Reverse Mortgages

[dlbleak]

Does she understand that your wife and any other heirs will likely get nothing out of the house when she's gone? That's where I think alot of seniors are confused by the "spin" the companies put into their marketing.

i think she does and honestly, we don't want anything but for her to be happy and feel secure. i just don't think this is best thing for her to do. what i am really looking for is somebody that has had an experience with RM gone bad. such as the real amount of the fees, outliving the RM and only having the difference between the future appraised value and what the value the RM was based on left when and if she needs it to move into a home.

 

[poopgiggle]

Does she understand that your wife and any other heirs will likely get nothing out of the house when she's gone? That's where I think alot of seniors are confused by the "spin" the companies put into their marketing.

I think this is a cultural thing that's changing. There used to be more of a focus on passing property down through generations, but now it's sort of expected that the kids will build their own life and once they're out of the nest they're on their own.

 

[Shootin 4 Fun]

Does she understand that your wife and any other heirs will likely get nothing out of the house when she's gone? That's where I think alot of seniors are confused by the "spin" the companies put into their marketing.

Why should she be concerned about this? She raised the kids and worked hard to pay for the house, hopefully she will spend every dime of equity enjoying life before she dies.

 

[BadgeBunny]

Why should she be concerned about this? She raised the kids and worked hard to pay for the house, hopefully she will spend every dime of equity enjoying life before she dies.

GC says if we play our cards right we will spend our very last dime exactly one minute before we take our last breath ...

(And knowing the two of us it will be on ammo ... lol)

 

[Glocktogo]

We all need to live like our Grandparents did before there was credit. We do not work for Congress so we should not be spending more than we make. If the Country was debt free the world would be a better place.

This. Except:

I disagree with the statement that people should live debt free. There are some very good uses for debt and credit, especially for business purposes. Just because there are those who misuse credit products does not make them a bad thing.

I've yet to see a good use for debt that actually outweighed the liabilities of cash liquidity. Credit on the other hand can be very useful. Every time I get free money from lenders and CC companies, I laugh and say "Suckers!", then I pay off the bill before paying a single cent in fees or interest. The only time I pull out cash is when dealing with a vendor that I can negotiate a higher discount than my "money back account", by paying cash. Otherwise, why not use someone elses money for a while?

Now, if you're on the other end of the lender/cc equation and paying fees and interest, what do you think they're calling you? So if that's the case, what do you think RM lenders are calling their marks?

 

[Glocktogo]

Why should she be concerned about this? She raised the kids and worked hard to pay for the house, hopefully she will spend every dime of equity enjoying life before she dies.

My mom left about 225K to my stepdad in her retirement account alone. After her passing, he drew up a will with me as 1/3rd beneficiary (he married my mom after I was grown and out of state). I told him that was a nice gesture, and that I hoped he spent his last dollar enjoying the last minute of his life. After all, if he didn't, then I'd have to do it for him and that wouldn't be nearly as much fun for him!

My wife and I do just fine on our own. I'd rather know he and others in my family wanted for nothing than to inherit a bundle. It's all about what's really important in life. FWIW, I don't think that a RM buys more security than it does worry about what the future may hold.

 

[poopgiggle]

I've yet to see a good use for debt that actually outweighed the liabilities of cash liquidity. Credit on the other hand can be very useful. Every time I get free money from lenders and CC companies, I laugh and say "Suckers!", then I pay off the bill before paying a single cent in fees or interest. The only time I pull out cash is when dealing with a vendor that I can negotiate a higher discount than my "money back account", by paying cash. Otherwise, why not use someone elses money for a while?

I took a personal finance class a while back and my teacher called this being a "convenience user" of credit cards, which is fine. The bad thing is being a "reliance user," where you use your line of credit to finance things you can't really afford. That's when credit is bad, and that's the way it's being used these days more often.

 

[Shadowrider]

Why should she be concerned about this? She raised the kids and worked hard to pay for the house, hopefully she will spend every dime of equity enjoying life before she dies.

Oh I agree with you but my mom is pretty worried about leaving me and my sister something. We tell her to just use all she needs to have fun before that happens. Just thought that there was more of the older generation left that wanted to pass it down so to speak...

 

[Shootin 4 Fun]

My mom left about 225K to my stepdad in her retirement account alone. After her passing, he drew up a will with me as 1/3rd beneficiary (he married my mom after I was grown and out of state). I told him that was a nice gesture, and that I hoped he spent his last dollar enjoying the last minute of his life. After all, if he didn't, then I'd have to do it for him and that wouldn't be nearly as much fun for him!

My wife and I do just fine on our own. I'd rather know he and others in my family wanted for nothing than to inherit a bundle. It's all about what's really important in life. FWIW, I don't think that a RM buys more security than it does worry about what the future may hold.

Oh I agree, the RM reeks of scam, but for those who want to remain in their homes and quite possibly couldn't replace it or rent any cheaper than what they are currently paying it reduces some of their stress load.

Fortunately my wife and I have been contributing to 401k accounts and saving post tax dollars for 20+ years now, hopefully we'll never need to worry about tapping the equity in our home to live a comfortable retirement life.

 

[natgas]

My mother calls me daily asking me if she should do an RM; she thinks she would get a ton of $$ with no risk and nothing to do except continue to live in her home. My position, and that of my sisters, is that she should live life to the fullest and spend her dollars as she wants without thinking about leaving anything to us. She would rather have some assets at her death to leave to us.

I am scheduled to talk with the person who's trying to sell her the RM today. I have a lot of questions, especially the question of 'how much'----per my mother, this guy has offered her $287,000 for a home that is worth no more than $150,000. I keep telling her it's just not possible.

Fortunately, I hold POA for my mom so I will either kill this thing quickly or, if it turns out to be something positive, continue to investigate all the potential pitfalls before making a decision.

Good timing with this thread as it has given me lots of questions to ask this guy today!