in annuities. Again avoid taking out the equity to invest but specifically into annuities as the HECM loan has a term/tenure payment that is extremely similar to an annuity program but no money has to come out of your pocket.
Don’t need the funds or have other cash available at a lower interest rates. Reverse loans are NOT free money. If you need some short term cash look at tapping into IRA’s, CD’s, savings before considering a reverse loan option. Take your time in making a decision and figure out how much money you need and how much it will cost you to access that cash.
As mentioned above not a government loan but the FHA does provide insurance to protect both lenders and consumers making this a very safe mortgage option.

Do I even qualify for an HECM mortgage?

At least one borrower must be 62 years of age or older.
You must own and live in the property as the primary residence (it’s ok to have a mortgage balance).
Have sufficient equity available (current value of your home subtract any debt/mortgages this is your equity).
Never have defaulted on government backed loans/debt.
Can afford to pay for home’s taxes/insurance and maintenance.Great. I Qualify but is this the right option for me?
Reverse mortgages are not a fit all solution, they are great for seniors who need to:
- pay off an existing mortgage loan
- to supplement your retirement income
- to pay for medical costs
- for home repairs or improvements
The proceeds from a reverse mortgage can be used as you wish there is no restriction after you receive the funds.

If you are not sure if you will qualify or would like to ask additional questions first, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our knowledgeable agents (the call is toll free 855-999-2293).

or click on the button above to fill out our contact form

Comparison of Benefits vs. the negatives?

Advantages	Disadvantages
Tax free income (never taxed)
Funds may be used for any purpose – no restrictions	May impact Medicaid benefits (not Medicare)
Own and remain in your home (no need to sell in retirement to get money out of the home)	Reduces equity to pass on to heirs
No monthly payments to the lender	Pay homes taxes/insurance
Can never owe more than the value of your home at repayment (non-recourse loan)
Does not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits
Pays off an existing mortgage, leaving no monthly mortgage payments
No longer expensive some lenders are waiving origination fees also HECM saver reduces costs
Receive funds as a lump sum, monthly income payments for life, and/or line of credit
You can retire in the property for life (even if home values drop significantly)
No risk of foreclosure
Your equity now your equity in the future (you keep ownership and decide what to do with your equity)

With a home equity conversion mortgage loan you have flexibility as to how you receive the proceeds. There are 3 different options:

Lump sum. This option you will receive a lump sum of money upfrony. This amount can be up to 50-70% of the home’s appraised value. The interest rates are fixed on the HECM lump sum option.
Lifetime monthly income. This option will allow you to receive a lifetime source of equal monthly proceeds/income. The rates are adjustable and depend on your age and the available equity in your property.
Credit line. With this option, the bank/lender qualifies you for a certain amount of money. You have access to this money when you wish and will only pay interest on the portion that you have borrowed. The interest rates are adjustable.

The Answer is YES!

Can I access my equity without making a mortgage payment or selling my home?
I will be able to receive my funds in either a – lump sum, credit line, monthly income?
I wont have any restrictions or taxes on the money I borrow?
Are HECM interest rates still at all time lows? Can I retire and eliminate my current mortgage payment?
Can I use the reverse mortgage loan to pay off other debts?
Can I use the HECM loan to avoid Bankruptcy?
Will I keep ownership of the home (not the bank)?
Will I be able to leave my home to my heirs?
Is it right that my heirs/estate are not held responsible for my mortgage debts?
Is it true that I won’t run the risk of foreclosure as long as I pay for property taxes/insurance?
Will I be able to decide whether I want an adjustable or fixed interest rate?
Are there lenders who will not charge me an origination fee or a reduced fee?
Can I avoid high upfront mortgage insurance premium with the HECM Saver?
Can I sell my home or refinance at any time?
Is it true that there are no early pre-payment fees?
I will not loose access to other government benefit such as medicare eligibility – Social Security?
Can I still qualify for the HECM loan without income or good credit scores?
Can I take out more equity in the future if I have equity at that time?
That some double wide mobile homes can qualify?
I can change my mind even after signing the closing documents before 3 days are up?

Most likely your home represents the biggest component of your wealth unfortunately that wealth/equity is hard to access without adding more debt or monthly payments. Enter the world of the reverse mortgage, a program specifically designed for seniors over the age of 62 who own a substantial part of their home outright and wish to release a part of this equity without further increasing their cash out flow, but instead create an income stream or have access to the funds. There are more than 850,000 seniors who have taken out a reverse mortgage for many reasons including:

-Paying down their existing mortgage loan to reduce the monthly payments or eliminate it.
-Paying for grankids college/university education or helping with expenses.
-Paying off medical bills.
-Reducing or paying off high interest credit cards.

These are all perfect use case examples for the reverse mortgage whereby the equity is being used towards reducing the homeowners monthly obligations, creating a safety net, and or helping out the family. We advise all seniors to first and foremost get their finances in check and utilize the HECM reverse loan to improve their finances for retirement this is what the program was intended for.

More and more seniors are coming to us looking to release the equity for the fun things in life. This includes buying toys such as cars/boats/rv’s, going traveling abroad, and or just enjoying more of their existing money now while they are alive and healthy.

The views below are not of RMLD. This is a guest written article.

From the States of California, Washington and Oregon all the way to the Mid West States of Oklahoma, Kansas and Ohio and even throughout New York, New Jersey down to Maryland, and especially Washington DC and all the way down through North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The reverse mortgage program is getting more popular with seniors.

In California a state the offers so many fun and popular activities like dinning, boating, camping, hand gliding and featuring a State wide terrain ideal for motor sports like all terrain vehicles, many California seniors with almost paid off homes are using the reverse mortgage program for the purpose to buy a jet ski, boat or all terrain vehicles like quads and electric start dirt bikes to relive their youth on their own terms with out having to liquidate investments that are performing well or using their cash in the bank. Some Seniors are using some of their reverse mortgage money to buy luxury cars at a discount to sell as a profit.

Extra cash or monthly payments from a reverse mortgage, will allow you to dine out more often and at better restaurants and participate in many activities like going to the ball game or show without the worry of depleting investment accounts or other savings accounts that are doing very well.

Your children will inherit plenty from the liquidation of your belongings and investment accounts. Should your home value increase over time this added appreciation will also belong to your heirs offsetting the reverse mortgage costs/loan potentially.

This is the time to make the best of the rest of your life.

In Louisiana, seniors that qualify for the reverse mortgage program are using the reverse mortgage program to buy newer boats and trucks to enjoy outdoor life more.

In New York New Jersey and Washington DC, Seniors are using the reverse mortgage program to travel more and enjoy lengthier trips to Florida.

Florida Seniors Don’t have to fly to catch the cruise ships out of west Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

The most popular cruise destination in the Bahamas is the Atlantis Resort and spa Casino.

The Atlantis resort, located in Nassau’s Paradise Island is a multi hundred million dollar resort with spectacular attractions like a gigantic fish tank that you can walk through, a gigantic shark tank that you can take a big slide through, and a beautiful private beach area featuring some of the most scenic views and most beautiful sand in the world.

Senior home owners who use some of their reverse mortgage cash to buy motor homes are now able to travel more to see and experience the most beautiful sights this country has to offer like “Yellow Stone National Park”, the Grand Canyon as well as “Utah” and the beautiful sights along “The Pacific Coast Highway”, Even the Napa Valley.

For those of you senior home owners that have your homes paid off, you deserve to live your life to the fullest. You don’t have a mortgage now because you were disciplined with your spending all your life.

For those senior home owners who have homes valued at $625,000 or more that are paid off or nearly paid off, the financial options are even greater. You can help your children start a business, get a whole life policy to further protect your estate from taxes for your children, you can buy an annuity that pays more dividends while guaranteeing the invested capital. You can even use some of the cash to help you children buy a home or pay down their home mortgage. RMLD has a private reverse mortgage alternative you should also consider and compare to the HECM reverse loan. This alternative can give you access to the homes equity and there are no payments to be made.

When you think about it, there are many more advantages that disadvantages when it comes to what a reverse home mortgage can do for your family. You are able to be responsible and still have enough liquidity to have fun in your retirement by creating new memories with your loved ones.

Reverse Mortgage Lenders Direct is committed to you best interest.

If you decide to take advantage of the reverse mortgage program, simply fill in the contact information above and we will assist you in choosing the best program for you with the lowest interest rate margin and closing fee’s

Reverse Mortgage Lenders Direct is here to help.

Compare Reverse Mortgages

For qualified seniors that have decided which reverse mortgage best suits their needs, the next step is to comparison shop for the best terms and fee’s in order to avoid the highest fee’s and interest rates. Your goal should be to receive the lowest upfront fees and most importantly lowest interest rates as this will dramatically reduce the amount owed at the end.

Reverse mortgages while don’t require any mortgage payments will increase over time. By comparing the interest rates and fees you can save many thousands over the course of the loan.

RMLD’s guide to comparing HECM lenders for 2017, we have over four years experience in helping seniors find the best reverse mortgage loan online.

The government recommends and we agree, that once you have decided which Reverse mortgage program you want, to get at least 3-4 different lender quotes.

Reverse Mortgage Lenders Direct is a service that is committed to protecting your most sacred financial investment by helping you save time and money on a reverse mortgage by avoiding predatory lenders. RMLD only works with HUD approved lenders.

Predatory reverse mortgage lenders use high pressure sales tactics and generally do not provide their reverse mortgage offer on paper with a formal quote.

Predatory reverse mortgage lenders thrive on senior home owners that are struggling with their mortgage payments by offering to close quickly if the senior home owner signs right away.

News Flash! You can shop for a better deal and save thousands of dollars if you follow the right reverse mortgage shopping steps.

Shopping is a talent and if you want to shop for the best deal on a reverse mortgage, follow these simple steps.

First, we have to make things easy. Have each quote based on the exact same loan amount, loan program and interest rate.

Reverse mortgage quotes will come in different formats but what you want to compare are the closing cost.

The closing costs of a reverse mortgage are comprised of four components:

1) FHA Mortgage insurance fee’s

2) Lender Fee’s

3) Title Fee’s

4) Escrow – yearly taxes and insurance

The two main fee’s that you want to compare, are the lender and title fee’s.

Reverse mortgage Lenders Direct works with a combination of national and local reverse mortgage lenders committed to helping you determine which mortgage program is best for you and your family first, and then to provide the most reasonable fee’s in the industry.

Our service to help you shop for lowest costing reverse mortgage is free.

If you have questions, Reverse Mortgage Lenders Direct can help you.

If you want to know if you Condo is FHA approved, Reverse Mortgage Lenders Direct will get you that information.

If you want to make sure you have taken advantage of every available opportunity to shop and compare safely for the best terms on a reverse mortgage in the form of lowest interest rate margin, the lowest title fee’s and the lowest Lender fee’s, simply fill in the contact information on this page.

The complete reverse mortgage guide updated for 2018. Everything you ever wanted to know about a reverse mortgage in one page.

Financial reasons for getting a reverse mortgage

The main advantage of a reverse mortgage is the ability to turn your home equity into cash without the concern for qualifying for a loan or budgeting for monthly loan payments.

Most reverse mortgages provide multiple ways to receive the funds. You can choose a one-time disbursement or monthly payments. You may even have the option of turning your home into a line of credit that you tap whenever you need it instead of liquidating the entire value of the home at once. And there’s the added benefit of living in the home while receiving payments.

With the exception of the little-used single-purpose reverse mortgage, proceeds from this type of loan can be used for any reason. The flexibility of reverse mortgages makes them a potential option for any of the following purposes.

You want to pay off debts

If you have car payments, credit card bills, or other debts, then you have monthly payments that are taking up part of your retirement income budget. While a reverse mortgage doesn’t eliminate your debt, it can help you defer it for several years.

Depending on how much you owe and how much you’re allowed to obtain from a reverse mortgage, you could obtain a reverse mortgage line of credit and use it to pay off your existing debts. Anything left on the line of credit would be available for future needs. And instead of making monthly payments for the foreseeable future, you don’t have to repay your reverse mortgage until you pass away or move out, using the sale of your home to satisfy the debt.

You want to pay for medical or long-term care costs

Whether you have existing medical bills, or you want to have money set aside to cover future needs, a reverse mortgage might be an option. You can take a portion of your reverse mortgage principal limit upfront to pay off an existing medical debt. You can also set up a line of credit that you can tap to cover deductibles and other costs of care when they arise. Or you can use a monthly tenure payment to help pay for insurance premiums.

You want to preserve your other retirement assets

If you have savings and retirement plans that you want to preserve without making withdraws, a reverse mortgage can offer a substitute source of income. This can be advantageous in a few ways.

First, if your portfolio hasn’t performed adequately enough to provide for your full retirement, you can give it a few more years to grow while using your reverse mortgage funds as a substitute.

You can also utilize the strategy to avoid compounding the effects of down markets by withdrawing funds from a retirement plan that is underperforming.

Imagine if you withdraw 5 percent of your retirement account balance at the beginning of the year for living expenses. In a perfect world, the account value would grow 5 percent the rest of the year based on investment performance, essentially replacing what you withdrew.

But we don’t live in a perfect world. Consider what would happen if you withdrew 5 percent at the beginning of the year, then a down market caused another 10 percent drop in the account value. Now, after just one year, you have 14.5 percent less money than what you started with.

But it gets worse. To withdraw the same dollar amount in year 2 that you did in year 1, you would have take out about 5.8 percent of the account value at the beginning of the year. If you do that, the account will have to grow nearly 20 percent for the year to get back to where it started on the first day of your retirement.

Having a reverse mortgage credit line can help you minimize the impact of market losses on your 401(k) or IRA.

You want to start a business

The traditional notion of retirement doesn’t appeal to all seniors. Many would prefer to keep working, but may have aged out of their chosen careers, and they don’t find the option of working in fast food or retail all that appealing.

An option for those who want to keep working in retirement is to start a business. For some it might be turning a hobby like quilting or bicycle repair into a money-making business, or taking the knowledge and experience, they gained through 35+ years in the workforce and forming their own company.

If there’s a need for a start-up capital and initial operating expenses, then a reverse mortgage could be a source of those funds rather than trying to obtain a business loan, which would likely require a business plan, a downpayment, and other costs.

You want to travel

Now that you have more time and fewer obligations, you may want to spend some of your retirement years visiting new places and experiencing other parts of the country or even the world.

But sometimes even the desire to travel can’t overcome the concern of using retirement assets on large, nonessential expenses. That’s where a reverse mortgage line of credit can help. Having a line of credit established against your home equity can provide plenty of resources to use for occasional travel expenses. The advantage of using a line of credit is that you only have to repay what you actually use, plus fees and interest.

You need a source of supplemental income

If Social Security and your retirement accounts aren’t meeting all of your retirement income needs, then a reverse mortgage can provide another source of funds.

Among the payment options available, you can select a tenure payment, which provides fixed monthly income for as long as you own the home. The amount you receive will be based on your your age, the value of your home and the expected interest rate. You can also choose a term payment, which provides a fixed monthly payment for a specified period.

One of the advantages of a reverse mortgage is that, since it’s considered a loan to be repaid, the money generated from it is not taxable income.

You want to buy life insurance or an annuity

One of the goals of any retirement plan is to maximize all of a senior’s retirement resources.

A strategy that has been employed in the past is to obtain a reverse mortgage, take a portion of those proceeds in a single lump sum payment, and allocate that payment to a single premium immediate annuity.

Likewise, retirement and estate plans are often managed to maximize the legacy left behind to a person’s heirs. You can take a lump sum from the principal provided by the reverse mortgage to make a one-time premium payment for either a whole life or universal life insurance policy.

You want to help a family member

If money isn’t a concern for you but perhaps for somebody in your family, then a reverse mortgage line of credit can provide funds for your to be of assistance. You may want to help a family member out of difficult period or help pay for the tuition of a grandchild.

Real estate purposes for getting a reverse mortgage

The main advantage of a reverse mortgage is the ability to turn your home equity into cash without the concern for qualifying for a loan or budgeting for monthly loan payments.

You want to eliminate your monthly house payment

If you’re retired or closing in on retirement, any amount of money you can eliminate from your monthly budget helps stretch your retirement assets further. If you have a few years or less on your conventional mortgage, you can use the proceeds from a reverse mortgage to pay off your conventional mortgage and remove the principal and interest payment from your monthly budget.

In essence, what you are doing under this strategy is increasing the amount of money you owe on your home, but deferring the repayment of that debt until you pass away or move out of the property. Your overall mortgage debt increases, but you have more income available to spend on items other than housing.

You want to buy a new home

While most reverse mortgages are obtained to enable homeowners to remain in their houses, there is also a program that allows seniors to use a reverse mortgage to buy a new principal residence.

Known as an HECM for Purchase, this program allows seniors to buy a new house and obtain a reverse mortgage on it within the same transaction. Because it’s a single transaction, there is only one set of closing costs the borrower must pay. The intent of the program is to help seniors move when the need arises and still have the option of benefiting from the reverse mortgage.

This option can come in handy if you want to downsize from your large home to something more manageable, of if you want to move closer to family members.

You want to buy a second home or vacation property

Many retirees living in northern climates want to spend the winter season in the warmer south. Or seniors who enjoy fishing and the outdoors may want a cabin for vacations and weekends. One way to fund the purchase of a second home or vacation property is to obtain reverse mortgage on your primary residence and use those proceeds as a downpayment or to pay the full cost of a second property.

You want to fix up or add to your current home

After owning a home for a decade or more, it’s possible that some needed repairs have fallen by the wayside. Perhaps the roof, siding, or the HVAC needs replacing. Maybe the bathroom and kitchen haven’t been updated since you purchased the home 25 years ago. Or you may want to enjoy retirement by building your own woodworking shop. Whatever you want to do to improve your home, a reverse mortgage can help you pay the full cost of improvements. In addition to potentially increasing the value of your home, you also have the option of waiting until you pass away or move out before you have to pay for those upgrades.

Questions to ask yourself before getting a reverse mortgage

Obtaining a reverse mortgage requires people to take a big step and borrow against the equity they’ve built in their homes over the years, and in many cases agree to sell the home once they die instead of passing it on to heirs. It’s a transaction that should not be entered into lightly.

As you think through the decision, here are several questions to think through and to talk through with your family and financial advisors.

What do I need the money for?

People who enter into a reverse mortgage arrangement should have a plan for using the money. This is especially true if you take a lump-sum payment, as a large sum of money can disappear quickly if not spent wisely.

Knowing what you want to use the money for — home repairs, paying off other debts, supplemental income, etc. — will also help you determine which payment option is best.

How much income do I need?

If you’re seeking a reverse mortgage to supplement your retirement income, you should begin by determining exactly how much more you need than what your current income sources are providing. As you go through the process, examine ways you can make cuts in your living budget. Once you’ve determined how much more money you need, make sure that a reverse mortgage based on your age, property value and interest rate will pay enough to fill that gap.

Have I considered other options to generate cash or monthly income?

Reverse mortgages are a useful financial tool for seniors, but they aren’t for everybody. If you need cash or stable income, there several alternatives to a reverse mortgage you may want to consider, including refinancing your conventional mortgage, taking out a home equity loan or home equity line of credit, selling your home to your children and renting it back, buying an annuity, or getting a part-time job.

Should I consider selling my home outright because of my current financial situation?

When you obtain a reverse mortgage, you maintain ownership of the property. That means you are responsible for taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance. Failing to stay current on these expenses could lead to a loan default, and the lender could close the loan and demand repayment. If your financial situation hinders your ability to pay these costs, then a reverse mortgage may not be the best option.

How long do I plan to live in my house?

Closing costs and fees on a reverse mortgage can total as much as $10,000. In addition, lenders charge a service fee and if your reverse mortgage is federally insured, you will have to pay a premium for mortgage insurance. All of this is in addition to the principal and interest of the loan.

Because of these extra costs, experts suggest that if there’s a chance you will want to or have to move from the house within five to seven years, you may want to reconsider a reverse mortgage. Keep in mind that if you permanently move out of the home for any reason, the loan becomes due immediately.

How is my health?

This question is related to the previous question. If your health is such that you may need to move to assisted living or a long-term care facility in a few years, then you may want to forgo a reverse mortgage.

Am I ok with the house being sold after I die or move out?

If the loan was granted to a single borrower, it becomes due once that homeowner passes away or permanently moves out. Unless there are assets elsewhere in your estate that can cover the amount owed, the house will have to be sold. The proceeds from the sale will repay the loan, plus interest and fees. Anything left over will go to your estate.

Once the lender learns of a borrower’s death, it will send a notification to relatives or the executor of his or her estate that the loan is due. Therefore, it’s important that your children and/or whoever will be handling your affairs after your passing are aware of the reverse mortgage so it doesn’t surprise them.

If one spouse has died and a surviving spouse is listed as a borrower on the reverse mortgage, he or she can continue to live in the home, and the terms of the loan do not change.