Are you a homeowner over 62 years of age who either owns their home free and clear or has reduced the mortgage to a small amount? You may well qualify for the benefits of a reverse mortgage in order to assist you with the financial demands of retirement. During my career as a real estate consultant in the Southern Oregon real estate market, I have discussed the advantages of the reverse mortgage with many seniors and have encountered many misperceptions about the program. I write this blog to help with the basics of the reverse mortgage. Perhaps it is right for you.

Let’s begin with the qualifications. You must be 62 years old (or older) and you must own either a single family home or a 1-4 unit home in which you occupy one of the units. If you live in the Southern Oregon real estate market and you live in a condominium, it must be HUD approved. And if you live in a manufactured home in the Southern Oregon real estate market, it must meet FHA requirements. Perhaps most importantly, you must either own the home outright or have a low mortgage balance so it can be paid off from the proceeds of the reverse mortgage.

Assuming you meet these qualifications, here are the advantages. First and foremost, you have no monthly mortgage payment. Instead, the lender makes payments to you. It’s really that simple.

Lenders in the Southern Oregon real estate market have several options for structuring the payments due from the lender to the homeowner in a reverse mortgage. They can take the form of equal monthly payments, or be a combination of monthly payments along with a line of credit in order to give the home owner financial flexibility. But the homeowner must continue to occupy the residence and there are additional restrictions and fees that are best explained by the lender.

For those seniors living in the Southern Oregon real estate market who have built up a considerable amount of equity in their homes over the years, the reverse mortgage just may be the answer to providing the supplemental income they need for living expenses, medical bills, or taking that vacation they’ve always dreamed about.

Michael Masters

A Socially Conscious Real Estate Consultant

     

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under the category Grants Pass Real Estate, Green Real Estate, Michael Masters, Real Estate, Southern Oregon Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.