Posts with tag reverse mortgages

By Jeff Brown Is this a good time to get a reverse mortgage? Yes -- even if you don't need one. That's the recommendation from Jack M. Guttentag, an emeritus finance professor at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. On his website, The Mortgage Professor, he says homeowners old enough to have a reverse... Continue Reading »

By Beth Braverman If you're 62 or older, you've probably started getting reverse-mortgage solicitations in the mail, and it's hard to miss the aging actors singing the loans' praises on TV (hey, it's the Fonz!). The pitch may sound appealing, especially if you're among the 83 percent of boomers who plan to stay in their... Continue Reading »

By Jim Avila and Serena Marshall Linda and Jim McMahan said that they could not believe their luck in 1993 when they found their dream house. "We loved it," she said. "It wasn't a huge house, but it was a nice size. ... It had the big trees in the yard. And we have deer in the yard every day, and wild turkeys. What... Continue Reading »

By Gerri Detweiler You may have heard of reverse mortgages as a way for seniors to tap the equity in their homes to pay for living expenses, but there are other ways that homeowners are using their homes to get by. Many seniors are on fixed incomes, with Social Security payments providing a significant portion of their... Continue Reading »

You may recall the story of Texana Hollis, the 101-year-old Detroit woman who lost her home due to her son's ill-advised borrowing, but was set to reoccupy the property after a groundswell of public support. Now Hollis (pictured above) faces yet another obstacle in returning to her family home of nearly 60 years: The... Continue Reading »

Baby boomers may be in a better position than most to buy homes, but not before helping Junior out of a bind. A national survey found that at least two-thirds of boomers age 45 and up want to help their children or grandchildren with a home down payment. The study, conducted by Meredith Research Solutions for Better Homes... Continue Reading »

Seniors who took reverse mortgages are being pushed into foreclosure by HUD, according to a lawsuit filed by the AARP. Are all seniors who took a reverse mortgage at risk? No, only those who decided to put only one spouse on the reverse mortgage. Why would a couple decide to leave a spouse off the reverse mortgage? Peter... Continue Reading »

Bank of America, the second largest reverse mortgage lender in the country behind Wells Fargo, is shutting its doors to reverse mortgages so that it can focus on its core business. The North Carolina-based lender will continue to serve those who already have an existing reverse mortgage with it. Its decision to exit had a... Continue Reading »

Reverse mortgages are a common money-raiser for senior-citizen homeowners. Unfortunately the high fees associated with reverse mortgages often make them a poor choice. But a new program from the Federal Housing Administration called the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Saver (HECM Saver) helps lower some of the costs... Continue Reading »

Checking your home's value on websites has become an almost weekly obsession with many. That obsession is being fed by stories like one from The New York Times declaring that owning a home is no longer a way to build wealth. As long as you're not planning to move, you should stop worrying about the long-term value for... Continue Reading »

A woman in her seventies called Clearpoint Credit Counseling Solutions because she could no longer afford her mortgage at a 6.75 percent rate and her house was underwater. The woman wanted to take advantage of the lower interest rates but couldn't refinance because she had no equity in the home. Karen Metoyer, a housing... Continue Reading »

Now that major banks including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and MetLife Bank have eliminated fees for reverse mortgages, borrowers are taking another look at this option for financing retirement. While a reverse mortgage sounds like a good deal -- you get to stay in your home and tap your equity, rather than... Continue Reading »

Do you or your parents have a reverse mortgage for which they don't pay the property taxes or insurance? While in the past, the FHA and Fannie Mae would patiently wait until the property owner died or moved to pay off any liens, that practice is about to end. Many seniors don't realize that they can lose their home to... Continue Reading »

Ah, the golden years. But in these post-crisis times, many seniors are spending more time worrying about the roof over their heads than what hobby to pick up next. Some seniors are among the millions of Americans facing foreclosure because they can't afford to continue making the payments. Others are struggling with... Continue Reading »

Robert and Betty Ann Baker of Hillsborough, NJ are one of a growing number of seniors over age 62 who are tapping the equity in their home to help them pay bills, eliminate primary mortgage payments, or meet other needs. In September, the couple took out a $100,000 reverse mortgage on their home valued at $350,000. What's... Continue Reading »