Reverse Mortgages for Dummies (ISBN - 0764584464)

290 Pages·2021·2.27 MB·English

Reverse

Mortgages

FOR

DUMmIES

‰

by Sarah Glendon Lyons and John E.Lucas

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Reverse

Mortgages

FOR

DUMmIES

‰

by Sarah Glendon Lyons and John E.Lucas

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Reverse Mortgages For Dummies®

Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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About the Author

Sarah Glendon Lyons is a San Diego-based writer with a diverse
portfolio of housing-industry experience. She holds a B.A. in English
Language and Literature from the University of Arizona, and studied
at Australia’s University of Wollongong before joining Hanley Wood
LLC, publishers of over 75 consumer home magazines. As an editor
for Pfingsten Publishing’s Mortgage Originator magazine, she has
written hundreds of articles for mortgage professionals. Although
she has developed a wide scope of lending insight, her particular
expertise is in the reverse mortgage field. Sarah has been inter-
viewed on the topic of reverse mortgages by leading mortgage
executives and sales trainers, and offers reverse mortgage informa-
tion to originators and consumers around the country. Her perspec-
tive as an unbiased researcher and consultant allows her to provide
readers with both the benefits and challenges of reverse mortgages.

John E. Lucas has been in the mortgage banking industry for over
39 years, actively originating mortgage loans in the Van Nuys, Ca.
area. When the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) introduced the HECM reverse mortgage in 1989, he worked
with one of the companies HUD chose to participate in the test pro-
gram. His involvement in this process led him to concentrate his
career on reverse mortgages, rather than the typical “forward”
mortgage. John has lectured on the subject of reverse mortgages to
a wide variety of organizations and groups such as senior centers,
realtors, CPAs, financial planners, elder law attorneys, service clubs
and university groups, and is a member of the National Reverse
Mortgage Lenders Association.

John will tell anyone he comes in contact with about reverse mort-
gages, and admits he has a “passion” for the program. He feels
strongly about expanding the public’s awareness of reverse mort-
gages, because he has seen how a reverse mortgage can change a
senior’s quality of life. As a senior himself, he understands the
needs of seniors and is committed to continue originating reverse
mortgages for the foreseeable future.

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Dedication

We would like to dedicate this book to all those who have taken an
active role in their future finances, whether through a reverse
mortgage or by other means. To all those baby boomers who are
planning early, to all those adult children who have set aside the
time to help their parents with this essential decision, and of
course, to all of our senior readers who chose to be in control of
their own financial destiny. We wish you the best of luck!

Author’s Acknowledgments

We would like to thank everyone who made this book possible, all
those who supported our efforts, and our friends and family who
sat patiently by as we toiled away through weekends and holidays.
Thank you to our acquisitions editor Mikal Belicove for your per-
sonal, kind attention to this project. Thank you Jennifer Connolly
for all of your hard work editing this manuscript and for being such
a great source of ideas. Thank you Peter Bell for acting as Technical
Editor and offering your and the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders
Association’s support. Thank you Carole Sparrow, reverse mort-
gage counselor, and Mary Beth Johnson, appraiser, for your time
and efforts providing information and proofing the chapters you
inspired.

Sarah Glendon Lyons: I would especially like to thank Pfingsten
Publishing and Mortgage Originator magazine for the constant
encouragement and interest in this project. Thank you David
Branfman for your legal council and generosity. John Obradovich,
thank you for recommending me as the reverse mortgage expert.
Thank you to my co-author, John Lucas, for your dedication and
commitment to this book. I’m particularly grateful to my parents,
family, and friends who consistently asked about “the book” and
learned more than they ever wanted to know about reverse mort-
gages, all with a smile. To Adam, thank you for waiting patiently
while I worked, and always offering to read over these pages. To
everyone who helped make this book a possibility, my sincere
thanks.

John E. Lucas: I want to thank Sarah Lyons for the opportunity to
participate in the writing of this book. I believe the reverse mort-
gage is a very important program that helps alleviate difficult finan-
cial problems for seniors. In most cases, the reverse mortgage will
change the quality of a senior’s life, sometimes rather dramatically.
Working with seniors and helping them to obtain reverse mortgages
has been the most satisfying portion of my professional career.
Playing a role in the writing of this book has been a privilege.

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Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online
registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and
Media Development

Project Editor: Jennifer Connolly
Acquisitions Editor: Mikal Belicove
Copy Editor: Jennifer Connolly

Technical Editor: Peter Bell
Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker
Editorial Supervisor: Carmen Krikorian
Editorial Assistants: Hanna Scott,

Melissa Bennett

Cartoons: Rich Tennant

(www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Adrienne Martinez
Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers,

Andrea Dahl

Proofreaders: David Faust, Joe Niesen,

Carl William Pierce, TECHBOOKS
Production Services

Indexer: TECHBOOKS Productions Services

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

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Contents at a Glance

Introduction ......................................................1

Part 1: Understanding the Basics
of a Reverse Mortgage .......................................7

Chapter 1: Figuring Out the Reverse Mortgage Basics .........................9
Chapter 2: Deciding Whether a Reverse Mortgage

Is Right for You ..................................................................................25

Chapter 3: Having the Right Stuff: Borrower Qualifications ..............39
Chapter 4: Repaying Your Loan ............................................................51

Part II: Going Shopping: Product Options ..........63

Chapter 5: Following the Crowd: The Home Equity

Conversion Mortgage .......................................................................65

Chapter 6: Figuring Out the Fannie Mae Home Keeper Loans ...........85
Chapter 7: Jumping into Jumbo Cash Accounts ................................103

Part III: Taking the Plunge ............................119

Chapter 8: Taking the First Step: Seeing a Counselor .......................121
Chapter 9: Working on Step Two: Your Originator ............................137
Chapter 10: Going Forward with Step Three: Getting Appraised ....153
Chapter 11: Sealing the Deal with Step Four: Closing .......................163

Part IV: Giving Advice for Adult Children ........177

Chapter 12: Supporting Your Parents .................................................179
Chapter 13: Knowing the Impact of a Reverse Mortgage

on Your Inheritance ........................................................................197

Chapter 14: Getting Durable Power of Attorney ................................211

Part V: The Part of Tens .................................227

Chapter 15: Top Ten What Ifs When Considering

a Reverse Mortgage ........................................................................229

Chapter 16: Ten Resources for Securing a Reverse Mortgage .........237
Chapter 17: Ten Common Mistakes Borrowers Make ......................243

Appendix: Glossary ........................................251

Index ............................................................257

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