In Part One of this series we examined what a reverse mortgage is, what you need to do to qualify for one, the code of ethics a respectable lender will adhere too and being able to use a reverse mortgage to purchase a home. In this article let’s dig a bit deeper and examine how to use a reverse mortgage to your best advantage.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Having reached the age requirements to qualify for a reverse mortgage and coming close to retirement time you need to look at your financial health and determine what kind of impact retirement will have on your lifestyle. Will you have a retirement income from your employer? Will you be funding your retirement totally on your own from your investments? How will Social Security benefits fit into your future? Do you have a combination of these possibilities? The main question becomes, when I retire will I have the funds that I need to maintain my lifestyle? A reverse mortgage can help with the funds that you may need!
Ways To Use A Reverse Mortgage
Let’s examine a few of the possibilities for ways to put a reverse mortgage to work for you. One of the most common advantages to a reverse mortgage is providing the recipient with a supplemental monthly income. Recalling from Part One, one of the ways for you to receive you funds from your reverse mortgage is via monthly payments to you from the mortgage company. These can be set up as a fixed amount that is paid to you monthly for as long as you live in the house. So if retirement was not looking like it would be in your future any time soon due to monthly financial requirements a reverse mortgage may well solve your problem. Make certain to talk with a qualified Atlanta Reverse Mortgage lender along with your tax advisor or financial planner to determine what is best in your exact circumstances.
Let’s say that you have retired and your combination of employer funded benefits, your investments and your social security benefits provide you with ample funds to sustain your lifestyle but you have always wanted that vacation home at the beach or in the mountains. In order to obtain it prior to reverse mortgages you had to either pay cash from your funds or take out a loan that required a monthly payment. Consider that now you may be able to obtain your vacation home utilizing a reverse mortgage. By accessing the equity of your primary residence with a reverse mortgage you may be able to purchase your vacation home for cash while not having a payment on your current home. How about that, 2 homes with no payments is a real possibility.
Perhaps a vacation home is not for you. Well that’s OK also. Maybe you just want to modernize and update your current home. Finally having that dream kitchen with granite counter tops and replacing those avocado green or harvest gold appliances with stainless steel ones is what floats your boat. Guess what that is OK. Maybe you have decided that you want to help pay for your grandchildren’s education. As a parent that went through that process several years ago, I can tell you it would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps you just want that new luxury car that has been crying out to you for years. Well you could do that too. This is in no way a complete list but I think you can see there are limitless ways for you to put a reverse mortgage to work for you.
Stay tuned over the next week or so for additional articles in this series about Reverse Mortgages in Atlanta.
