“The biggest complaint forever, pretty much, has been the very high cost up front to get a reverse mortgage,” said Carlsbad-based Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional David Darling of HighTech Lending. “They’re pretty significant fees; they easily can be $15,000 to $20,000. And we’re able now to offer these reverse mortgages under certain criteria for basically only the cost of an appraisal.”The reverse mortgage is a mortgage product that allows for seniors, aged 62 or older, a chance to convert equity in the home into upfront money to be used in any manner seen fit by the homeowner.To qualify for this no fee reverse mortgage, there are certain conditions that must be met, Darling explained. The first is that the home has to be worth $400,000 or more; the second is that the client must agree to a fixed rate, something that most prefer anyways, Darling added.Another factor required to qualify for the reverse mortgage is that the client must own the home, which is allowed to have a mortgage on it, and they need to have more than 40 percent equity in the home.Most homeowners who meet these requirements do have a fairly good idea that reverse mortgages are an option available to them, Darling explained. But there’s still quite a bit of uncertainty when it comes to reverse mortgages, too. “There’s still a lot of people who think that, in essence, you’re just giving your house to the bank.”
But Darling, who has been in this business for six years, said his company is about trying to clarify those positions and to help determine whether or not a reverse mortgage is the right idea for their clients.
They prefer to do so in a face-to-face, educational-type manner, oftentimes meeting around their clients’ kitchen tables.
For more information about the process or to see if a reverse mortgage is right for you, call David at (760) 815-7770.
