Your older client tells you her home is almost paid off. Great! That should make the sale of her home and the purchase of a right-sized home pretty easy. Then she mentions something that changes the conversation: A company gave her a large sum of money a few years ago. She doesn’t make monthly payments….
HECM for Purchase pros and cons are worth understanding if you’re a REALTOR® working with older homebuyers. The program can open doors to some interesting possibilities, but it also comes with costs, limitations, and a few surprises. What if your older homebuyer could purchase the home they really want without committing all their available cash…
Most of your senior clients do not want to move into assisted living. They want to stay independent, stay in a home that works for their body, and stay close to the people and places they know. Yet many real estate agents only think of two paths for an aging client: sell the house and…
You already know how the HECM for Purchase works. You have explained it to buyers, walked through the numbers, and watched a client’s face light up when they realize they can buy a bigger home without a new monthly payment. But somewhere in that conversation, a word or two probably went right past them. This…
If you work with senior homeowners, you have heard the warnings from financial experts: Reverse mortgages are “a scam.” They are “predatory.” Some of the most famous names in personal finance repeat these lines every year, even though the program they are describing changed years ago. Here’s the problem for you as a professional. Your…
When it comes to reverse mortgages used for purchasing a new or better suited home, senior buyers ask one question about how interest works on these HECM for Purchase loans more than any other: “Won’t the interest just eat up everything my home is worth?” That question deserves a straight answer. And REALTORS who can…
Many REALTORS know the moment well. A senior client wants to move, but the conversation stalls when money enters the picture. The client may want a home that is easier to maintain, closer to family, or better suited for retirement, yet they also worry about monthly payments, shrinking savings, and outliving their income. That is…
If you’ve ever started a HECM for Purchase conversation with a senior buyer and watched their eyes glaze over, you already know the problem. Reverse mortgage terms can sound like they were written by regulators for regulators. And that’s because they were. The terminology sounds like it was written by regulators for regulators. And that’s…
A lot of people believe there is a trick to reverse mortgages. They assume lenders can call the loan due without warning or require monthly payments whenever they choose. Neither is true. Monthly payments are never part of a reverse mortgage. The lender is playing the long game, and repayment follows predictable, borrower-driven events. If…
If you have your SRES certification, you already know the reality of the silver tsunami. But knowing it’s coming and knowing how to profit from it are two different things. The wave of Americans turning 65 won’t slow down anytime soon. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 10,000 Baby Boomers reach retirement age every…
