Category: Reverse for Purchase

Reverse mortgage: an additional solution for resolving equitable distribution in Silver Divorce

by middleburgreverselady, posted in Caring for Aging Parents; A Daughter's Story, Divorce, FHA HECM, Financial Planning, Laurie MacNaughton, Laurie McNaughton, Retirement Planning, Reverse for Purchase, Reverse Mortgage

Laurie MacNaughton © 2022

Equitable distribution can be among the most complex issues in any divorce. When the divorcing parties are aging adults, an additional layer of complexity may be involved.

Historically, there have been two solutions to equitable distribution: sell the marital home, or refinance the existing mortgage to clear the departing spouse from the note.

However, either solution may be suboptimal. If one party has impaired health, moving can be severely stressful. Additionally, homes currently for sale may be unsuitable if the individual parties are hoping to purchase. It also bears mentioning that because one party—or both parties —may experience a reduction in income following the divorce, obtaining a new purchase-money mortgage may not be within reach.

Similarly, refinancing a home can be difficult, or simply impossible, on one income.

Reverse mortgage overview

A reverse mortgage is a home equity loan. It differs from other home equity loans in that a reverse mortgage loan is not repaid until the last person on title permanently leaves the home. In other words, the homeowner can borrow some of their home’s equity without picking up a monthly mortgage payment.

Because this is a mortgage, it will eventually be repaid—but it is repaid on the back end, in reverse. Only the loan amount is repaid; all remaining equity goes to the heirs or estate.

Applicability to Silver Divorce scenarios

Spouse remaining in the marital home:

In cases where couples have been married many years, there may be equity enough in the home for proceeds from the reverse mortgage to pay the departing spouse’s portion of the marital share. At very least, reverse mortgage proceeds plus an additional cash payment to the departing spouse may make it possible for one partner to retain the property. This would be a Reverse Refinance scenario.

Relocating spouse:

The spouse relocating after divorce may face unanticipated challenges when looking to purchase. Common challenges include newly-reduced household income; unfavorable debt-to-income ratios; excessive credit utilization; and negative mortgage-payment history incurred during the marriage.

A strong option may be Reverse for Purchase. This purchase loan works in the following manner: the homebuyer provides a down payment, the size of which is determined by the homebuyer’s age. The loan provides the rest of the purchase price.

The general formula should sound familiar:

down payment + plus loan amount = purchase price of the home

However, unlike a “forward” mortgage, with Reverse for Purchase, there is never a required monthly mortgage payment—though the homeowner may make a payment at any time if s/he so wishes.

Not making payments is very different from saying the loan is never repaid. The loan is always repaid—it’s just not repaid on a monthly basis. Rather, the loan is repaid when the last person on title moves, sells, or dies. In other words, the loan – interest and principal—is repaid once the homeowner no longer needs the home.

Of course, a reverse mortgage will not work in every divorce situation. But in many divorces in which the divorcing parties are 62 or older, reverse mortgage may serve as an option for meeting the financial mandates of the Property Settlement Agreement and for meeting the housing needs of the relocating spouse.

Divorce is no one’s “Plan A.” But as the classic line goes, life is what happens while you’re making other plans.

If you have questions about how a reverse mortgage might help your client, give me a call. I always love hearing from you.

Rarely is a problem too large

by middleburgreverselady, posted in Caring for Aging Parents; A Daughter's Story, FHA HECM, Financial Planning, Laurie MacNaughton, Laurie McNaughton, Retirement Planning, Reverse for Purchase, Reverse Mortgage

Laurie MacNaughton © 2021

It looked like it was heading for a bad outcome: Robert sold his mother’s home and placed her in a care facility.

The problem? Mom was on Medicaid, and her formerly exempt asset was now quite a large countable asset, which spelled big trouble for her care options.

Fortunately, Robert picked up the phone and called an elder law attorney, who listed buying another home among potential cures.

Because Reverse for Purchase has notably easier qualification guidelines, Robert’s mother qualified even on her limited income. And…yesterday she closed on a lovely new home. She is scheduled to move in shortly before Christmas.

Rarely in life is a problem too large. More often, solution sets are too small. In this case, Reverse for Purchase was the perfect fit for a problem that had few other solutions.

If someone you know is in need of options, give me a call. I always love hearing from you!

Bob and the stinky advice

by middleburgreverselady, posted in Caring for Aging Parents; A Daughter's Story, FHA HECM, Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Reverse for Purchase, Reverse Mortgage

Laurie Denker MacNaughton ©2021

I’ll call him Bob.

Bob is an advisor with a mainstream financial services firm, and he and I have a mutual client.

I will call her Ellen.

Ellen is 78, widowed, and is selling her current home and purchasing a new home closer to friends and family. Initially she thought she would purchase using a traditional mortgage, but she couldn’t qualify due to insufficient income.

Her “forward” loan officer sent her over to my office, where I easily qualified her for a reverse for purchase home loan.

Enter Bob.

Without making the effort to acquaint himself with details of reverse for purchase, he proceeded to pick up the phone and call Ellen. For fully fifteen minutes he spewed dire warnings that she would lose all her money; that it was a terrible “investment”; that she would end up with nothing. In other words, he scared the daylights out of her.

And here’s the thing: if fifty people tell you the skittles are good, and one person tells you there could be a poisoned skittle, you’re probably not touching the skittles.

But suppose the person warning you about the skittles doesn’t have any data about whether one skittle was poisoned. It’s just something he heard. And he won’t revisit his hunch – but he’s pretty sure he’s heard of a guy who knew a guy who met a guy who got sick on a skittle.

I’m the first to say there is no one right financial product for everyone. There simply isn’t. But for many aging homebuyers, reverse for purchase is a fantastic option: they can get into an appropriate aging-in-place home without picking up a monthly mortgage payment. Or, like Ellen, it can make possible the purchase of an appropriate home when it otherwise was not.

In my many years as a reverse mortgage specialist I can honestly say I have run into not more than a couple Bobs. Financial advisors are well known for paying scrupulous attention to hard data, education, and their clients’ needs. And this is a darn good thing – because one advisor’s stinky advice can cause an awful lot of emotional upheaval, anxiety, and deep distress.

No one knows everything. Everyone needs input.

But fallacious input can be hard – very, very hard indeed – to un-hear.

If you have – or someone you know has – questions regarding reverse mortgage, give me a call. I am always available to answer questions, and I always love hearing from you.

Did you know?

by middleburgreverselady, posted in Caring for Aging Parents; A Daughter's Story, FHA HECM, Financial Planning, Laurie MacNaughton, Laurie McNaughton, Retirement Planning, Reverse for Purchase, Reverse Mortgage

Did you know the average reverse mortgage borrower is not in financial distress?

Rather, the typical person doing a reverse mortgage is the retiring boomer who watched a parent’s financial situation later in life and is determined to avoid a financial crunch down the road.

And did you know there are two “flavors” of reverse mortgage, a refinance and a purchase?

Typically, the homeowner doing a reverse mortgage refinance is the baby boomer putting together a long-range financial plan.  The homebuyer using a reverse for purchase is looking to buy a home without pinning down a huge chunk of cash or taking on a new 30-year mortgage during retirement.

A reverse mortgage is not mysterious, nor exotic, nor any more complex than any other loan. It is simply a home loan repaid when the last title-holder permanently vacates the property.

So if this looks like it fits your retirement goals, or the goals of someone you love, give me a call. I always love hearing from you.

 

President's Club Business Card - Updated Picture

 

In a nutshell: how a reverse mortgage works

by middleburgreverselady, posted in Caring for Aging Parents; A Daughter's Story, FHA HECM, Financial Planning, Laurie MacNaughton, Laurie McNaughton, Retirement Planning, Reverse for Purchase, Reverse Mortgage
Laurie MacNaughton © 2018

Reverse mortgages…you’ve seen the ads a hundred times. But odds are you have a lot of questions.

In a nutshell, here’s the scoop

The first thing to know is a reverse mortgage is an FHA-insured home loan. I always start with this point simply because there can be confusion about the fact this is a home loan, in many ways not unlike any other loan we’ve all grown up with.

Here’s where the difference comes in: a reverse mortgage loan is repaid when the last person on title permanently leaves the home. In fact, the very name itself comes from the fact the loan is repaid in reverse on the back-end, rather than being repaid monthly.

The second thing to know is there are two kinds of reverse mortgages, namely a refinance reverse mortgage and a purchase reverse mortgage.

Reverse Mortgage Refinance

The best-known “flavor” of reverse mortgage is the Home Equity Line of Credit. It only differs from a traditional line of credit in that a reverse mortgage line of credit is not repaid until the last person on title permanently leaves the home. In other words, homeowners can borrow some of their home equity without picking up a monthly mortgage payment.

Reverse mortgage proceeds can be used for any purpose. Common uses include:

  • Financial safety-net in retirement
  • Healthcare
  • Home repairs or improvements
  • Paying off debt

Reverse for Purchase

This is an seniors’-only purchase loan, and it was designed as a way for homebuyers to purchase a retirement home without adding a monthly mortgage payment to their retirement budget.

Homebuyers provide a down payment (typically about 50% of the purchase price), and the loan amount covers the other 50%. There’s never a monthly mortgage payment due.

Buying a home with a Reverse for Purchase loan is an ideal way for homebuyers to double their purchasing power, and it is notably easier to qualify for this FHA-insured loan than it is to qualify for most other home loans.

Homeowner Responsibilities

With either type of reverse mortgage, because they still own the home homeowners remain responsible for:

  • Property taxes (unless property tax exempt)
  • Homeowners insurance
  • Homeowners association dues (if applicable)
  • Condo Dues (if applicable)

To explore how an FHA-insured reverse mortgage might help you or your client with retirement plans, give me a call. I always love hearing from you.

 President's Club Business Card - Updated Picture

 

 

 

And…It’s Good News!

by middleburgreverselady, posted in Caring for Aging Parents; A Daughter's Story, Financial Planning, Laurie MacNaughton, Laurie McNaughton, Retirement Planning, Reverse for Purchase, Reverse Mortgage

Laurie MacNaughton © 2016

So, first the technical mumbo-jumbo (and it’s good news): FHA just announced the Reverse Mortgage loan limit will go up to $636,150, effective January 1, 2017.

Why You Care

Starting January 1, homeowners aged 62 or older who have higher-value homes (i.e. homes that appraise for $636,150 or more) will have access to more equity – potentially meaning a bigger line of credit or a larger monthly stipend.

Reverse for Purchase

For those looking to purchase a home using Reverse for Purchase, this new lending limit means homebuyers may be able to consider extra aging-in-place amenities or other upgrades.

Rates Are Low, Housing Values Are Strong

If you are considering a Reverse Mortgage, now is a really great time to move forward, as you may qualify for more than ever before. So give me a call – I always love hearing from you!

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The Old, Poor, Sick Fallacy

by middleburgreverselady, posted in Caring for Aging Parents; A Daughter's Story, FHA HECM, Laurie MacNaughton, Laurie McNaughton, Retirement Planning, Reverse for Purchase, Reverse Mortgage

Laurie MacNaughton [506562] © 2016

As supper came to a close my engaging dinner companion surprised me – not because he said something I hadn’t heard before, but because I hadn’t heard it for a long time.

“My clients aren’t candidates for reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgages are basically for the old, poor, and sick.”

There is certainly no dearth of data on the matter, so I was somewhat taken aback by my colleague’s settled declaration.

Fact versus fiction

So what do the data show regarding homeowners who take out reverse mortgages?

Nationwide statistics show that homeowners with higher than average incomes, and above average educations, tend to take out reverse mortgages at an earlier age than do homeowners with lower income and education levels. Part of the reason for this is access to better information, such as Dr. Wade Pfau’s report in last month’s Forbes Magazine:

[Researchers] found that using the standby [reverse mortgage] line of credit improved portfolio survival without creating an adverse impact on median remaining wealth (including remaining home equity). This provided independent confirmation that the reverse mortgage line of credit can help mitigate sequence of returns risk without impacting legacy goals.

Though wealth managers tend to be well-informed about recent retirement research, many of our oldest, poorest, and sickest are not actively working with financial planners. On the other hand, regions of the country with the highest home values and the highest education levels also have the greatest numbers of homeowners originating reverse mortgages while in their 60’s, well before they need access to the funds.

Inaccessible wealth

Most Americans have the majority of their wealth tied up in their home – a dynamic called asset illiquidity. Reverse mortgage, fundamentally a home equity line of credit, is designed to enable homeowners to access some of that equity, while not obligating them to a monthly payment. And, in what is perhaps the least known feature of the reverse mortgage line of credit, the credit line accrues a compounding growth rate. This means by the time the homeowner does indeed need access to a safety net, in most cases that safety net has grown appreciably.

Reverse mortgages are not a fit for everyone – no one financial product is.

But a reverse mortgage is going to play an important role in many homeowners’ financial health in retirement, particularly when used as part of a sound, informed, long-term retirement plan.

For more information on how an FHA-insured reverse mortgage may help with your clients’ long-term financial goals, give me a call. I always love hearing from you.

E-Signature-LaurieMacNaughton - Doctored 2

Did you hear the one about the realtor?

by middleburgreverselady, posted in Caring for Aging Parents; A Daughter's Story, FHA HECM, Retirement Planning, Reverse for Purchase, Reverse Mortgage
Laurie MacNaughton

It’s not that I was unaware of the fact realtors have a hard job – after all, I dragged my own realtor around for months, six months to be precise, before finding exactly what I was after. But to be honest, it was not until I changed careers and became a lender that I came to truly understand the caliber of our Loudoun area realtors, the skill set necessary to meet homebuyers’ needs, the adaptability it takes to function in our ever-changing housing market, and the daunting amount of knowledge required of today’s realtors.

But mostly I did not know of the unsung acts of selflessness, the dedication to community service, or the deeds of sheer human kindness regularly displayed by our realtors.

By way of background, I am a lender – a reverse mortgage lender. This means all my clients are aged 62 or better. The vast majority of my clients use reverse mortgage for long-range planning purposes in what is called a “reserve reverse.” These clients tend to be younger, healthier, still employed, highly educated, and working with a financial planner – or they’re purchasing a retirement home using a reverse for purchase loan.

But as a reverse mortgage lender it also means a certain percentage of my clients are advanced elderly. Some have very specialized needs and some are working with major life changes: loss of a spouse, major health issues, financial challenges. For many of these clients a reverse mortgage is nothing short of a miracle. And most of these clients are referred to me by realtors.

They are referred by realtors who could have seen a need but moved on without getting involved. Realtors who could have concluded there was no paycheck to be had in helping a senior refinance out of a bad situation. Realtors who could have been unwilling to make that call, go that extra mile, lend that listening ear, extend that helping hand.

So what, exactly, I am talking about?

Early in January I received a call from a realtor working on a potential listing. The older, self-employed homeowner was still feeling the effects of a struggling construction sector, and had also run into some health challenges. He deeply wanted to stay near doctors, adult children, and the community where he had lived his entire life. However, he knew of few choices but to sell: his upper-valued home held much of his net worth, and there were medical debts to pay.

The realtor could have simply tabulated the potential commission, listed the home, and ignored the homeowner’s other concerns. But he didn’t – he recommended that his potential client refinance using a reverse mortgage.

In another instance a realtor visited me at my office. Her homebuyer had a relentless, degenerative disease and needed to get into single-level living, but had been turned down for “forward” financing – a sadly common situation for retirees. A few days later when I met in person with the homebuyer in her current 5-story home, the realtor had stayed an extra hour in order to spare the homeowner a trip down the stairs to answer the door. Small stuff? Maybe. But it wasn’t small stuff for that homeowner.

And, I should mention, that frail homeowner is now safe, sound, and secure in a beautiful new home due to the realtor’s familiarity with FHA reverse for purchase.

I see realtors spend untold hours meeting needs outside the scope of their clients’ home purchase. I have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with realtors on home rehabs; I have watched as year after year realtors collect winter coats, food for food banks, blankets for needy families. I have seen drives for shoes and backpacks, school supplies and household supplies, disaster relief and emergency-housing relief. They give and they give and they give – but I don’t often hear them receiving due credit.

I’m not naïve: I know there are bad realtors, just as I know there are bad members of any other profession. However, unlike many professionals, realtors’ acts of selflessness seem to go unnoticed.

So to the realtors of our community I say this: thank you for your unflagging efforts to meet needs as you encounter them, to fight for local housing issues, and to serve our community in so very many ways.

Laurie

Laurie MacNaughton [506562] is a freelance writer and Reverse Mortgage Consultant with Southern Trust Mortgage.

She can be reached at 703-477-1183 Direct or Laurie@MiddleburgReverse.com

 

Weekly Scenario: What Happens to the Home When we Move?

by middleburgreverselady, posted in Caring for Aging Parents; A Daughter's Story, FHA HECM, Retirement Planning, Reverse for Purchase, Reverse Mortgage

Scenario:

My wife and I want to work until we’re both 70, and then move to North Carolina. If we do a reverse mortgage now, what happens to the home when we move?

Answer:

Let’s put aside the concept of reverse mortgage for a moment and just think about a traditional mortgage, also called a “forward” mortgage.

What happens with a forward mortgage when you sell your home?

We all know the answer: your home sells, and when you go to settlement the forward mortgage is paid in full, and you pocket the difference between the sales price and the amount due on the mortgage.

With a reverse mortgage the formula is the same, and looks like this:

Sales Price of the Home – What’s Due on the Loan = What You Pocket

When you meet with your reverse mortgage specialist, one of the mandatory disclosures will be an amortization schedule showing approximately how much you can expect to realize from the sale of your home in any given year.

Just as with a forward mortgage, the sales price of the home will be a major factor in how much you pocket from the sale.

As a side note, when it’s time to buy your new home you can purchase it using a Reverse for Purchase loan, also called a HECM for Purchase. You will make a down payment of approximately 50% of the purchase price, and the Reverse for Purchase loan will make up the difference.

With HECM for Purchase you never have a monthly mortgage payment, which frees up your monthly income for other purposes. It also allows you to retain more cash from the sale of your previous home.

If you have questions either about a reverse mortgage on the home you’re in, or questions about HECM for Purchase, give me a call. I always love hearing from you.

Laurie

Laurie MacNaughton [NMLS# 506562] is freelance writer and Reverse Mortgage Consultant with Middleburg Mortgage. She can be reached at 703-477-1183, Direct, or at Laurie@MiddleburgReverse.com
 

Laurie MacNaughton ∙ Reverse Mortgage Consultant, President’s Club ∙ Middleburg Mortgage ∙ 8190 Stonewall Shops Square ∙ Gainesville, VA ∙ 703-477-1183 Direct ∙ Laurie@MiddleburgReverse.com ∙ www.MiddleburgReverseLady.com

 

 

 

Guilty as Charged

by middleburgreverselady, posted in Caring for Aging Parents; A Daughter's Story, Retirement Planning, Reverse for Purchase, Reverse Mortgage
Laurie MacNaughton [506562]  © 2014

I could hear it in her voice, I could see it in her eyes – the fear, the sublimated guilt, the tears lurking just beneath her every word.

Her sin? Old age.

Her crime? The loss of her husband of 58 years. And, with his death went fully 50% of her household income.

And now a new challenge: she has suffered a stroke, and though her recovery is steady, it is slow, and the long-time family home is simply no longer appropriate.

I met with “Mrs. Jones” last night. Her darling middle-aged daughter joined us, and mentioned it was a realtor who had given them my name. After speaking with both mother and daughter it became clear just how good a call it was on the part of the realtor: Mrs. Jones needs out of this big house, and to get into a home appropriate to aging in place.

HECM for Purchase

HECM for Purchase (also known as Reverse for Purchase) is an FHA-insured home-purchase loan available to seniors aged 62 or older. The purchaser provides a down payment – often derived from the sale of the exit home – and the HECM for Purchase loan provides the rest of the purchase funds.

Punto. That’s is. That is the last mortgage payment the home buyer will make on that home until s/he permanently leaves the home. At that point the loan will be repaid from the proceeds of the sale, and the remaining equity will belong to the homeowner, or to the heirs.

Property taxes (if applicable), homeowners insurance, and routine upkeep of the home are still required.

Are you in a home too big, or with too much upkeep, or with too many stairs? Have your longtime neighbors moved, leaving you in a neighborhood you no longer recognize? Has traffic become such an ordeal you are afraid to leave your house?

Give me a call and let’s talk. Include your adult children on the conversation. And together, let’s explore your options. You may have far more than you know.

Laurie

Laurie MacNaughton [NMLS# 506562] · Reverse Mortgage Consultant, President’s Club · Middleburg Mortgage · 20937 Ashburn Road, Suite 115 ·Ashburn, Virginia 20147 · 703-477-1183 Direct · Laurie@MiddleburgReverse.com

   Visit me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MiddleburgReverseMortgage

Licensed in: Maryland (MD), Washington, DC, Virginia (VA), Pennsylvania (PA), Delaware (DE), North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Georgia (GA), Tennessee (TN).