Who Qualifies For a Reverse Mortgage | Qualifying for HECM Loan in 2012

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Qualifying HECM Loans
Age Requirement

Borrowers must be at least 62 years of age (if you are 60 days from your 62nd birthday you can start the process).

If one borrower is not yet 62, but you want to take a reverse mortgage you can, please be aware that if anything happens to the borrower while only one spouse is on the loan the HECM reverse mortgage would come due ( repayment has to be made when you decide to sell, move, vacate for 12 months, or pass away )

if both borrowers are on the loan, the loan does not come due until both borrowers pass away.

Equity Requirements

Equity needs to be available in your home for you to qualify - equity can be calculated by taking the value of the home minus any outstanding debts/liens/tax liens against the home.

simple example: if your home is worth $200,000 but you currently have a mortgage of $50,000 then you have $150,000 available in equity.

Primary Residence

this must be your primary residence for you to qualify , this means you must live in the home for at-least 183 days out of the year.

If you are trying to take a reverse mortgage on a second home or investment home, you will not be able to qualify for the HECM reverse.

Never Defaulted Government Debt

in order to be eligible for the reverse mortgage, you cannot have made any late payments or be in default with any government debts/liens/taxes.

Do I Qualify For a Reverse Mortgage?

  • Borrowers must be 62 years or older
  • You own the home ( can have existing mortgage)
  • Home must be your primary residence ( you have to live in the home)
  • Never have defaulted on any Government debt
  • Must have enough equity in the home
  • If you have existing mortgage the reverse loan will pay it off
  • Ability to pay for maintenance, home insurance, and taxes
I need help making sure I qualify for the HECM program

no problem – we can assist you to customized the information to answer you questions – if you have time read the following to be familiar with these definitions

what is equity? equity is a simple calculation but it is very important in order to qualify for any mortgage loan including the HECM reverse mortgage – simply take the value of your home and subtract any outstanding debts from it ( including mortgages/second mortgages/tax liens).
what if my spouse is not yet 62 years of age? you have to make a decision based on your health, the expected amount of equity available, how badly you need the funds, and if your spouse has a good chance of making it to 62 as well before you pass ( this should not be an issue if spouse is 59 and healthy as life expectancy is well into the 70′s). The safe call is to pass on the reverse mortgage and wait until they are 62 as if anything happens to you while you are waiting the loan would come due – the decision is ours.
will my investment home or second home qualify? no unfortunately you will not be able to take out a reverse mortgage then – it has to be your primary residence. Also you have to live in this home – for at-least 183 days out of the year.
If you meet the qualifications above you will be able to either pay off any existing mortgages and release equity from your home to reitre. Seniors across the nation have been taking advantage of the low market rates – and incentive from lenders including a no fee reverse mortgage.

own a manufactured home? – visit this page reverse mortgage manufactured homes to see if you qualify.

If your home is appraised for more than $625,000 and you need access to more funds than allowed by the HECM program visit our page on jumbo reverse mortgage page.

*On October 5ht 2011, HUD approved the ability for lenders to do financial underwriting which will allow banks/lenders to review your financial health ( your income and credit scores can now be taken into consideration for you to qualify for the HECM reverse).

*** updated – Nov 14th Metlife will be the first lender to implement financial underwriting for the reverse mortgage loan – they are going to essentially review your income, credit scores, and mortgage payment history to qualify for you for the HECM loan.

“We are proud of being one of the only websites which is still working to find reverse mortgages for those seniors who dont have perfect income/credit/equity. They can still qualify without showing proof of income or credit with our approved lenders.”

HECM Reverse Mortgage- Seniors who are in or near retirement are faced with tremendous financial challenges including a global recession, higher costs for food/healthcare, lower income, higher inflation, and uncertainty in both the real estate market and also the performance of the stock market’s.

This is really the perfect storm in the economy, we have recently learned that the social security funds will not be around for much longer(government reports predict by 2017 some of the funds will be dry), and that there is a high chance properties values will decrease with the next wave of foreclosures. In certain markets this is sure to happen, do a basic search to see how many foreclosure properties are in the process in Florida or California, a very large % of homes are in this position.

Looking long term ( 7-20 years from now ) home prices can go back up to previous levels, so can interest rates as we leave the recession, and stocks usually perform better when coming out of a recession. This means that realistically those who are looking for a short term fix can also tap into their equity now (HECM Saver is a good option), as with home prices increasing the costs of the reverse mortgage loan would have been offset ( so the money was taken out a 4.5% and homes increased at 5% you will break even every year – and technically keep the same % of equity in your home).

“Seniors who qualify for a reverse mortgage loan are told to comparison shop them now instead of waiting since there are changes coming to who can qualify and also how much you can receive with a reverse mortgage loan. “

Last year alone some 100,000 seniors received the federally insured reverse mortgage loan, and this year we are predicting even more will get this loan since it has so many features

Another way to phrase this question is to ask who is not going to be able to qualify and the biggest challenge in this current economy is the home’s equity value. The value of the property is currently a challenge since home values have gone down such much in value of the years. The only way to overcome the valuation of the home is to be able to pay down the current mortgage or wait many years until valus go back up.

“If legislation passes to allow lenders to do financial underwriting it will become very hard for many seniors to qualify since income and credit can be a part of the reverse qualification, with this in mind and possibility of tougher requirements seniors need to make a decision ( right now rates are at all time lows, borrowing costs are very low, HECM saver reduces mortgage insurance, and it is easy to qualify).”

to learn more visit:

what is a reverse mortgage
reverse mortgage information
reverse mortgage calculator
how does a reverse mortgage work
reverse mortgages pros and cons
what is a reverse mortgage 

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