IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD!

Tough times make for tough choices. In today's world, falling real estate values and retirement savings plans falling even faster are causing senior citizens who thought they were well prepared for retirement to re-examine their options.

Many folks hoped to sell their current homes and "downsize" to a more affordable, more convenient home. Many retirees planned to stay put, and travel. Some parents worry about "leaving" their assets to their children, or helping their grandchildren through college. Still others were already struggling to make ends meet, pay their taxes and cover their medication and healthcare costs. If you fall into one of these categories, or the myriad of other circumstances that can befall us as we age, you might want to consider a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, also known as a Reverse Mortgage. Simply put, it enables you to use the equity in your home to fund your retirement, all at once or a little at a time. It's as if the lender is making mortgage payments to you instead of you making mortgage payments to the lender.

Retirement should be your reward for a lifetime of working, and a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage gives you a way to tap into that reward. Of course, there are requirements that must be met. Obviously, you need to have equity in your home, and it must be your primary residence. Also, all borrowers must be at least 62 years old. However, typically you will not be subject to credit checks and income verification, and while there are fees involved, they are comparable to what you would incur in the event that you had to sell your home.

So what's the drawback of a reverse mortgage? Some people might tell you that the lender will own your house. In fact, that is not how a home equity conversion mortgage works. The lender never takes title to your home, unless you stop paying taxes or insurance. You can borrow a percentage of the equity in your home - and the goverment just increased the limit - either in one lump sum or in monthly increments to supplement your other retirement income - whatever works best for you. The lender gets "paid back" at the time that your home is sold, either by you or your heirs. For instance, if you have the ability to borrow $200,000 in equity from your home, and you only end up using $100,000, then at the time the house is sold, the lender will only be entitled to the amount that you actually used (and the associated costs) and any leftover value will be yours or your heirs.

Parents also worry about "spending their children's inheritance". However, when asked, most children would prefer that their retired parents use their equity to fund a more comfortable standard of living as they live out their golden years. Often, a reverse mortage enables senior citizens to be financially independent, ultimately reducing the potential financial stresses that their children may face in helping to support them.

There are many good reasons to consider a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. Here at NAMOREX, many of our investors are in fact retired themselves, and started this organization to help Senior Citizens create a more satisfying and independent life for themselves. Call us today, and let us walk you through the program step by step, we'll make sure you completely understand how it works, and what you have to gain. With all the unsettling circumstances going on in the world around us, having the option to stay in your home and even modify it if you need to, can give you a level of security and comfort seldom found in today's world.

Content written by Amy Cabana