Find out more on Debt Consolidation Credit Counseling In Phoenix Now!
Monday, January 12, 2009
What they want is to tap into the equity in their home with a reverse mortgage. I'm not one of those loan officers that believe a reverse mortgage is good for everyone. It's not.
Most importantly they must have a desire to stay in their home for an extended period of time. This is vital because the cost to get a reverse mortgage is not conducive for a short term mortgage
As the borrower stays in the home for longer periods the less pricy the loan becomes as we determine the cost of money on an annual percentage.
It's pretty clear to see a certain level of panic as some of these folks have lost much of their all important nest egg. Now they want money to reinvest.
That which is really palatable now is that rates are so low. In particlular the adjustable rate, with a line of credit option, is quity low.
For the week of January 6 to January 12 the rate on the adjustable is well below 4%. If we look at this loan over the last 15 years, it's average is around 6%.
As a loan officer I'm not required to represent my customer's best interests. However, as an ethical person I do my best to discuss the costs as opposed to the return the customer will receive by investing reverse mortgage money.
They cannot expect the low rates to hold up forever and must consider these rates driving up to their average level.
Many in the marketplace are taking the position that rates will be low for some time with so much pressure to keep them low.
The powers that really want to keep rates low are the major companies. The want to be able to borrow at low interest rates. Do they shape policy? Of course.
We'll have to see. My concern for some of these people is that some of these folks are not taking into consideration to true cost of getting this money to make their investments.
The investment best have a pretty good return because it isn't just the rate but the cost of getting the reverse mortgage must be factored in as well.
I'm not in the business of making a big magnet of myself and trying to get all of them to work with me. The fact is some simply shouldn't, and I tell them so.
It's a bad option for some, a okay option for others, and great option for the remainder. Let's talk about the great ones today.
One of the most important things I like to cover are really two things: Closing costs and length of the mortgage. I want to know the lenght of time the client expects to live in the home.
So, this goes to the questions of the "cost of money". In other words how much is it going to cost this person or couple, over time, to get this loan to solve whatever financial issue they want to solve.
Of all responses i prefer them to say something about being carried out in a box. From a reverse mortgage perspective, from the customer's viewpoint, this is best as the cost to money gets less and less as the lengh of the mortgage extends.
When getting a reverse mortgage you will receive a disclosure which discusses how the costs reduce as the loan length increases.
The disclosure gives snapshots of the annual cost of the mortgage over various years. You'll see how cost reduces over time.
Along with a long mortgage period the best reverse mortgage customers are those without the ability to add income to a financial situation which is already under water.
Fixed incomes play an important role in making up the perfect reverse mortgage customer.
The third identifying trait of the a great reverse mortgage customer is the that of wanting to enjoy the rest of their lives rather than necessarily sacrificing the rest of the their lives for the kids inheritance.
Many have a mind set that they must leave something to the kids. It's vital to them. The reverse mortgage is a financial tool that allows a mortgage without paying monthly. Interest tacks on to the mortgage which doesn't normally give this group warm fuzzies.
So, we want 3 vital traits to come up with a perfect candidate: 1. Staying until death 2. Fixed income which doesn't cover their needs 3. The desire to use the equity of the home on their lives rather than their kid's lives.
If you choose to take the professional route, you also need to be very thorough in you investigations of the third party options available to you. The public is bombarded with paper media and online information about credit repair. Beware of a lot of this information. Many of these almost unbelievable claims are just that "unbelievable."
If you are going with the third party option, you will need to conduct a serious investigation of the agencies you select for consideration. There is some basic information that you are going to require prior to selecting an agency to meet your needs. Shop and compare.
There will still be more research needed before you will be ready to choose your agency. You will need to know what is "must have" information. You should get information from more than one agency. Comparison shopping is definitely in order.
Information about services provided, cost structure and time frames should be provided to you without any knowledge on the company's part regarding your financial situation.
Once you are satisfied with an initial contact, you can ask further questions such as how the procedure will affect your credit reports, how the agency provides assistance with debt management, how does the agency inform you of their activities and does the company offer other money management services.
One of the most important questions to be answered is: what are the agency fees? Some will ask for large amounts of money upfront and large monthly fees. If you can't afford all your debt payments, how will you afford agency fees? Be careful that you don't get into a long, drawn out repayment situation because of charged fees even if the agency claims to be nonprofit.
Your reward for doing all this preliminary searching will be that you will locate an appropriate credit counseling agency to match your needs.
About the Author: