Friday, August 23, 2013

Real Estate: Stick to the Long-Term Plan!


Click to enlarge.

Reverse mortgages! Don't fail me now!

March 9, 2008
Some Seniors Victimized in Reverse Mortgage Boom

The growth in these mortgages has skyrocketed in recent years. According to a 2007 report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the number of reverse mortgages grew from nearly 8,000 in 2001 to more than 107,000 last year. The average loan amount grew 80 percent to $138,700 during the same time period, a 2007 report from the AARP Public Policy Institute found.

December 12, 2012
It’s full-speed ahead for reverse-mortgage industry

Borrowers also are increasingly likely to use reverse mortgages for other purposes than daily living expenses. Many are paying off a traditional mortgage in order to retire early.

Fantastic!

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

4 comments:

Troy said...

Floating-rate RMs are based on this index:

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/USD1MTD156N

LOL

RMs are great if you don't have kids or don't want them to get the house (without paying off the RM first).

dearieme said...

In some countries they are probably also a way of avoiding Inheritance Tax. Mind you, so is burying gold sovereigns in the back garden, I dare say.

Stagflationary Mark said...

Troy,

Floating-rate RMs are based on this index:

LOL!

Those who got fixed rate RMs back in 2006-2007 probably aren't complaing much, assuming they weren't too shafted by excessive fees!

It could make sense for some as a form of death insurance (live way too long and deplete savings because of it).

Stagflationary Mark said...

dearieme,

For the longest time I could not figure out why my garden was not growing well. I finally went out with a shovel to find out why. It seems the previous owner secretly buried several tons of some super-heavy golden metal. It was interfering withe the drainage! What a nutcase! Some people are just born crazy!

It cost me $10,000 to have professionals come in and dispose of it all. Unluckiest day of my life! The only saving grace was that they worked 30 hours straight without so much as a rest break. Great guys! Never complained! Always cheerful!

Hahaha! ;)