Reverse Mortgage - Is It A Big Risk?

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A reverse mortgage is a special type of loan that home owners can sometimes get to convert the equity in their homes to cash. Simply, a reverse mortgage is a type of loan that provides you with a monthly income, a lump sum of cash, or a line of credit. Or a combination of both

This was originally structured for retirees keen in keeping their homes but whose incomes aren't sufficient to support them, reverse mortgages have typically been used to help people on low incomes to pay for daily expenses, huge medical bills or the odd house maintenance and repair costs. Reverse mortgage also pays off your existing loan, if you have any. So you have no ongoing house payment. The monthly income you receive from the reverse mortgage is guaranteed and you will receive it as long as you remain living in the home.

Many reverse mortgages offer special appeal to older adults because the loan advances, which are not taxable, generally do not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits. Another advantage of reverse mortgages is the different withdrawal options that you are able to choose. These options include lump sum distributions, line of credit, monthly payments, or any combination of these three. So if you were eligible to borrow $200,000 on a reverse mortgage you could select to receive $60,000 up front to cover current expenses, and hold the rest as a line of credit that you can use whenever you need it. This flexibility of reverse mortgages can significantly improve you financial independence during retirement

The disadvantage is the relative cost of a reverse mortgage. Reverse mortgages tend to be very expensive when compared with a conventional mortgage. This is due to the rising-debt nature of reverse mortgages. Another disadvantage is the reverse mortgage payments can affect eligibility for old age pensions, or supplemental Social Security income. Senior citizens may not even appreciate this problem until after they already have their reverse mortgage, and only then do they discover that this can have the negative affect on their finances then what they were trying to accomplish in the first place by taking out the reverse mortgage.

With these facts in mind, reverse mortgage are definitely an option to consider if you are looking for ways to supplement your current income. As with any financial decision, you should consult the advice of a trained financial professional to analyze and determine if a reverse mortgage is right for in your unique circumstances.

For more information, please visit http://www.mortgage-query.com.

About The Author Jeremy Louie is the consultant for mortgages and refinance matters.

[Raquelita]

We looked into doing a reverse mortgage with my grandfather when he needed money to fix up his home and was on a fixed income. It seems like a pretty good option for senior citizens whose only asset is their home, but it does have risks. In the end we took out a home equity loan to fix up the place and then sold it and used the sale money to fund his assisted living instead.

[r8rpwr]

I'm sure that it's the appropriate option for some people, but in general it's quite risky.

[Merlin21]

For many seniors the equity in their home is their largest single asset, yet it is unavailable to use unless they use a home-equity loan. But a conventional loan really doesn't free up the equity because the money has to be paid back with interest. A reverse mortgage is a risk-free way of tapping into home equity without creating monthly payments and without requiring the money to be paid back during a person's lifetime. Instead of making payments the cash flow is reversed and the senior receives payments from the bank. Thus the title "reverse mortgage".