Reverse Mortgage Benefits in Surprise Arizona
Find out how you can benefit from a reverse mortgage in Surprise Arizona. Visit www.reversemortgageprosaz.com.
Can You Benefit From a Reverse Mortgage?
By Lee T Stein
Your decision to secure a reverse mortgage begins with educating yourself and finding a qualified team of professionals to help you. A qualified professional should be there to help ensure that you make the most well informed decision you possibly can. He or she should meet with you personally – to gather facts, to clearly explain the reverse mortgage process, and to determine whether or not this kind of mortgage is right for you.
Below is a list of reasons that seniors 62 years old and up can benefit from a reverse mortgage:
* No monthly mortgage payments
* No income qualifications
* Proceeds are tax free
* Neither you, nor your heirs, can ever owe more than the market value of your home at the time of sale.
* The loan is not due until the last homeowner permanently moves out of the house, sells the house, or passes away.
* You can receive the loan proceeds in any one of the following ways: lump sum, line of credit, monthly payments, or a combination of any of these options.
WHAT DO MANY SENIORS DO WITH A REVERSE MORTGAGE?
Supplement social security payments
Pay off credit cards
Pay off a current mortgage
Pay off tax liens
Travel
Hire a caregiver
Purchase a long term care policy
Purchase an annuity
Build a vacation home
Provide gifts to their children and grandchildren
Make repairs and renovations to their home
Purchase life insurance
Some other benefits include:
* Reverse mortgage credit lines earn interest
* You will remove any financial burden your children may incur in assisting with your needs (medical, groceries, etc)
* You get to choose how to withdraw your money (lump sum, credit line, monthly payments, or combination)
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_T_Stein
Know the Myths of Reverse Mortgages in Surprise Arizona
Here is another great article I found about Reverse Mortgages. Make sure that you know the myths surrounding reverse mortgages, so that you can make an informed decision regarding your future in retirement. If you have questions about Reverse Mortgages in the Surprise Arizona area, visit me at www.reversemortgageprosaz.com.
Reverse Mortgage-Are you a Myth Buster? By Steven Moline
What Reverse Mortgage Myth do you believe in?
– The bank will take my home.
– My heirs will have a financial burden.
– Reverse Mortgages are for seniors with a hardship.
Better yet, what would you tell a friend about Reverse Mortgages?
– I heard they’re bad.
– You’ll lose your house.
– Don’t do it or you’ll be sorry.
The dictionary defines a myth as ‘a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence.’ It’s understandable that we hand out advice based upon our own view of the world. If I don’t need something neither should you. Baloney! Don’t dismiss the benefits of a Reverse Mortgage based upon something imaginary or unverifiable.
You may be preparing to retire and need to pay off your existing mortgage to eliminate the burden of your monthly mortgage payments. You may need to pay medical bills, make home repairs or perform renovations to your home to accommodate physical handicaps. Your children or grandchildren may want help with their tuition. Or how about taking that long overdue vacation you haven’t been able to afford. Many senior homeowners desire to remain in their homes rather than sell and move once they reach retirement. You worked hard to purchase your home. Why sell it just because you need extra cash!
Here is another great article on Reverse Mortgages for seniors.
Reverse Mortgages – Helping Seniors During Recession
by Robert Griffin
For seniors, the recession is a terribly uncertain time. Rising living and housing costs and potential cuts to government assistance mean less social security and pension earnings to take care of their increasing health needs. The recession is troubling for all families, but is particularly difficult for seniors who do not have time, ability or opportunity to re-enter the job market.
Moreover, they are at an age when they have earned their right to a relaxing retirement. In this recession, reverse mortgages become a lifeline to seniors, helping them save their home and make the most of their retirement years. Many homeowners are not aware of the opportunity that the reverse mortgage provides them. At no penalty to the borrower and great interest rates, the reverse mortgage is a great return for the previous years spent paying a mortgage.
The reverse mortgage helps senior homeowners who are struggling to manage their rising medical bills and other expenses during their retirement on top of mortgage payments. The program allows these homeowners to convert equity in their homes to a tax-free income, without increased mortgage payments, and without the risk or reality of having to sell their home or sign over the title. But what happens to even the most stable and reliable of programs in the midst of an economic recession? When it comes to Reverse Mortgages, they only gather strength and continue to support borrowers.
These days, a new, higher lending limit will enable borrowers to obtain a greater benefit if their home value is higher than the previous HUD limit, when it is needed most. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development raised the reverse mortgage limits to $625,500 to help stimulate the economy and provide immediate relief to senior homeowners facing unaffordable payments.
Now is the greatest time in history to qualify for a Reverse Mortgage. The implementation of this limit has increased financial options for senior homeowners during this difficult time and will significantly ease the burden of retirement during the economic downturn. The new limit is nearly double that of the limit from before the last increase in 2008, which consisted of a jump from $362,790 to $417,000.
Reverse Mortgage rates are at an all time low. It is now that financial stability become most important. Seniors simply cannot afford to overlook the benefits of a Reverse Mortgage during an economic downturn. Seniors may be in the prime of their life, but become more financially vulnerable and less resilient when outside circumstances threaten their retirement funds. Seniors who own their home may not realize they are sitting on a nest egg that could allow them more financial freedom in a recession than in a time of economic abundance.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Griffin
If you have any questions about Reverse Mortgages in the Surprise AZ area, please visit www.reversemortgageprosaz.com.
Here is another great article that offers valuable tips to consumers who are considering a Reverse Mortgage. Visit me at www.reversemortgageprosaz.com if you have any questions, or need help with a Reverse Mortgage in the Surprise AZ area.
7 Reverse Mortgage Tips You Shouldn’t Ignore
By Jessica N. Bennet
When you wish to cash out equity in your home without having to pay anything on a monthly basis, a reverse mortgage is what you should choose. Reverse mortgages are primarily meant for seniors aged 62 and above. Whether you wish to supplement retirement and social security income, pay for health care or home improvements, reverse mortgages can provide you with tax free cash flow in lump sum amount or through monthly installments. Given below are 7 helpful tips for those willing to avail reverse mortgages.
1. Ask questions: When you approach a lender for a reverse home loan, ask him questions such that you understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage clearly. Accept the loan offer only when you’re clear about how it works and whether it can serve our purpose.
2. It’s worth waiting till you’re older: The older you are, the higher can be the loan amount you may qualify for.
3. How to get the funds: There are different ways to receive funds in a reverse mortgage. You need to understand whether you want equal monthly payments, lump sum cash, a line of credit or a combination of monthly checks and line of credit.
The Senior Reverse Mortgage Program Has Evolved Over the Years and is More Attractive Today in Surprise AZ
Visit me at www.reversemortgageprosaz.com if you have any questions about Reverse Mortgages in Surprise Arizona!
The Senior Reverse Mortgage Program Has Evolved Over the Years and is More Attractive Today
By Tim G Robbins
Since the beginning of the federally insured Reverse Mortgage in 1988 when the government started regulating them, the program has gone through many changes that have not only created more security for the senior homeowner, but reduced fees and increased borrowing limits. Also not to mention increased the options that are available for the senior to choose from or change too over the years.
Unlike any other program in the mortgage industry there is no program that even comes close to the Reverse, it is designed to have the most flexibility, and the safest to all seniors who own their home and are over 62 years of age. Now in 2009 where more and more seniors are seeing the true value of a Reverse Mortgage, and that it is not just for the seniors who are poor, it is just about for everyone who is concerned with having security in these troubled economic times! Yes security simply because the statistics show the 78% of all seniors who elect to take out a Reverse Mortgage utilize the Equity Credit Line which is built into the adjustable rate program.
Read more…
Long-term care isn’t just about picking a nursing home or a home care agency. Long-term care is also about the legal and financial matters that almost always come up when families are trying to help an aging loved one make choices.
Most families cannot afford to privately pay for nursing home care or in-home care for very long. This wasn’t planned for or budgeted for prior to retirement. Planning ahead is getting more popular, but for our older generations, it wasn’t an option for various reasons.
Because of this I try to make sure I know what all of the financial options are for seniors and their family members. One of them is something that not many of us understand very well- a reverse mortgage.
Reverse mortgages have received a lot of press lately. NBC Nightly news, ABC, CBS….they have all run stories. Of course there are pros and cons to reverse mortgages, but interestingly enough, two large organizations support and advocate them, especially for seniors who need long-term care. The National Council on Aging and AARP both support the use of reverse mortgages in certain circumstances.
Reverse Mortgages for Seniors in Surprise, Arizona: As Medicare and Social Security Trust Funds Deteriorate, Now is the Time to Think Ahead!
From the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/us/politics/13health.html?_r=2&hp
WASHINGTON — Even as Congress hunted for ways to finance a major expansion of health insurance coverage, the Obama administration reported Tuesday that the financial condition of the two largest federal benefit programs, Medicare and Social Security, had deteriorated, in part because of the recession.
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, with, from left, Michael J. Astrue, the Social Security administrator, Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services secretary, and Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, discussed the financial status of benefit programs.
As a result, the administration said, the Medicare fund that pays hospital bills for older Americans is expected to run out of money in 2017, two years sooner than projected last year. The Social Security trust fund will be exhausted in 2037, four years earlier than predicted, it said.
Spending on Social Security and Medicare totaled more than $1 trillion last year, accounting for more than one-third of the federal budget.
The fragility of the two programs is a concern not just for current beneficiaries, but also for future retirees, taxpayers and politicians. Lawmakers say they would never allow Medicare’s trust fund to run out of money. But beneficiaries could be required to pay higher premiums, co-payments and deductibles to help cover the costs.
The projected date of insolvency, a widely used measure of the benefit programs’ financial health, shows the immense difficulties Mr. Obama and Congress will face in trying to shore them up while also extending health coverage to millions of Americans.
The labor secretary, Hilda L. Solis, noted that 5.7 million jobs had been lost since the recession began in December 2007. With fewer people working, the government collects less in payroll taxes, a major source of financing for Medicare and Social Security.
A resumption of economic growth is not expected to close the financing gap. The trustees’ bleak projections already assume that the economy will begin to recover late this year.
The Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, said the only way to keep Medicare solvent was to “control runaway growth in both public and private health care expenditures.” And he said Mr. Obama intended to do that as part of his plan to guarantee access to health insurance for all Americans.
But if cost controls do not produce the expected savings, Congress is likely to find it difficult to preserve benefits without increasing taxes.
Just hours before the trustees of Medicare and Social Security issued their annual report, suggesting that the nation could not afford the programs it had, the Senate Finance Committee finished a hearing on how to pay for the expansion of health insurance coverage that Mr. Obama seeks.
Mr. Obama has said he does not want to finance expanded health coverage with more deficit spending. Rather, he says, Congress must find ways to offset the costs, so they do not add to the deficit over the next decade.
Federal deficits and debt are soaring because of the recession and federal efforts to shore up banks and other industries while trying to revive the economy with a huge infusion of federal spending.
“The financial outlook for the hospital insurance trust fund is significantly less favorable than projected in last year’s annual report,” the Medicare trustees said. “Actual payroll tax income in 2008 and projected future amounts are significantly lower than previously projected, due to lower levels of average wages and fewer covered workers.”
In coming years, the trustees said, Medicare spending will increase faster than either workers’ earnings or the economy over all.
The trustees predicted that, for the first time in more than three decades, Social Security recipients would not receive any increase in their benefits next year or in 2011. In 2012, they predicted, the cost-of-living adjustment will be 1.4 percent.
The updates are calculated under a statutory formula and reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, which was unusually high last year because of energy prices.
If there is no cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security, about three-fourths of Medicare beneficiaries will not see any change in their basic premiums for Part B, which covers doctors’ services. The monthly premium, now $96.40, is usually deducted from Social Security checks, the main source of income for more than half of older Americans.
The trustees said that one-fourth of Medicare beneficiaries would face sharply higher premiums: about $104 next year and $120 in 2011. This group includes new Medicare beneficiaries and those with higher incomes (over about $85,000 a year for individuals and $170,000 for couples).
Seventy-five percent of beneficiaries will not pay any increase, so the remaining 25 percent have to pay more to keep the trust fund at the same level, Medicare officials said.
The aging of baby boomers will strain both Medicare and Social Security, but Medicare’s financial problems are more urgent.
The trustees predict a 30 percent increase in the number of Medicare beneficiaries in the coming decade, to 58.8 million in 2018, from 45.2 million last year.
But the projected increase in health costs and the use of medical care is a more significant factor in the growth of Medicare. The trustees predict that average Medicare spending per beneficiary will increase more than 50 percent, to $17,000 in 2018, from $11,000 last year.
Representative Pete Stark, the California Democrat who is chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, said the Medicare report “underscores the urgent need for health reform.”
Seniors in Surprise AZ Receive $250 Checks….
I found this article on CNN.com and thought you might find it interesting: Grandparents, retirees and struggling seniors have waited months for this.
Tens of millions of Social Security recipients will see their bank accounts jump by $250 starting Thursday, when the government began sending out checks and transferring funds for a one-time boost coming from the stimulus bill passed in February.
The payments are flowing to nearly 55 million seniors and retirees between now and June 4, with a huge batch of checks hitting the mail this week. “Approximately half of them will be out in the next day or two,” Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue told CNN Thursday.
The money will arrive in the same way that each person receives regular Social Security or Supplemental Security Income funds. If a person receives a Social Security check in the mail, the $250 stimulus payment will also appear in his or her mailbox. An increasing number of people use direct deposit, so many seniors and SSI recipients could see the $250 boost in their accounts immediately.
Social Security and SSI recipients make up the largest groups to get the stimulus money, but it will also go out to railroad retirees and disabled veterans. Agencies serving those groups will release the funds separately. All told, the government estimates some 64 million Americans will receive the one-time stimulus checks this year, at a cost of $13 billion to the federal budget. This comes as the Obama administration continues a public relations push to show that the $787 billion stimulus act is warming up the economy. Astrue noted that these $250 payments are going out weeks before the deadline and are, by far, the largest single stimulus payment to individual Americans. “This is a point in time where some of the first big chunks of stimulus money is actually going into the economy,” Astrue said.
Meanwhile, there is vigorous debate over how stimulus payments will be spent in tough times. Will the checks do anything for the overall economy? Astrue’s agency has asked seniors to e-mail and tell what they plan to do with the $250. He admits that some have said they expect to save the money or pay off debts, but he insists that many responses listed hands-on spending. “We get people who say they’ll buy paint, we get people who say they’ll buy furniture,” he said. “Quite a few of our recipients say they’ll buy clothes or school supplies for their grandkids.”
REVERSE MORTGAGE OPTIONS for CONSUMERS IMPROVE WITH LOAN LIMIT BOOST in Surprise, Arizona
Here is an article that will help anyone considering a Reverse Mortgage, particularly during our current economic climate. Visit www.reversemortgageprosaz.com if you need help with a reverse mortgage in Surprise, AZ.
By Karen Epper Hoffman, NRMLA
The recent increase of the national loan limit for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) is barely a month old and already lenders see it as a game-changer.
The federally insured HECM limit climbed to $625,500 from $417,000 on Feb. 17, when President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law. The higher loan limit, which stays in effect until yearend, follows by less than four months an increase of the loan limit to $417,000; previously, the loan limit varied by county and maxed out at $362,790.
The financial crisis has accentuated the value of the higher limit. With so many seniors reeling from diminishing investments, weakened home values, and scant availability of consumer credit, many reverse mortgage originators say the HECM increase offers a valuable option to cash-strapped seniors.
WASHINGTON — A study released by The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) shows that reverse mortgages can be used by over 13 million Americans to pay for long-term care expenses at home, allowing many to remain independent and in their homes longer.
“The study shows that reverse mortgages have significant potential to help many seniors pay for help at home or to make home modifications. It also points to the need for strong consumer safeguards and lower transaction costs if these loans are to appeal to the millions of older Americans who could potentially benefit,” said NCOA president and CEO James Firman.
According to the study, there are some 9.8 million elder households (aged 62 and older) that are dealing with an impairment that can make it hard to live at home. In total, these households could access as much as $695 billion through reverse mortgages. For individuals, the extra cash could go a long way to help with family caregiving and other long-term care expenses. For example, a borrower aged 75 years old with a home worth $100,000 could receive a reverse mortgage loan that could pay them $500 a month for almost 12 years.
Reverse Mortgages Surprise AZ 