A Primer on Reverse Mortgages

By:Peter Boston

Economists report that as housing prices have skyrocketed over the past several years, the amount of money that households are saving through 401(k) plans and FDIC insured savings accounts has fallen. For many people approaching retirement age that means they may be "equity rich" and "cash poor" at the same time. It is not unusual today to find people living in $1 million homes almost entirely dependent on social security to get by.

A 1994 Advisory Council on Social Security trends and issues concluded that reverse mortgages could provide an additional source of income for seniors although at the time housing prices were not high enough to make this a meaningful source. Well, things have changed.

A reverse mortgage is still a loan with your house as the collateral, but it is entirely different from the kind of mortgage you got when you bought your first house. These are the major differences:

The Lender Pays You

That's correct. You do not make a monthly payment with a reverse mortgage. The lender pays you, and the loan can be set up so that you can get paid in a lump sum, you can get paid regular monthly amount, or you can get paid at the times and in the amounts you request.

The terms of the loan determine what each of these amounts would be. The primary determining factors are your age, the value of your house, and the prevailing interest rates at the time.

You Continue to Live in Your House

Staying in your house is really the whole purpose of reverse mortgages when you get down to it. The twist is that instead of paying somebody else to live there, you get paid while you continue to live there.

You are actually required by the terms of the loan to continue to live in the house as your principal residence. You can spend any amount of time visiting your children and grandchildren, you can travel for pleasure, and you can continue to spend summers at the lake so long as the house remains your principal residence.

You Retain Ownership of Your House

A reverse mortgage is not a sale. You keep all the rights of ownership that you had before the reverse mortgage loan. You do not need the lender's permission to paint the house a different color or to remodel. You can put your house on the market and sell it to the highest bidder. You can will it to your children.

If there is a change in ownership, such as by sale or through the death of the last surviving owner, the reverse mortgage will have to be paid off at that time. The lender would be entitled to receive from the proceeds of the sale only the amount you actually received from the lender plus all accrued and unpaid interest to date. Any amount remaining after paying off the reverse mortgage lender would go to you, to your surviving spouse, or to your estate.

The Principal Amount of the Loan Increases With Each Payment

Another way of saying this is that you control the amount that must eventually be paid back by controlling the amount of money you actually get from the lender. A reverse mortgage is still a loan, and the money plus interest has to be paid back at some time, usually from the sale of the house after you and your spouse no longer live there.

Because the principal amount of a reverse mortgage cannot be determined until after you no longer live at the property, neither can the maturity date of the loan. This can a difficult concept to wrap your mind around because it is so different from conventional mortgages.

You Can Never Owe More Than the Value of Your House

This is true for the two reverse mortgage products sponsored by the Federal government (HECM and Home Keepers) although it may not be true for privately created reverse mortgage programs.

The benefit of the Federal programs is that you, your surviving spouse, or your estate, can never owe more than the loan balance or the value of your house, whichever is less. Your reverse mortgage lender cannot require repayment from you, your surviving spouse, or your heirs, or from any asset other than your house.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article keywords: reverse mortgages, reverse mortgage, HECM mortgage, house keeper mortgage

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

(c) 2006 by Peter Boston. Peter is an attorney, writer, and the editor of the profacere.com website, a tips and resource site for reverse mortgages, credit cards, improved credit scores, and consumer credit information, updated daily on the Profacere Blog.

Top Mortgage Articles
1). Home Loan Center – Does The Type Of Lender Impact The Type Of Mortgage You Can Get? By : Dean Shainin While deciding on the right lender, one should address the following questions: Does it really matter where you get your first mortgage? What is the difference between different types of lenders, and how does that impact on the mortgage you can get?
2). Mortgage Refinancing Below 500 FICO By : Tristan Hunt If you have been turned down for a mortgage refinance, especially a cash out or debt consolidation refinance, because your lender says your credit score is under 500, there are a variety of new options and strategies available which can help you get the cash you need now to pay off your credit card debts, collection accounts, and other derogatory or poor credit accounts and improve your FICO credit score to the point where you can qualify for a low interest, fixed rate loan.
3). Mortgage & Refinance Tips: Determining Your Income By : Tristan Hunt When you apply for a refinance, debt consolidation or purchase mortgage, one of the most important factors in qualifying for the loan is your income. That may not seem like much of a surprise, but you may be surprised at all of the different ways your income can be calculated based on how well you can document it, and how much this can affect your loan process.
4). Mortgage Terms and Definitions By : Dan Lewis The mortgage process can be a little confusing if you aren't familiar with the terms used in the process. To help you out, here is a list of terms with corresponding mortgage definitions. Broker: An independent mortgage professional that oversees the entire home loan process. Lender: The business entity providing and funding the home loan. Processor: Prepares your loan for underwriting.
5). Is Your Subprime Mortgage Lender A Predatory Lender By : Subprime lenders offer financing for people with low credit scores who don’t qualify for a conventional loan. Subprime financing can be offered through traditional mortgage lenders like banks, credit unions, or mortgage lenders. There are also specialized lenders who only deal with subprime mortgages. Predatory lenders charge high fees, write loans in vague terms, and structure payments so they can foreclose on property.
6). Make the Most of Your Mortgage Leads By : Jay If you are a loan officer or mortgage broker and you invest in mortgage leads, or you are considering investing in mortgage leads, make sure you are making the most of them. A lead provider, if they are a good one, can provide you with a good quality lead, the rest is up to you. The lead provider has no control over what the potential customer might say.
7). Fha Mortgage Loans - The Benefits Of An FHA Mortgage By : Carrie Reeder The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures mortgages to allow low to moderate income families to purchase their own home. With government backing, families can buy a home at a lower initial cost. However, there are limitations with this program. Mortgage Insurance – Section 203(b) The FHA provides mortgage insurance, not mortgage loans to families.
8). Use A Mortgage Calculator To Guide Your Home Equity Loan Decision By : Gerald Mason The difference between a home loan and a home equity loan lies mainly in that the home equity loan, also known as a second or even third mortgage, is issued at a higher interest rate. This interest rate is lower than you could expect to pay on a credit card, but it will be still higher than the original interest rate. Use a home equity mortgage calculator to see what releasing different percentages of your equity makes to the payments required.
9). Fixed Rate Mortgage Loans - Understanding The Basics By : Carrie Reeder Fixed rate mortgages are the most common type of mortgage loan for home buyers. With predictable payments, long term homeowners can plan their budgets and guard against rising interest rates. But a fixed rate mortgage is not for everyone with its higher interest rates and a reduction in your buying power. Fixed Rate Mortgage Features A fixed rate mortgage features set rates, long term low monthly payments, and low risk.
10). FHA Home Mortgage Purchase Or Refinance Loan - Why You Might Consider Getting An FHA Loan By : Carrie Reeder Most borrowers have heard of FHA home loans. They are very common. You hear about them mostly as loans for first time borrowers, which is common. However, most people don't realize that FHA loans can also be does for refinancing. They are not only for purchasing a house. HUD owns and operates FHA, which is a program designed to help borrowers who might have difficulty buying a house.

New Mortgage Articles
1). Getting a Mortgage Approval By : MITCHELL HAMPSON Looking to get approved for your very first home mortgage? Here are the tips that you need to have for sure fire approval
2). Deciding on Whether a Reverse Mortgage is For You By : Search For Classes Many seniors want to enjoy their golden years, but are unable to find a way to increase their monthly income or decrease enough of their monthly expenditures in order to retire at an age that will afford them the opportunity to do so. One way to circumvent this problem is through obtaining a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage enables homeowners older than sixty two years of age to convert the equity in their homes into tax-free income while they continue to reside at their property.
3). The Basics of Reverse Mortgages By : Search For Classes Reverse mortgages are loans against your home that require no repayment for as long as you live there. As opposed to regular mortgage loans, reverse mortgages have no income requirements and are based solely on the equity of your home or condo. There are no monthly payments to make as the mortgage is due only when the borrower is no longer living at the residence.
4). When Will Ben Bernanke Blink? Is the Federal Reserve’s Rate Raising Fight Against Inflation Going Too Far? By : Sydney Jackson There is a lot of speculation and debate among economists about whether the Federal Reserve will raise the Fed’s short term interest rate to 5% in their meeting on Wednesday. If they do, it will make 16 straight jumps of .25%, since it reached it’s low point of 1%. Most people seem to feel that statements by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke have sent mixed signals about whether or not this meeting will be the time for a pause.
5). Remortgages: The Helps and Hazards By : James Smiths When you remortgage you home you, just as the name you imply, get a new mortgage that replaces the existing one. This is usually something that takes place when the market interest rates drop down below what you are paying. Most often this is something that is considered by homeowners who hold fixed rate mortgages. The Helps Remortgaging can be helpful in quite a few different ways.
6). Buying To Let: Is It For You? By : James Smiths If you read the title of this article and thought to yourself, "Let what? What am I letting happen buy buying? And what am I buying?", than this article is definitely for you. First let me establish that the "buy" refers to a house and second, the "let" part, that refers to renting that house out to someone else. Basically it means that you buy a house and let someone else pay the mortgage and live in it.
7). Mortgage and their debts By : devi Purchasing a house has been a vision for many. But it is impossible for an average man to possess a huge sum of ready cash to procure the property; the only remedy here is, going for mortgages. Mortgage can be defined as a loan which will provide monetary help to purchase any real estate property. The borrower can make his payments regularly to the lender.
8). UK mortgage and remortgage deals By : Groshan Fabiola Mortgage is a way of securing a debt by using your own property as a guarantee to the lender. If For some reason you cannot pay your debt in time you may lose the property. The term mortgage itself refers to the debt and also to the legal device used when securing the property. In the countries where properties are highly demanded and the prices are quite elevated, there are strong loan and mortgage markets.
9). Getting the right mortgage By : john Selecting a mortgage can be a difficult task. First of all, you need to decide which mortgage would suit your needs best. For those who want to know what their monthly outgoings are going to be, should look at a fixed rate mortgage, as these are mortgages that are set at a fixed price for a certain period, which can be anything from 1 year to 5 years.
10). Cheap Mortgage Rate By : Danny Wirken Must-Ask Questions When You Get Your Mortgage Whether you're buying a house or refinancing, there is more to a mortgage than the rate. Here are eight questions to ask while mortgage shopping. You'll have to ask yourself some of these questions; others can only be answered by mortgage professionals and insurers. How long do I plan to stay in the house? That's often a hard question to answer.