A Reverse Mortgage Allows You to Move Forward With Your Life

Retirement Wishes / American Dreams from At|vantage
A New Federally Insured Reverse Mortgage Program.

Amazing, a new government-guaranteed program that will pay you to live in your home.

Imagine getting paid $1,054.00* more per month for the rest of your life in your home – with NO mortgage payment. No risk.

What would you do? How would you live differently?

Would you vacation more? Travel more? Spend more time with your children? Make your home more comfortable? Get rid of all your bills? Live more comfortably with greater security?

This is the question the federal government asked when they looked into the quality of life of senior citizens throughout the United States. They determined that they would live a lot differently. And a lot better.

As a result, the government got behind a program to give senior citizens the ability to convert the equity in their home into a monthly income or lump sum amount to pay off bills, debts, complete home improvements, take trips – to do anything that would provide a higher quality and enjoyment of life.  These programs are federally insured “Home Equity Conversion Mortgages” (HECM).

Not only do these programs provide access to this life changing and life enhancing capital, but they do it in a way that is not dependent on income or credit. There is no credit check^. No income verification. But, best of all, there is no mortgage payment.

No payments, EVER, so long as you continue to live in your home.

You could worry less about the realities of living on a fixed income. Enjoy your home more by completing some of those long-deferred, long-delayed improvements. Live a richer, fuller life and do more because you will have more to do it with.

But before we all get carried away and think that you just won the lottery, know that this is NOT free money. You are using the equity you have in your home. That equity, which would otherwise sit useless, can now significantly improve your life. And while the odds of winning the lottery are something like 1 in 120 million, the odds of bettering your life with a reverse mortgage are almost certain.

(*The number given here is an example only. Your actual situation will vary depending upon your age, your property equity, and property value.)
(^There is sometimes a minimal credit check to see if you are delinquent on any federally insured loans.)

You are not going to have to pay for it, because it is already yours. Unlike a forward mortgage, where you use debt to turn your income into equity, in a reverse mortgage, you are using debt to turn your existing equity into income.

The amount of cash you can get for your equity depends on several factors:
• The program you select – No one program is right for everyone and all programs vary to some degree.
• Your age
• Value (and in some cases location) of your home
• Interest Rates

Usually, the most cash goes to the oldest borrowers living in the homes of greatest value at a time when interest rates are low, but how the money is paid to you, whether by credit line (flat/growing), immediate cash advance, or monthly cash advance, will effect the total amount of cash you receive.

Before, you couldn’t touch your equity without putting yourself at risk. Now, with the help of the federal government, there is a way for you to get to it without ever making mortgage payments, without worrying about having to sell your home. The requirements are simple:

• You must be at least 62 years old.
• You must have substantial equity in your home. (Note: There can be no existing debt on the home. If there is existing debt, you must use an immediate cash advance from the reverse mortgage to pay off the debt.)
• Your home must be your principal residence (you must live there at least 6 months out of the year).
• For HECM loans, you must have an eligible property. Eligible properties include single-family properties, a 2-4 unit building, or a federally-approved condominium or a planned unit development (PUD).

You’ve heard the adage that you can’t take it with you. So what are you going to do with it? The “it” I am referring to is your worldly possessions, measured by the money in the bank, stocks, bonds, and real estate.

Heavenly currency does not trade on such assets. An even if it did, the transfer of funds would be a little bit of a problem. So while they are still yours, what are you going to do with them?

In my seminars on estate planning from a real estate perspective, I have a slide which shows a picture of a man and woman grinning back with the phrase “Expires on June 30, 2017.” The point being that unlike the cottage cheese in the refrigerator, we do not come with an expiration date. We do not know when we will breathe our last breath here on earth. If we did, financial planning would be easier. We would be able to use every last dollar to our best advantage and experience everything in our life that we desire and could afford.

The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Fortune Magazine, coined the phrase “age of uncertainty” to describe the current state of affairs in the United States. The headlines in newspapers underscore this uncertainty with corporate scandals, rumors of war, and economic instability. All the more reason to be cautious, careful, and concerned about the future. Despite this uncertainty, there is no cause to live in fear, to live in deprivation because of a perceived security.

It is this uncertainty though, that has us preserving, protecting, and even hoarding our assets.

The reverse mortgage is not a panacea for what ails the US economy. It will not revive the conscience of corporate America, nor is it going to breathe life into Wall Street. But it can make a huge difference in your life. It will allow you to convert some of the dead equity in your home into a monthly income. It can create a lump sum so that you can do home improvements, pay off bills, and finance your dreams. You deserve to have a rich, full, rewarding, and comfortable life.

The reverse mortgage is a loan that you do not have to make payments on as long as you live in your home. Based upon a formula, you may receive a lump sum in some amount and/or a creditline account, and/or a monthly income. (Note: You may also use the loan to buy an annuity – for the rest of your life, regardless of where you live).

You will still own your home. Your heirs will still inherit your home if you choose. The difference is that the equity can be to make your life better.

Here’s a couple of examples of how the math works:

Imagine you were 72 years old., owned a home that was worth $400,000 that was owned free and clear with no leins and encumbrances. You could obtain a lump sum of $169,000 still live in and own your home and never make another payment as long as you live in your home. Or you may op to receive a monthly income of $1,054 per month, and again never make a payment on the loan.

Let’s say you owned the same home but owed $50,000, had another $10,000 in bills that together were costing $750 per month. You could obtain a reverse mortgage that paid off all of these leins and generated a monthly income of $680. This means you would not pay the $750 per month and instead get paid $650. A difference of $1400. Or you could get rid of the $750 per month obligation and get a $119,000 lump sum balance.

So here we find ourselves with only time and money. In our youth it seemed we had more time than money. As we age, money is always in short supply, but time is an even more limited resource. In all my years of financial counseling, I have always been struck by wasted opportunities, lost dreams, and sacrifices that people make in their personal lives. These situations are easier to accept when there are no other options, but now you do have a choice and there is no need to live without the things, experiences, and comforts that will make your remaining years “golden” indeed.

Reverse Mortgages are an option that most of you had no idea existed. A life that so many, too many, never dared to dream.

This is why we call this program Retirement Wishes| American Dreams.

This is all done without any credit checks; without income verification; without any risk; without making any payment; without selling the home; without guaranteeing any loan and without moving.

What it does do is provide more opportunity, more flexibility, more comfort, and more fun.

Of course, here is the catch, the fine print.

You are going to be spending a portion of your children’s inheritance. And while I am a believer in the legacy of real estate, quality of life is also important, especially as we get older. If there is something left over, then all the better. But I would certainly hate to see you deprive yourself for the remainder of your life in order to provide a leg up in the future of someone else’s.

If this is a big concern, why not pull out an additional lump sum and give it to your heirs to buy their own home and create their own wealth? This way, not only do they get it sooner, you will have the benefit of watching them enjoy it.

The total amount that will be owed includes*:

• All the cash advances received from the loan and
• All the interest on those advances

 *(Up to the loans “nonrecourse limit”. The nonrecourse limit is the value of your home at the time the loan is repaid. You can never owe more than this value no matter how many cash advances you’ve taken. The lender can’t take anything but the home: Not your income, your other assets, or your heirs’ assets. Of course, you don’t have to take out anything near the total value of the home, and if, at the end of the loan, your loan balance is less than the value of your home, then either you or your heirs get to keep the difference.)

Reverse mortgages are insured by the Federal Government HUD and are also available through the government sponsored agency Fannie Mae. In addition, there are other alternatives to these programs that are designed to convert your dead equity into income. Some of these options included privately sponsored loan programs and also include financing strategies using traditional mortgages.

Through Mortgage At|vantage, we have created numerous options and opportunities in real estate that help achieve your goals, hopes, and dreams. We have effectively created opportunities for people to get into a home, stay in a home, and grow their wealth using real estate, the money they use to pay for it, and the equity they have tied up in it.

Given the limited returns paid on certificates of deposits, the declining values in the stock market, and an uncertain future, a little creativity, innovation, and some financial counseling can go a long way to creating a life enhancing financial plan that looks to your real estate as the cornerstone.

Retirement Wishes|American Dreams is a government sponsored and insured program created by At|vantage to provide you with an advantage in the next stage of your life. Using the power of the reverse mortgage to give you all the benefits with none of the payments. And you can have it all. Right now. Just call a counselor at At|vantage today to hear all about the opportunities that you have to make your life easier.

Like a fairy tale ending where they all lived happily ever after, your Retirement Wishes and American Dreams can come true.

Sincerely,

Dan Holbrook
President
At|vantage

For more information on Reverse Mortgages, please visit these websites (they will open in a new window):

AARP
www.aarp.org/revmort

Fannie Mae
www.fanniemae.com/homebuyers/findamortgage/reverse/index.jhtml

NCHEC (National Center for Home Equity Conversion)
www.reverse.org

NRMLA (National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association)
www.reversemortgage.org