‘Tis the season to appreciate
Happy Holidays!
I just heard a lovely and touching song, “Make Me A Channel of Your Peace” which reminds me of the human phenomena that inspires us during the holiday season. We have an opportunity to dig a little bit deeper and try a little bit harder to just be kind to one another. Parties, perfectly wrapped presents, and bright shiny lights are exciting and celebratory, but to be kind, is simply one of the best gifts of all. The lyrics are about seeking to understand each other rather than be understood, to console rather than be consoled, to forgive rather than be forgiven, and from the bottom of our over flowing and grateful hearts, to share and show love. What a beautiful sentiment.
Housing decisions in retirement — should I stay or should I go?
I’m happy to announce the release of Dr. Wade Pfau’s book on Reverse Mortgages:
How to use Reverse Mortgages to Secure Your Retirement. Dr Wade Pfau holds a doctorate in Economics from Princeton University, and is currently a professor of Retirement Income in the PHD program at The American College of Financial Services. “A rare, unbiased analysis of how reverse mortgages can fit into a prudent regiment income plan form one of the nations leading researchers. Both consumers and financial advisers can benefit form a fresh look at this often-dismissed option” Mary Beth Franklin, nationally recognized expert in Social Security Strategies. If you or anyone you know is interested in reading this book, it would be my pleasure to send a complimentary copy to you.
Buy a Home with a Reverse Mortgage —By Rachel L Sheedy, Kiplinger’s Retirement Report
Most seniors take out a reverse mortgage to help them stay in their existing home as they get older. But Myra Simmons, 67, took advantage of a little-known product: She used a reverse mortgage to finance a new home.
Myra’s 83-year-old husband, Billy, was having trouble using the stairs in their two-story townhome in Fort Meyers, FL. The couple sold their home and used a ‘reverse mortgage for purchase’ to move into a one-story house nearby. “Now, I take what would have been my mortgage payment and put it in savings,” says Myra, who works for the local county sheriff’s office.
The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase was created by Congress four years ago to streamline home-buying transactions and cut costs, says Peter Bell, president of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association. Before, seniors would buy a new home, incurring closing costs, and then take out a reverse mortgage on the new home, triggering new closing costs. The HECM for Purchase rolls this into one transaction and one set of closing costs.
For there to be equity to cover the accrued interest, the HECM for Purchase requires that you pay about half of the home’s sales price with your own cash. The reverse mortgage picks up the difference. “Essentially, the money you’re putting in is your equity,” says Ted George a certified financial planner in Scotts Valley, CA.
To pay your half, you can use money from savings, the sale of your other house, or a gift from a family member. But the money cannot be borrowed.
Reframe the Game By Amara Rose
HECM World Retirement. It’s no longer a “retreat” from life (if it ever was). As we’ve explored multiple times, people are retiring later or downshifting from full time to part time employment, or moving into a consulting role or some other line of work, rather than simply leaving the job market altogether. And those who do fully retire from the work world are still fully engaged in life — sometimes so busy they wonder how they ever fit a job into their day.
Here are some suggestions gleaned from a retirement workshop for how we might reframe “retirement.” Ideas take their inspiration from sports, advertising, and plain old ingenuity.
Reverse mortgage professionals who enjoy creativity, consider these concepts:
• Act 2
• Between Jobs
• Bonus Years
• Continuum
• Creative Aging
• Downshifting
• Encore
• Field of Possibilities
• Growing Bolder
• Inspirement
• Life 2.0
• Living More
• My Time
• Next Chapter
• Next Stage
• Post-grads
• Prime Time
• Protirement
(it’s not for beginners!)
• Rebalancing
• Re-engagement
• Refirement
• Regeneration
• Repotting (in new soil)
• Retreads
• Rewirement
• Sage-ing
• Seasoned
• Success to Significance
• The Creative Age
• The Gifted Years
• Third Half
• Third Quarter
• Unstoppable
It has been such a great pleasure for me to associate with each and every one of you this year. Though many changes have taken place by way of HUD/FHA updates to policies, a reverse mortgage still remains a viable financial program with great benefits.
A deep and heartfelt thank you to all of the patient and understanding clients who went through these challenges with us. It is my sincere joy to be involved in this process with you and to witness first hand, the increase in quality of life and peace of mind that the program brings to so many. I’m looking forward to serving you in 2017.
Thank you…
—Cynthia Kee
