Reverse mortgages give options to seniors

 

Part 2 of Home buyers use equity to upgrade home, lives

 

HONOLULU ADVERTISER , July 24 2005

BY LISA SCONTRAS

Custom Publishing Group

 

A growing number of Americans are tapping into retirement dollars that may have been previously overlooked. For homeowners 62 and older, reverse mortgages offer a way to convert a portion of the equity in their homes into tax-free proceeds. With a reverse mortgage, you can turn the value of your home into cash — without having to pay on a loan each month.

 

A reverse mortgage works like a traditional or forward mortgage, but as the name implies, in reverse. Rather than making monthly payments to a lender, the lender makes the payment to the homeowner. Seniors don’t have to sell their homes or give up title. And no monthly payments are made during the term nor is there a fixed maturity date — as long as one of the borrowers lives in the home. The loan is repaid when the last surviving borrower dies, moves from the home or sells the home.

 

“If you own your own home and want to stay there, a reverse mortgage makes sense,” says Lori Nanton, a reverse mortgage consultant for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

Many older Americans facing retirement want to find a way to increase their monthly income. A growing number of older homeowners are beginning to realize that their home can be one of their most powerful financial assets

 

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage of Hawaii is one of the lenders on Oahu who can help answer questions about reverse mortgages.

 

back to Helpful Articles for Buyers

 

view Part 1 of this article