You must be at least 62 years old and have equity in your home.
You have equity in your home if your home is worth more than you owe on it.
Here's how it works
When you bought your home, the bank loaned you the money to buy it and you paid them back with monthly mortgage payments.
A reverse mortgage is the opposite. With a reverse mortgage, the bank pays you a monthly payment from the equity in your home.
You repay the money when you sell your home, refinance, permanently move out, or pass away. At that time, you or your heirs must repay the loan plus interest in one payment.
How do I get a reverse mortgage?
Reverse mortgages are available through most major banks and lenders.
Here's what happens when you contact the lender:
An appraiser will determine the value of your home.
The lender will tell you how much you qualify for based on your age, the equity in your home, and the cost of the loan.
You decide how you want to receive the money.
You can receive the money:
As a lump sum
In monthly payments
As a credit line that lets you decide how much of the loan to use, and when to use it
You sign a contract. The contract will outline the payments you will receive and the amount you have to repay including interest.
Maintaining your reverse mortgage
To keep your reverse mortgage in good standing you must:
Pay your property taxes on time
Maintain and repair your home
Have homeowner's insurance
Your lender can end the reverse mortgage and require immediate repayment if you:
File for bankruptcy
Rent out part of your home
Add a new owner to title
Take a new loan against your property
Things to consider
Reverse mortgages are more costly than typical home loans or home equity credit lines.
They also have higher interest rates and fees. Interest is charged on the outstanding balance and is added to the amount you owe each month. This means that your total debt increases each month.
Keep in mind that you are borrowing equity from your home. This means fewer assets for you and your heirs.
Shopping for a reverse mortgage
Shop around and get offers from several lenders. You should compare the terms, and look for a loan with the lowest interest rate, points and fees.
How Much Of A Mortgage Can I Get
Most of the seniors face various financial problems in their post retirement time. However, n numbers of loan facilities are there in the market but very few of them are available for seniors. Since most of the seniors rely on their pension to meet various old age expenses, very few banks and financial institutions take interest in their loan application. Lenders, who believe in providing unbiased financial services to every consumer section, offer reverse mortgage facility for their senior consumers. Mortgage loans offer hassle free financial aid for all senior borrowers, as it does not bother them for unnecessary documentation and property evaluation. Reverse mortgage is especially tailored for seniors, who possess house property or a portion in any home, so that they may use their equity in hard earned asset to perk up their financial situation. Since money is essential for living a contented life, seniors also need to secure a solution for their hard days. Being a senior citizen does not mean that you will never need a large amount of money, as emergency financial expenses can appear without any prior notice. Therefore, if you are a senior and bothered for arrangement of finance, then annuity reverse mortgage can solve all your financial blues.
Annuity reverse mortgage is a financial arrangement in which a senior homeowner takes a loan against his or her home equity; moreover, he or she also receives regular monthly tax-free payments from the lender. These mortgage loans are also called home equity conversion mortgage, as they use home equity to secure the loan amount. Usually, with a traditional mortgage loan, the borrower makes monthly principal and interest payment but with annuity reverse mortgage the lender makes monthly payments to the borrower. However, as a borrower receives money, his or her home equity declines and loan balance increases.
With annuity reverse mortgage, the homeowner can live in his or her home for as long as he or she wants but with traditional mortgage loan, the borrower does not get the privilege to live in that home. In addition, with this loan a lender can recover the loan amount only from the value of mortgaged home, he or she cannot seek payment from the sale of any other asset. Therefore, other assets of the borrower are secured and come under non-recourse limit. However, secured loans and mortgage loans are quite similar but reverse mortgage loans should never be compared with secured loans, as both come under different provisions.
To obtain desired finance from annuity reverse mortgage, the borrower must own a home property but that property should not have any existing mortgage or liens. Since this mortgage loan is a first mortgage scheme, mortgaged home properties are not acceptable. Basically, the loan amount that a borrower receives from these loans is influenced by factors such as type of loan scheme, borrower's age and value of proposed home property. Every lender agrees on the proposed loan amount only after evaluating all these factors, as it helps the lender in getting an idea about possible recovery of loan amount.
Both Lar & Antonio Redford are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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