Among Friends

[Melzie]

I looked into a reverse mortgage and right off the top it costs a few thousand dollars just to set it up and then there are fees along the way even after it's set up. 

Also, I believe that if you have any outstanding loans using your home as collateral those amounts are deducted from your available equity.  How much you can get also depends on your age and you can only get a certain percentage of your net equity after those deductions. 

For me, there were too many ifs and hurdles so I passed.  As much as I would hate to do it, and would only do it if my back was against the wall, selling my home would put more money in my pocket than a reverse mortgage would.   

Good luck! It certainly isn't an easy decision.

[wagirl]

My mom did one of those and when she died, we 3 kids had to get a lawyer to figure it all  out regarding the bank part in it. It was a hot mess and more so because she was buckets of crazy the last few years of her life, and  decided that only one of us  should have any business  knowing  anything about anything to do with her or her finances. And it took a few years to finally figure it all out---

[Shelbelle]

Dont do it, friend of mine left her home, didnt bother to sell it, just cleaned it out and relocated and it is way over a year now and still not been settled, her name is still on the deed to the house. Up until recently she was still paying home owners insurance and prop taxes on it, and the HOA fees. Tons and tons of red tape, it was turned over to HUD.  She probably should have sold it and paid them off. 

[bargainsgirl]

IT all depends....My Mom was only 76 when my dad died so in order for her to remain in their home we (she) took out a RM.  It allowed her to stay which was so very important to her at the time.  She passed 5 years later so the equity was not totally used up.  My sister and I did not care if anything was left for us. We just wanted her to be happy and secure in her home so for us it was the perfect solution. 

[sward05]

An aunts sister did that.  Sadly her neighborhood became crime ridden so she was stuck with having to stay in her bome.

[NYCLatinaMe]

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@Melzie wrote:

I looked into a reverse mortgage and right off the top it costs a few thousand dollars just to set it up and then there are fees along the way even after it's set up. 

Also, I believe that if you have any outstanding loans using your home as collateral those amounts are deducted from your available equity.  How much you can get also depends on your age and you can only get a certain percentage of your net equity after those deductions. 

For me, there were too many ifs and hurdles so I passed.  As much as I would hate to do it, and would only do it if my back was against the wall, selling my home would put more money in my pocket than a reverse mortgage would.   

Good luck! It certainly isn't an easy decision.

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I guess a situation where it would be better to get a reverse mortgage instead of selling and moving is where the proceeds of the sale would not be enough to pay for another place where one would move.  Many elders can't afford to move to smaller homes because the payments on that small home would be too high.

[ROMARY]

As someone here posted a line of credit on your home is a good idea, imo.

One pays the interest only on each check that one writes against the house equity.

Well, that's the way it used to be. 

Check out the information with a few banks.

[frenchie]

I could not live like that and having unsettled business hanging over my head. I would sell and buy or rent another place. 

[SilleeMee]

If you own your home outright, have no kids and have no outstanding debts attached to your home then it could be a good option if you need large sums of money to buy something you have to have to sustain living in your house especially if you have limited income resources and are unable to pay for an equity line of credit or other types of loans. 

Before you sign your name on the line for a RM, they make you go through financial counseling to make sure that you are in the right place to make such an agreement. They will discuss other options for obtaining money other than delving into a RM to get there. They want to make sure that you are making the right decision to go for a RM b/c it's a serious commitment that some will find rewarding while others can experience financial losses depending on their circumstances.