The New York Times erroneously fed false information to its readers about Reverse Mortgages. Jamie Hopkins helped set the record straight in his article on Forbes, an excerpt of which is below. If you’d like to read the entire article, follow the link at the bottom.

“The reality is that a properly used reverse mortgage can be a retiree’s saving grace. Misconceptions about the product, however, are still commonplace, which is hindering better coordination of home equity into comprehensive retirement planning. In the end, reverse mortgages are not for everyone as they are still a form of borrowing with some costs and risks, but when used properly they can improve the retirement of many Americans. Better and accurate media reporting on reverse mortgages is needed to improve perceptions and knowledge on reverse mortgages to ensure that people do not ignore a strategy that could improve their finances and quality of life. As Marguerita Cheng, CFP, the CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth, notes, “It’s challenging for advisors to help their clients make good financial decisions when they don’t have objective information.””

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiehopkins/2017/06/29/thenewyorktimesgotitwrongaboutreversemortgages/#11be92336487

With more and more people taking a look at the financial sense of Reverse Mortgages, the Wall Street Journal weighs in with another article on why they might make the most dollars and cents for you.

“Intuitively, there are two reasons why opening a reverse mortgage earlier in retirement has the potential to improve retirement efficiencies despite the reverse-mortgage costs for those wishing to remain in their homes.

First, coordinating draws from a reverse mortgage reduces the strain on investment portfolio withdrawals, which helps to manage the sequence of returns risk facing retirees. Retirees are more exposed to investment volatility because volatility has a bigger impact on financial outcomes when taking distributions from the portfolio as compared with when adding new funds to the portfolio. Reverse mortgages provide a buffer asset to sidestep this sequence risk by providing an alternative source of spending after market declines.

The second potential benefit for opening the reverse mortgage early, especially when interest rates are low, is that the principal limit that can be borrowed from will continue to grow throughout retirement. Reverse mortgages are non-recourse loans, and for sufficiently long retirements, there is a reasonable possibility that the line of credit may grow to be larger than the value of the home.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2015/11/30/the-new-case-for-reverse-mortgages/

When you’re done, take a look at our Reverse Mortgage Center and see how we can help you reach your goals.

An article from the Wall Street Journal has some great info on Reverse Mortgages.

“A decade ago, most financial advisers would roll their eyes at the mention of reverse mortgages, loans that give homeowners an advance on their home equity and allow them to delay repayment until the home is sold.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-math-on-reverse-mortgages-1458525888

Check out that article for information on how and why a reverse mortgage may be the financial vehicle that is right for you.

When you’re done, take a look at our Reverse Mortgage Center and see how we can help you reach your goals.