What is Reverse mortgage?

A reverse mortgage is a form of equity release (or lifetime mortgage) available in the United States. It is a loan available to seniors aged 62 or older, under a Federal program administered by HUD. It enables eligible homeowners to access a portion of their equity. The homeowners can draw the mortgage principal in a lump sum, by receiving monthly payments over a specified term or over their (joint) lifetimes, as a revolving line of credit, or some combination thereof. The homeowners' obligation to repay the loan is deferred until owner (or survivor of two) dies, the home is sold, they cease to live in the property, or they breach the provisions of the mortgage (such as failure to maintain the property in good repair, pay property taxes, and keep the property insured against fire, etc). The owner can be out of the home for up to 364 consecutive days (i.e., into aged care) In a conventional mortgage the homeowner makes a monthly amortized payment to the lender; after each payment the equity increases by the amount of the principal included in the payment, and when the mortgage has been paid in full the property is released from the mortgage. In a reverse mortgage, the home owner is under no obligation to make payments, but is free to do so with no pre-payment penalties. The line of credit portion operates like a revolving credit line, so a payment in reduction of a line of credit, increases the available credit by the same amount. Interest that accrues is added to the mortgage balance. Title to the property remains in the name of the homeowners, to be disposed of as they wish, encumbered only by the amount owing under the mortgage If a property has increased in value after a reverse mortgage is taken out, it is possible to acquire a second (or third) reverse mortgage over the increased equity in the home in some areas. However most lenders do not like to take a second or third lien position behind a reverse mortgage because its balance increases with time. It is rare to find reverse mortgages with subordinate liens behind them as a result. A reverse mortgage may be refinanced if enough equity is present in the home, and in some cases may qualify for a streamline refinance if the interest rate is reduced. A reverse mortgage lien is often recorded at a higher dollar amount than the amount of money actually disbursed at the loan closing. This recorded lien is at times misunderstood by some borrowers as being the payoff amount of the mortgage. The recorded lien works in similar fashion to a home equity line of credit where the lien represents the maximum lending limit, but the payoff is calculated based on actual disbursements plus interest owing.

How does reverse mortgage proceeds?

The amount of money available to the consumer is determined by five primary factors:     The appraised value of the property, whether any health or safety repairs need to be made to the house, and whether there are any existing liens on the house. The interest rate, as determined by the U.S. Treasury 1 year T-Bill, the LIBOR index or 1 Year CMT. The age of the senior (The older the senior is, the more money he/she will receive). Whether the payment is taken as line of credit, lump sum, or monthly payments. Line of credit will maximize the money available, while lump sum provides the cash immediately, but the interest fees are the highest. Monthly payments may be set up as "Tenure" payments, which are paid to borrowers for the rest of their lives, no matter how long they live, or "Term" payments, which last for a predetermined period.

The value of the property, and whether that value is higher than the national loan limit set by HUD.

All these factors contribute to the Total Annual Lending Cost (TALC) as defined by the US Federal Government Regulation Z, the single rate which includes all the loan costs. The specific formulas to calculate the impact of the factors listed above can be found in Appendix 22 of the HUD Handbook 4235.1. There are reverse mortgages for homes valued over the maximum limit. These are called "Jumbo" reverse mortgages, and are generally offered as proprietary reverse mortgages. For homeowners of higher-valued homes, a Jumbo loan can provide a larger loan amount. However, these loans are currently uninsured by the FHA and their fees are often higher. The money received (loan advances) from a reverse mortgage is not taxable and does not directly ] affect Social Security or Medicare benefits. However, an American Bar Association guide to reverse mortgages explains that if borrowers receive Medicaid, SSI, or other public benefits, loan advances will be counted as "liquid assets" if the money is kept in an account (savings, checking, etc.) past the end of the calendar month in which it is received. The borrower could then lose eligibility for such public programs if his or her total liquid assets (cash, generally) is then greater than those programs allow. It is important to note that the homeowner must ensure that taxes and insurance are kept current at all times. If either taxes or insurance lapse, it could result in a default on the reverse mortgage. Once the reverse mortgage is established, there are no restrictions on how the funds are used. In addition to the tenure monthly payments, the borrower has the option of moving the entire amount of money into investments, or they can simply take the money and spend it as they wish. Among the options of interest bearing instruments, the borrower can keep them with the lender and (These accounts grow by the same percentage as the interest rate of the loan), move the funds to a directed account with a financial specialist (This option is risky unless you direct the investment options of the financial specialist), or withdraw the funds and manage their investment themselves.

HECM for Purchase

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 provided HECM mortgagors with the opportunity to purchase a new principal residence with HECM loan proceedsthe so-called HECM for [5] Purchase program, effective January 2009. The program was designed to allow seniors to purchase a new principal residence and obtain a reverse mortgage within a single transaction by eliminating the need for a second closing. The program was also designed to enable senior homeowners to relocate to other geographical areas to be closer to family members or downsize to homes that meet their physical needs, i.e., handrails, one-level properties, ramps, wider doorways, etc. Texas is the only state that does not allow for reverse mortgages for purchase.

Costs and interest rates

The cost of getting a reverse mortgage from a private sector lender may exceed the costs of other types of mortgage or equity conversion loans. Exact costs depend on the particular reverse mortgage program the borrower acquires. For the most popular type of reverse mortgage in the U.S., the FHAinsured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), there will be the following types of costs: 1. Mortgage Insurance: 2% (of the appraised value)

2. Origination Fee: The cap is $2500 or 2% of the first $200,000 and 1% thereafter, whichever is more, with an overall cap of $6000. 3. Title Insurance (varies) 4. Title, Attorney, and County Recording Fees (varies) 5. Real Estate Appraisal $300$500 6. Survey (may be required) $300$500 In addition, a monthly service charge (between $25 and $35) is usually added monthly to the balance of the loan. In all of these cases, except the Real Estate Appraisal, the costs of a reverse mortgage can be financed with the proceeds of the loan itself. Interest rates on reverse mortgages are determined on a program-by-program basis, because the loans are secured by the home itself, and backed by HUD, the interest rate should always be below any other available interest rate in the standard mortgage marketplace for an FHA reverse mortgage. Prior to 2007, all major reverse mortgage programs had adjustable interest rates. Such adjustable rate reverse mortgages are still being offered which are adjusted on a monthly, semiannual, or annual rate up to a maximum rate. Several lenders now offer FHA HECM reverse mortgages that have fixed interest rates. Some fixed rate reverse mortgages limit the cash proceeds to half of that offered by adjustable rate reverse mortgages. The borrower(s) will be required to take out the entire amount offered at closing. Some state and local governments offer low-cost reverse mortgages to seniors. These "public sector" loans generally must be used for specific purposes, such as paying for home repairs or property taxes, but most of them often have more favorable interest rates and fewer or no fees associated with them. These programs are typically very restrictive in terms of qualification and location, and many regions, states, and areas do not have such programs at all.

HUD counseling
To apply for an FHA/HUD reverse mortgage, a borrower is required to complete a counseling session with a HUD-approved counselor. The counselor will explain the legal and financial obligations of a reverse mortgage. After the counseling session, the borrower receives a "certificate of counseling" that is required before the loan application can be processed.

Related taxes
The American Bar Association guide advises that generally,     the Internal Revenue Service does not consider loan advances to be income, annuity advances may be partially taxable, and interest charged is not deductible until it is actually paid, that is, at the end of the loan. The mortgage insurance premium is deductible on the 1040 long form.

When the loan comes due

The loan comes due when the borrower dies, sells the house, or moves out of the house for more than 12 consecutive months. Once the mortgage comes due the borrower or heirs of the estate will have an option to refinance the home and keep it, sell the home and cash out the equity, or turn the home over to the lender. If the property is turned over to the lender the borrower or the heirs have no more claim to the property or equity in the property.

The lender has recourse against the property, but not against the borrower personally nor against the borrowers heirs, referred to as "non-recourse limit." Once all borrowers on a reverse mortgage pass away the heirs are granted 6 months to sell the home, refinance it, or to make the decision to turn the home over to the lender.

Volume of loans
Home Equity Conversion Mortgages account for 90% of all reverse mortgages originated in the U.S. As of May 2010, there were 493,815 active HECM loans. As of 2006, the number of HECM mortgages that HUD is authorized to insure under the reverse mortgage law was capped at 275,000.However, through the annual appropriations acts, Congress has temporarily extended HUD's authority to insure HECM's notwithstanding the statutory limits Program growth in recent years has been very rapid. In fiscal year 2001, 7,781 HECM loans were originated. By the fiscal year ending in September 2008, the annual volume of HECM loans topped 112,000 representing a 1,300% increase in six years. For the fiscal year ending September 2011, loan volume had contracted in the wake of the financial crisis, but remained at over 73,000 loans that were originated and insured through the HECM program. Loan volume is expected to grow further as the U.S. population ages. The U.S. senior population is expected to increase from 35 million in 2000 to 64 million in 2025, and seniors are expected to make up a larger share of the population.

Other options
A drawback to reverse mortgages are the high upfront costs. This upfront cost is tempered by the lower interest rate over time, but some seniors choose other options to draw on their home equity, particularly if they don't plan to remain at the property more than five years. Other options which can free up home equity but avoid the high upfront costs of a reverse mortgage include: 1) intra-family loan or sale-leaseback and, 2) selling and moving to a less expensive dwelling or location. However, when selling the homeowner incurs high closing costs including, typically, a 6% commission, moving costs, and purchase costs on the new dwelling. Currently, there is a coordinated government program called "Aging in Place" intended to assist homeowners wishing to remain in their home and/or neighborhood. Studies conducted by various agencies, including AARP, show that over 80% of elderly homeowners do not want to move. No cost and low cost mortgages are available for those homeowners who anticipate moving from the home in the near future. For example, they may select a home equity line of credit, commonly called a "HELOC", requiring interest-only payments for 10 years. These loans typically have very low (or zero) upfront costs but the interest rates are usually slightly higher than a reverse mortgage. Since monthly payments are required on a HELOC, borrowers need to qualify based on their income and credit score. Oftentimes, seniors who may be on a limited fixed income can't get approved for a HELOC for this reason. Reverse mortgages do not require monthly payments and, as a result, income and credit score are not considered as part of the approval process.

Criticism
Reverse mortgages have been criticized for three major shortcomings:

1. Being expensive. Reverse mortgages can cost $8,000 or more to enter into, as compared with other types of loans which often cost less than $5,000. 2. Being confusing to those entering into them. Many seniors entering into reverse mortgages don't fully understand the terms and conditions associated with the loans, and it has been suggested that some lenders have sought to take advantage of this. But in a 2006 survey of borrowers by AARP, 93 percent said their reverse mortgage had a mostly positive effect on their lives, compared with 3 percent who said the effect was mostly negative. Some 93 percent of borrowers reported that they were satisfied with their experiences with lenders, and 95 percent reported that they were satisfied with the counselors that they were required to see. 3. Compound Interest. Since no monthly payments are made by the borrower on a reverse mortgage, the interest that accrues is treated as a loan advance. Each month, interest is calculated not only on the principal amount received by the borrower but on the interest previously assessed to the loan. Because of this compound interest, the longer a senior has a reverse mortgage, the more likely it is that all of the home equity will be depleted when the loan becomes due. That said, with the FHA-insured HECM reverse mortgage, the borrower can never owe more than the value of the property and cannot pass on any debt from the reverse mortgage to any heirs. The sole remedy the lender has is the collateral, no assets in the estate, if applicable.