Steven J. Sless, CLTC®
If you’re retired or close to retirement, home equity likely represents a large portion of your net worth. Understanding how to strategically and tax efficiently incorporate this wealth into your retirement plan may be the key to protecting and prolonging your nest egg.
Our mission is to help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind so they can comfortably age in a home that’s suitable for their long-term needs. We are here to offer older homeowners safe and strategic solutions without having to dip into their retirement savings.
Reverse mortgages give homeowners starting at age 55 in some cases access to the wealth tied up in their home while they still own it and continue to live there. These loans come with more customizable options and greater flexibility compared to other mortgage products. Most importantly, they do not require mandatory monthly payments.
Especially now, we all are feeling the brunt of inflation, but older Americans are particularly struggling. In addition to having to spend more, retirement portfolio values are diminishing while housing wealth is growing. With this in mind… accessing home equity with a reverse mortgage or replacing a current mortgage with a reverse mortgage is becoming more and more popular. We are here to offer safe and strategic solutions which could limit the need to deplete retirement savings.
There are several choices when it comes to how best to access home equity with a reverse mortgage. Explore the boxes below and contact us today to determine which option may benefit you the most.
Reverse mortgages can be used in multiple ways to accommodate your lifestyle needs. Watch the videos in the boxes below and contact us today to better determine how you can achieve your various goals.
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 10,000 people per day are turning 65 and that will continue until the year 2030.
Seven out of 10 of these people will require some level of long-term or extended care in their lifetime.
This care will consist of help with the activities of daily living such as: bathing, dressing, eating, transferring and toileting.
The need for care may also extend to usage of the telephone, meal preparation, housekeeping, managing personal finances or transporting to and from doctors’ appointments.
Without proper measures in place ahead of time, paying for care could wipe out your savings and wreak financial havoc on your caregivers.
As one of the nation’s only reverse mortgage professionals Certified in Long-Term Care, I’m uniquely qualified to discuss with you the subject of longevity and its acute consequences on families – financially, physically and emotionally – years down the road.
Here are five ways leveraging housing wealth by way of a reverse mortgage can help qualified homeowners cover the costs of long-term care.
In short, there are many factors to consider when it comes to funding long-term care.
If you’re ready to learn more, click below to get started. As always, Expect More with Sless!
A reverse mortgage can pay off and replace a traditional mortgage loan, reducing the burden of a mandatory monthly payment,
This gives you immediate savings!
You see, reverse mortgages offer flexibility and versatility that other mortgages don’t.
With a reverse mortgage, YOU determine if and when you make mortgage payments.
Since you still own the home and continue to live in it as your primary residence, you must pay the property taxes and homeowners insurance.
You also are responsible for its upkeep.
Discover how a reverse mortgage can help you.
If you’re ready to learn more, click below to get started. As always, Expect More with Sless!
If you’re like many who are retired or close to retirement, you worked hard for years, but may have started saving too late.
Because of the delayed savings, you may not have enough assets to cover future living expenses.
It’s likely that the equity built up in YOUR HOME represents the largest portion of your net worth.
A reverse mortgage can convert this equity into cash, which can be received in a variety of strategic ways to supplement your retirement income.
One way to supplement your income is to receive proceeds as a tenure payment or lifetime check sent to you each month.
Another option is taking your loan proceeds as a line of credit to draw from as needed until funds are exhausted.
It’s also possible to combine payout options to accommodate your specific cash flow needs.
Bottom line: the money that you’ve put into the home can now be accessed with a reverse mortgage – giving you the additional funds for a comfortable retirement.
Discover how much equity you can access.
If you’re ready to learn more, click below to get started. As always, Expect More with Sless!
Without proper planning, several risks can wreak havoc on your retirement plan.
Whether you outlive your money will be determined by how you take these key risks off the table.
These include…
Market Risk, Long Term Care Risk, Inflation Risk, Taxation Risk and the biggest one, Sequence of Return Risk.
Some of the most astute investors will set up a “buffer asset,” which is a bucket of money outside of the investment portfolio that can be strategically used when needed.
The wealthiest people typically have enough cash saved to ride out shifts in the market so they don’t need to tap into their portfolios during economic downturns which can have devastating effects.
Most folks nearing retirement or those who are currently retired don’t have that kind of cash lying around.
But homeowners 60+ do have what is in most cases their largest asset. Their home.
Monetizing the home with a reverse mortgage is a safe and effective strategy to create a buffer asset.
Reverse mortgages can do wonders to help mitigate sequence of return risks.
A reverse mortgage line of credit can be established as a bucket of cash, guaranteed to be there that you can hold in reserve until needed.
The line of credit comes with a guaranteed cost of living increase each year giving you more borrowing power each year it’s in place.
You can set it up at very little cost, they are federally insured, can never be suspended, frozen or reduced regardless of what happens to the home value or market conditions so long as the terms of the loan are met.
Reverse mortgages also can help meet income needs in the event of a down market, preventing you from locking in losses and giving your portfolio an opportunity to recover.
Most people don’t think of reverse mortgages as a way to extend the longevity of an investment portfolio, but today’s reverse mortgages are part of a comprehensive financial plan to increase cash flow and help create a more comfortable retirement.
And I’m here to tell you our clients and their advisors use this strategy successfully.
To be clear, reverse mortgages aren’t for everyone, but they deserve to be a part of the conversation.
If you’re ready to learn more, click below to get started. As always, Expect More with Sless!
Today’s Baby Boomers want to stay in their home.
They want to maintain or better their lifestyle.
And they may require home improvements to accommodate future needs.
But where will they find the funds to cover these costs without depleting their retirement savings?
The answer could be as simple as converting some of their home equity with a reverse mortgage.
Housing Wealth Levels for Homeowners 60+
A reverse mortgage gives homeowners 60+ access to the wealth tied up in their home while they still own it and continue to live there.
Using home equity to cover home renovation, healthcare costs or long-term care is tax free, unlike drawing from your retirement savings, which could have tax implications and also limit future growth on those accounts.
If you’re ready to learn more, click below to get started. As always, Expect More with Sless!
Did you know that home buyers 62 and older can purchase their next home with a Reverse Mortgage?
It’s called a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase.
And it’s tailored to better suit the needs of the growing number of older home buyers.
Whether you want to upsize to the home of your dreams, to downsize – or to right size to a home more suited to meet your long-term needs, a HECM for purchase may be a better option, versus paying cash or taking out a 15-, 20- or even a 30-year mortgage at this stage in life.
Simply put, a HECM for Purchase loan combines a Reverse Mortgage with the equity from the sale of your previous home – or from other savings and assets – to buy your next primary home in one single transaction.
Regardless of how long you live in the home or what happens to your home’s value, you only make one initial down payment of roughly 50 percent towards the purchase, provided that you pay property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and maintain the property.
Once the purchase is complete, you can make payments on the home or defer pay back until the last remaining borrower leaves the home.
There is no mandatory mortgage payment, making this option a great way to preserve cash flow later in life.
Here’s an example. Tom (67) and Barb (65) live in a 3-story home no longer suitable for their lifestyle as they grow older. They wish to purchase a ranch style home with everything on one floor where they can comfortably age in place.
Their current home value is $400,000, and they owe $100,000 on it with an ongoing payment of $1,100 a month.
After finding a new home for $300,000, Tom and Barb sell their current home and purchase the new home, where they can age comfortably in place.
They have no mandatory monthly payment, freeing up cash flow and providing flexibility as they grow older.
This additional money can be used to bolster their retirement nest egg, help fund long term care, pay off debt, leave in legacy or estate planning and still keep some liquidity for emergencies.
The alternative would have been to pay cash for the new home using all of the proceeds from the sale of the current home or to take out a traditional mortgage with a mandatory mortgage payment, leaving them with far less flexibility as they grow older.
This is a better option for many buyers nearing or in retirement.
If you’re ready to learn more, click below to get started. As always, Expect More with Sless!
The Steven. J. Sless Group is fully operational and committed to expediting loans for our clients during these unprecedented times.
We have implemented the following measures to ensure the safety of our team members, strategic partners and valued customers:
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