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If you are thinking about applying for a reverse mortgage, there are some questions you will want to ask yourself first about your health. 

Many senior homeowners can stay in their homes safely for the rest of their lives. Granted, there may be a need for sporadic in-home care, but for the most part, the Reverse Mortgage borrower gains the benefit of staying in their comfort zone and making no mortgage payments for the remainder of time spent in the home. 

A “maturity event” may occur, not allowing continued stay in the home.  In that event, they may need to/want to sell the home.  This is certainly allowed with a Reverse Mortgage, allowing the homeowner to cash out of the home and perhaps go to assisted living or other arrangements. 

Below are two key questions to ask about your health and your home to help you figure out if you are likely to stay there for the rest of your life. 

2 Health Related Questions Before Obtaining a Reverse Mortgage

1. Does your current home provide the accessibility you will need in the future? If your home design accommodates the access, you are likely to need in the future (such as minimal stairs, compatible lighting) that means it may continue to be ideal for you for the rest of your life. As we cannot see into the future, to see if there might be mobility issues etc., we oft times do what is best for the NOW, knowing that the future is not ours to see or unnecessarily worry about. 
2. Will you be able to get the support you need at home? Many people are able to receive the support they need in the comfort of the home they love, and never need to move out. In fact, there may be situations where a reverse mortgage helps you gain access to the funds you need to receive that support and stay in your home. There may be situations where your health needs do not allow accessibility in your surroundings, but rather needing access to care and support from an assisted living scenario. In this case there are options for that scenario. 

Figure Out if a Reverse Mortgage is Right for You 

Bottom line?  You can stay in your home for the rest of your life so long as you stay up to date with all home maintenance, property taxes and homeowners insurance. The reverse mortgage may not come due during your lifetime, as long as you are there.  

If there comes a time you believe you will need to sell your home some years from now, be aware that your reverse mortgage will come due when you take that action. There is a 12-month period in which you can sell, or perhaps decide that it is not yet the time to take that action. 

Get In Touch With Your Trusted Mortgage Specialist Now!

Grandview Lending Inc. can walk you through these questions and considerations, offering you detailed recommendations for your situation. We can also help you apply rapidly for a reverse mortgage if you decide it is the right choice for you. Please call us now at (317) 255-0062 to schedule your consult for a reverse mortgage in Indiana. 

If you are a senior homeowner in Indiana, you can supplement your income by applying for a reverse mortgage.

One reason a reverse mortgage is such a flexible loan option is because you are unrestricted in your use of the funds. Below are some ideas for how you could use the money you receive through your reverse mortgage disbursements.

Things You Should Know About Reverse Mortgage

1. Pay off high-interest debt. Are you having a hard time keeping up with high-interest debts? If you pay off those debts now, you can stop dealing with the interest. The reverse mortgage itself does not come due until a maturity event (like selling the home or the death of the last borrower). So, if you use it to pay off the high-interest debts, you will find yourself in a better situation financially.
2. Upgrade or repair your home. You can stay in your home for as long as you want with a reverse mortgage. So, using the funds to upgrade your home or make repairs is an excellent option. You could make a practical upgrade like installing solar panels or other features for higher energy efficiency, which could help you save money. But you also could do something like add in a luxury feature such as a swimming pool.
3. Pay off medical bills. All it takes is one large medical bill to throw off your financial situation. With a reverse mortgage, you can pay off medical expenses and get back to living your life.
4. Buy another home or investment property. You can use reverse mortgage funds to make a down payment on a second home or vacation home. You also can purchase an investment property which you could rent out for extra income. Some people also like to use reverse mortgage money to fix and flip.
5. Put off claiming Social Security. The longer you wait to start claiming Social Security payments, the more money you are eligible to receive. If you are having a difficult time keeping up with your expenses without claiming Social Security, the supplement to your income from a reverse mortgage could help you get by as you defer claiming your benefits.
6. Fund in-home care. If you need someone to assist with basic tasks around the house but do not want to move into assisted living, taking out a reverse mortgage can help you to afford in-home care. One thing to keep in mind is that if no borrower for the reverse mortgage will be residing in the home for 12 consecutive months, the reverse mortgage comes due. So, that is something to keep in mind if you think you might be moving into assisted living in the future.
7. Fund a personal project. Another idea for what you can do with reverse mortgage funds that you will not see listed too often is financing a personal project. The reason this use of reverse mortgage money tends to be overlooked is probably because personal projects are so individual in nature. A personal project could take just about any form. Maybe you want to build a boat or create a sculpture. Whatever dream you have, reverse mortgage funds can help you bring it to fruition.
8. Help your family or friends. You do not necessarily need to spend reverse mortgage funds on yourself. You can use them to help out other people you care about. The simplest example would be if you have a grandchild who wants to attend college. Reverse mortgage money can help pay for their education, reducing their reliance on student loans.
9. Reclaim peace of mind. Sometimes senior homeowners take out reverse mortgages simply to have a bit more room in their budgets. You do not have to have a specific purpose in mind for spending the funds. Instead, you can simply save the money—or even invest it—just so you have some extra funds waiting should you need them. The peace of mind that brings through reduced financial stress could be a significant improvement to your quality of life.
10. Take a vacation. One more way that senior homeowners sometimes enjoy using their reverse mortgage funds is to go on a trip. This is your chance to finally cross off some locations from your bucket list and make your travel dreams come true.

Apply Now For a Reverse Mortgage With Grandview Lending

Maybe you are already picturing the ways in which you could make use of a reverse mortgage now that you have had some time to explore some of the possibilities.

To find out now if you qualify for a reverse mortgage, please give us a call at (317) 255-0062. During your consultation, you can receive answers to all of your questions about how you can use a reverse mortgage. We work with senior homeowners in Indianapolis and throughout the state of Indiana.

Thinking about applying for a reverse mortgage with a younger spouse? If you are over age 62 and your spouse is not, you might be wondering whether you can get a reverse mortgage. You also may be wondering whether there could be any potential hassles since your spouse is not a senior.

Yes, You Can Get a Reverse Mortgage With a Younger Spouse

First of all, it is possible to get a reverse mortgage if your spouse is under 62. All that is really necessary is that one person be age 62 or above. That person will need to sign on the reverse mortgage as a borrower.

Your Spouse Cannot Sign as a Borrower on the Reverse Mortgage

But it is important to know that if your spouse is under age 62, they will not be able to sign on the reverse mortgage with you as a borrower. You will be the only person signing on it with that status.

What Happens If You Die?

So long as you and your spouse are both living in the house, it should not matter that only one of you has signed on the reverse mortgage as a borrower. The loan will not come due until there is a maturity event.

But what happens if there is a maturity event? What if, for example, you die while your spouse is still alive? At that point, since you were the sole borrower on the reverse mortgage, the death of the last borrower will have occurred, which constitutes a maturity event.

Hypothetically, that would mean that the loan has come due. Indeed, in the past, it was due immediately at that point, and the surviving spouse needed to pay it back at that time, whether they could afford to or not.

That meant that in some cases, the surviving spouse needed to sell the house in order to pay off the reverse mortgage.

Thankfully, that is no longer the way things work. AARP sued the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2012. Not coincidentally, that was during the recession. Many homes were underwater, so it was not feasible for surviving spouses to sell them in order to pay off their reverse mortgages at that time.

The case made its way to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which reached a decision on September 30^th, 2013 in favour of AARP. Beginning on August 4^th, 2014, HUD changed its policy. You can read the relevant notice about the change here. Following that change, spouses under 62 have been able to sign on reverse mortgages, but they are listed as “non-borrowing spouses.”

As the linked HUD document explains:

“In the event the last surviving mortgagor predeceases a Non-Borrowing Spouse, the due and payable status will be deferred for as long as a Non-Borrowing Spouse continues to meet all the qualifying attributes stated in the above section.”

So, surviving spouses who are under 62 no longer need to immediately pay off a reverse mortgage if the borrowing spouse passes away.

If you take a look at the HUD document, you can read about the qualifying attributes in detail.

Get Answers to Your Questions About Reverse Mortgages in Indiana

Do you have more questions about how your age or that of your spouse impacts a reverse mortgage? We can answer these and other questions in detail during your consultation. To get the answers you are looking for, please give us a call today at (317) 255-0062. We can help you figure out if a reverse mortgage is right for you, or help you identify other solutions to increase financial flexibility during retirement.