Reverse Mortgages in Palm Beach County, Florida

WHY WE LEAD WITH EDUCATION

You can get a reverse mortgage quote from a lot of places.

Understanding what you’re looking at is more important.

Before talking about getting a loan, we’ll explain how the options actually work.

We’ll talk about the benefits.

We’ll talk about the costs.

We’ll talk about the interest.

We’ll talk about what happens to your equity.

We’ll talk about your responsibilities as a homeowner.

We’ll talk about what happens when the loan eventually becomes due.

And yes — we’ll talk about the downsides and catches, too.

Then we learn about you.

What are you trying to accomplish?

Are you trying to eliminate an existing mortgage payment? Create additional cash flow? Pay for home care? Establish a line of credit? Buy another home? Preserve retirement assets? Or simply create another bucket of money you can access if you need it?

Only then do we start looking at which reverse mortgage — if any — makes sense.

If I don’t think a reverse mortgage is a good fit, I’ll tell you.

That’s what Education First means.

PALM BEACH COUNTY’S HIGHER HOME VALUES CAN CHANGE THE CONVERSATION

This is one of the reasons local experience matters.

Palm Beach County has a significant number of higher-value homes.

If your home is worth $1 million, $3 million, $10 million or more, I don’t believe you should automatically be shown one reverse mortgage and told, “Here’s your option.”

We may want to compare a federally insured HECM with one or more jumbo or proprietary reverse mortgages.

Once compared, you’ll find that a jumbo reverse mortgage WILL allow you to access substantially more equity.

There can also be differences in costs, qualification requirements, available proceeds and how the loan can be structured.

The point isn’t that one is better. The point is that you should know you have choices.

That’s particularly relevant for higher-value homeowners in communities throughout Wellington, Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and other parts of Palm Beach County.

WHAT IF I HAVE A 2% OR 3% MORTGAGE I DON’T WANT TO LOSE?

This has become one of the more interesting conversations I have with homeowners.

Let’s say you bought or refinanced when mortgage rates were incredibly low.

You have substantial equity today, and accessing some of that equity could improve your retirement.

But there’s one problem:

You don’t want to give up that fantastic first mortgage.

I don’t blame you.

Traditionally, getting a reverse mortgage meant paying off the existing mortgage as part of the transaction.

Today, depending on eligibility and current program availability, there may be another option: a second reverse mortgage.

It may allow an eligible homeowner to access additional equity without refinancing the existing first mortgage.

It’s not appropriate for everyone, and availability and qualifications matter.

But if you have a very low-rate first mortgage, it’s absolutely an option worth asking about.

JUMBO REVERSE MORTGAGES IN PALM BEACH COUNTY

For homeowners with higher-value properties, a jumbo reverse mortgage, also called a proprietary reverse mortgage, can be particularly useful.

Depending on the program, property and homeowner, they may provide access to considerably more equity than a traditional HECM.

Unlike the HECM, jumbos start at age 55, and high credit seniors can actually be exempt from income qualification.

And their biggest strength is that we’ll lend off any value; whether your home is worth $250,000 or $13,000,000.

This is one of my areas of focus because we have so many higher-value homes here in South Florida.

If your property value puts you in jumbo territory, I want you to see the alternatives side-by-side rather than assuming the standard HECM is automatically your best choice.

REVERSE MORTGAGES AND PALM BEACH COUNTY CONDOS

Condos deserve their own conversation.

Palm Beach County has an enormous number of condominium communities, particularly in areas popular with retirees.

And reverse mortgages on condos can sometimes become more complicated because the property and condominium project itself may need to meet program requirements.

That doesn’t automatically mean you can’t get a reverse mortgage if your condominium isn’t FHA-approved.

Depending on the situation, there may be other HECM approval possibilities or proprietary reverse mortgage programs worth exploring.

I’ve worked with condo owners where figuring out the property eligibility was just as important as qualifying the borrower.

So if another lender has already told you, “Your condo won’t work,” I wouldn’t necessarily assume that’s the end of the conversation.

MOVING TO PALM BEACH COUNTY? CONSIDER A HECM FOR PURCHASE

We see plenty of people moving to South Florida for retirement.

Maybe you’re selling a home in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York or somewhere else and planning to move closer to children and grandchildren.

Or maybe you’re already in Florida and simply want to rightsize into your forever home.

A HECM for Purchase allows an eligible older homebuyer to purchase a primary residence using a combination of their own funds and a reverse mortgage.

Instead of putting all of your cash into the new home, you may be able to finance a portion of the purchase with the reverse mortgage and have no required monthly principal-and-interest mortgage payment.

You remain responsible for property charges such as taxes, homeowners insurance, applicable HOA dues and maintaining the home.

For someone purchasing in one of Palm Beach County’s many 55+ communities, this can completely change the conversation about how much cash needs to go into the new house versus how much remains available for retirement.

By the way, we call the Purchase Reverse Mortgage the HECM for Purchase, but again for higher value homes we can use a Jumbo Reverse Mortgage in it’s place!

A REVERSE MORTGAGE RESOURCE FOR FINANCIAL ADVISORS, CPAs AND ATTORNEYS

If you’re a financial advisor, CPA, estate attorney, elder-law attorney or another trusted professional researching reverse mortgages for a Palm Beach County client, I’d be glad to serve as a resource.

And I want to be clear about what that means.

I’m not trying to replace you.

You understand your client’s overall financial picture.

My job is to bring the reverse mortgage expertise to the table.

I’ll explain the available programs, prepare scenarios, answer questions and help you and your client understand exactly what using home equity could look like.

Sometimes a reverse mortgage can be a valuable piece of a retirement strategy.

Sometimes it isn’t.

Either answer is okay.

The objective is to give you and your client enough information to make an informed decision.

WHAT EXACTLY IS A REVERSE MORTGAGE?

At its core, a reverse mortgage allows eligible older homeowners to access a portion of their home equity without requiring traditional monthly principal-and-interest mortgage payments.

You still own your home. You remain on title.

The loan generally becomes due when the last eligible borrower permanently leaves the home, sells the property or passes away.

You still have responsibilities.

Depending on the loan, borrowers must continue to occupy the property as required and remain current on property taxes, homeowners insurance, applicable HOA dues and home maintenance.

That’s an important distinction.

A reverse mortgage eliminates the requirement to make traditional monthly principal-and-interest mortgage payments.

It does not mean you get to live in the house for free.

THE THREE — AND SOMETIMES FOUR — OPTIONS WE MAY COMPARE

HECM

The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is the federally insured reverse mortgage program backed by the FHA.

It’s the most common reverse mortgage in the United States and offers several ways for eligible homeowners to access available proceeds.

HECMs are also non-recourse loans, providing important protections to borrowers and their estates.

Jumbo / Proprietary Reverse Mortgage

A jumbo reverse mortgage is privately offered rather than FHA-insured and can be particularly relevant for higher-value Palm Beach County properties.

Depending on the program, it may provide access to substantially more equity than a HECM.

Second Reverse Mortgage

For certain homeowners who want to preserve an attractive existing first mortgage,rsecond reverse mortgage may be worth considering when available.

Instead of replacing that low-rate first mortgage, the reverse mortgage is positioned behind it.

HECM for Purchase

A HECM for Purchase allows eligible older buyers to use a reverse mortgage when purchasing a new primary residence.

For retirees moving into or within Palm Beach County, this can be an extremely useful planning tool.

WHAT ABOUT MY CHILDREN’S INHERITANCE?

This is one of the questions I hear most often.

And I understand why.

You’ve spent decades building equity in your home, and you may want to leave something behind for your children.

Getting a reverse mortgage doesn’t mean the bank  gets your home in the end.

You continue to own it.

When the reverse mortgage eventually becomes due, the home can generally be sold and the loan repaid. Any remaining equity belongs to the homeowner or estate.

Eligible heirs may also have options to keep the home by refinancing or paying off the reverse.

By the way, ALL reverse mortgages are non-recourse loans, which provides important protection if the loan balance eventually exceeds the property’s value.

We’ll explain all of that before you make a decision.

YES, REVERSE MORTGAGES HAVE CLOSING COSTS

I don’t believe in hiding this part.

Reverse mortgages have costs.

Those costs can vary considerably depending on whether you’re looking at a HECM, jumbo/proprietary reverse mortgage, reverse mortgage second mortgage or another available option.

We’ll show them to you.

Then we’ll look at the bigger question:

What are you accomplishing in exchange for those costs?

If you’re spending money to create $20 of benefit, that’s probably not a very good deal.

If you’re spending money to dramatically improve your retirement, that’s a different conversation.

The numbers have to make sense.

HOW PALM BEACH COUNTY HOMEOWNERS USE REVERSE MORTGAGES

There’s no single reason people call me.

Some want to eliminate an existing mortgage and improve monthly cash flow.

Some want money available for home health care so they can age in place.

Some want to create a line of credit for future expenses.

Some want additional retirement cash flow.

Some want to make improvements to the home.

Some want to purchase another home.

Some want to preserve other retirement assets rather than continually drawing them down.

And sometimes people simply want another financial resource available in case they need it.

That’s why I don’t believe in giving everyone the same presentation.

Your home may be similar to your neighbor’s. Your retirement probably isn’t.

SO…IS A REVERSE MORTGAGE A GOOD IDEA?

Maybe.

That’s probably not the answer you’d expect from a reverse mortgage website.

But it’s the right answer.

A reverse mortgage can be an incredibly useful retirement tool for the right homeowner.

For someone else, it may be unnecessary, too expensive, poorly timed or simply not the best solution.

That’s why Reverse Mortgage Reality exists.

Learn first. Run the numbers second. Decide third.

TALK WITH JASON EICHMILLER

You don’t need to be ready to get a reverse mortgage to call me.

You don’t even need to know if you want one.

If you’re a Palm Beach County homeowner, adult child or trusted advisor and you simply want to understand the options, that’s exactly where we start.

Jason Eichmiller
Founder, Reverse Mortgage Reality
President, Key Home Lending, LLC
Reverse Mortgage Specialist Since 2008
NMLS #297995
Key Home Lending, LLC NMLS #2103187
Wellington, Palm Beach County, Florida

Call (888) 309-9705

Email jasone@reversemortgagereality.com

GET A PERSONALIZED REVERSE MORTGAGE ANALYSIS

We’ll show you the numbers, explain the options and answer your questions.

Then you decide.