Reverse Mortgage Guide

Second homes were big in 2006, amounting to 35 percent of all sales,  according to the National Association of Realtors.

“The typical vacation-home buyer in 2006,” says NAR, ”was 44 years old, had a median household income of $102,200, and purchased a property that was a median of 215 miles from their primary residence; 42 percent of vacation homes were closer than 100 miles and 32 percent were 500 miles or further.”

It follows that some second homes are free and clear of all mortgages or secure only a little debt. If the owners are age 62 and above, then such properties can be used to potentially secure a reverse mortgage, according to a report in The Washington Post. (See: An Extra Cash Lift, Reverse Mortgages Expand to Second Homes, June 9th)

The article says two lenders, – Seattle Mortgage Company and BNY –will start to offer such financing in the near term.

This means that vacation home you bought 20 years ago may now have additional value as a source of post-retirement income.

Borrowers with an interest in such financing should contact the lenders for specifics. As always, be sure to get independent advice from an attorney specializing in elder law before signing any paperwork.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 15th, 2007 at 6:53 am 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.