Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Compare Reverse Mortgages to Conventional Loans

Question: I am currently 62 years old and would like to apply for a reverse mortgage loan with you. My house value is about $750K and I only owe about $160K. I am retired and do not work but rely on a low alimony payment from my ex-husband. I understand I can get some cash upfront and also receive a monthly distribution on my equity. Please advise.
Ken Go: A simple explanation on reverse mortgage. It’s a type of loan that will charge you interest, fees and has some guidelines just like any other loan. The minimum age is 62 years old and the maximum loan amount for that age is around $200K. The lender will charge you a hefty fee for this loan and your interest payments will accrue into your loan balance. An example in this situation, the total fees charged towards the balance of the loan is about $16K, a monthly deferred interest is around $1200.00 and the maximum cash out is only around $33K. I suggested for the borrower to get a regular deferred loan program with a very low minimum payment, the total fees was less than $5k and she was able to cash out $100K.

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