About 63% of people 55 and up plan to age in their current homes, 12% plan to buy another house, and 26% are unsure what they’ll do, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders and MetLife Mature Market Institute. Depending upon the circumstances, a reverse mortgage loan could help some of these people live more comfortably.

Reverse Mortgages Help Homeowners Stay Independent

Many seniors fear losing their independence as they age. A reverse home loan is a tool that can help you stay in your home and avoid being financially dependent on family members. The money, paid as a lump sum or in installments, can be a lifeline if you have a fixed income.

HECM Can Be Used to Purchase Home

The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) can be used if you want to downsize or relocate. You can use reverse loan proceeds to buy another house as long as it is going to be your principal residence. The money can’t be used for a vacation home or investment property.

Reverse Mortgages for the Undecided

Even if you don’t know if you want to stay in your current home for the long-term, a reverse mortgage could still be useful. Among the reasons you might need access to cash are to repair and upgrade your home if you think you might sell, to purchase a long-term care policy, or to consolidate debt. Of course you aren’t limited to those particular uses. A reverse mortgage can be used for any purpose.

Shop around and compare reverse mortgage quotes to get an idea of how much you might be able to borrow. The older you are and the more your home is worth, the more reverse mortgage money you would qualify to borrow.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 7:53 pm and is filed under Reverse Mortgage . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.