If neither spouse wishes to remain in the home, a Reverse Mortgage Purchase loan allows a homeowner to purchase a new home while
taking out a reverse mortgage in a single transaction.
It's probably taken years of hard work to accumulate your home equity and
taking out a reverse mortgage means spending a significant part of that equity on loan fees and interest.
It would be a waste of your hard - earned home equity to
take out a reverse mortgage only to find yourself facing the same financial problems in just a few years.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Pfau indicated that a sound investment strategy includes
taking out a reverse mortgage line of credit and relying on it only during periods when the value of the borrower's stock portfolio is declining.
One huge advantage of using this type of reverse mortgage is that a HECM for Purchase only incurs one set of closing costs, rather than two sets of closing costs that occur if a borrower purchased a home and then
separately took out a reverse mortgage on it.
If you have any desire to move in the near term, whether it be closer to family or to a residence that is better equipped for aging,
taking out a reverse mortgage today may not be the best idea.
You should also think hard before
taking out a reverse mortgage primarily as a back - up line of credit that you intend to tap only in emergencies or if your nest egg begins running low later in retirement.
We continue with the example of the 73 - year - old couple with a $ 400,000 paid - for home who
took out a reverse mortgage with a monthly draw of $ 500 ($ 6,000 a year).
No one should
take out a reverse mortgage unless they have professional advice from a financial advisor, attorney, tax consultant and possibly a physician who understand reverse mortgage contracts and can explain the consequences for their particular circumstances.
Using Your House For Income In Retirement This guide from the Boston Center College For Retirement Research provides specific examples that allows you to compare downsizing
vs taking out a reverse mortgage as a way to tap your home equity for retirement income.
One huge advantage of using this type of reverse mortgage is that a HECM for Purchase only incurs one set of closing costs, rather than two sets of closing costs that occur if a borrower purchased a home and then
separately took out a reverse mortgage on it.
Instead, reverse mortgage companies are increasingly threatening to foreclose unless heirs pay the mortgages in full, according to interviews with more than four dozen housing counselors, state regulators, and 25 families whose elderly
parents took out reverse mortgages.