Exploring the Benefits of Reverse Mortgages

Most Canadian seniors have 80 per cent of assets tied up in their house – and they can access that money in retirement. As seen in REW.ca 

Perhaps you have a friend or family member who has been dreaming about this moment throughout their working life. That dream is to retire and have the time and money to travel, fix up the family home, indulge in hobbies, visit grandchildren, spend weekends at the cottage, help their children buy a home, pay off debts, help their grandchildren with tuition fees, and most importantly, not have to worry about money.

But now that they are 55 or older, they may have been caught off guard by the expenses associated with retirement, such asproperty taxes, rising energy and utility expenses, and the overall cost of living, which seems to get higher every year. Sure, they have their pension income, but it may not be enough to make ends meet. Most Canadian seniors have 80 per cent of their assets tied up in their house. But accessing that equity can be difficult. Most banks won’t give them a mortgage because they don’t have enough income to make monthly payments.

So what are the options?

Well, they could downsize and sell their house. But isn’t that where they always dreamed they would spend your retirement? Leaving the home where they raised their family, put down roots and made lifelong friends would be heartbreaking. Besides, selling and moving can be very expensive once they have paid real estate fees, moving expenses, legal fees and so on. There’s got to be a better solution than leaving their family home.

There is a better solution for many seniors, and that’s a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage is a specialized financial product for people aged 55 and over, who own their own home. It lets them stay in their home while benefiting from the value they have built up in that property over the years. Compared with a regular mortgage, a reverse mortgage can offer substantial monthly cash savings, so they have all the income they need to live the retirement of their dreams.

Let’s explore the benefits of a reverse mortgage.

Regular mortgages require you to pay a lender – a reverse mortgage pays you:

If you and your spouse are 55 or older and you own your home as your principal residence, you may be eligible to receive up to 40 per cent of your home’s current appraised value in cash. The specific amount you will receive is based on your age, your spouse’s age, the location and type of home you have, and your home’s current appraised value. No matter how much you receive, you never have to make monthly principal or interest payments (until you move), so you get the money you need without reducing your cash flow.

There are no income, asset, employment or credit requirements:

Since the amount you receive is secured against your home, qualifying is easy and hassle-free – even if you are living on a very limited retirement income. You can receive the money whichever way works best for your lifestyle With a reverse mortgage, you can choose a single lump-sum payment or ongoing monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual income.You can even choose a lump sum to begin with, followed by ongoing advances over time.

A reverse mortgage can be used to clear up all your remaining debts:

Maybe you still have a mortgage remaining on your house and the payments are cutting into your lifestyle. Maybe you have monthly credit card bills piling up. A reverse mortgage can be the ideal solution. In most cases, you can use the funds to eliminate mortgage payments and credit card debts, and still have enough left over so you can enjoy life more and not have to worry about money. Your income taxes and pension are unaffected As a retired person, one of your major concerns is how much you will be paying in taxes each year, since that can really affect your cash flow. Fortunately, the money you receive from a reverse mortgage isn’t considered income – even if it’s invested in an account or annuity with monthly withdrawals. This is because the home equity you are accessing has already been taxed, since you purchased your home with after-tax dollars. Not only don’t you have to pay taxes on your reverse mortgage proceeds, they won’t bump you up into the next tax bracket. And since they’re not considered income, they won’t affect your Old Age Security (OAS) or Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) payments.

Your home remains your home:

You will never be asked to move or sell your home to repay your reverse mortgage, as long as you maintain the property and stay up-to-date with property taxes, fire insurance and strata fees. Your equity and estate is fully protected since the reverse mortgage amount can never exceed your home value. Sure, the equity in your home will decrease over the years as you receive payments, but your home’s value could increase even more quickly over the same period. Generally, 99 per cent of homeowners have money left over when their reverse mortgage is finally repaid (when you move or die). On average, the amount left over is 50 per cent of the value of the home when it’s sold. The interest on your reverse mortgage can sometimes be tax deductible If you use the money you receive to make non-registered investments such as GICs and mutual funds, the interest costs on your reverse mortgage can be written off at tax time. This can help offset the taxes you owe on your income, RRIF or RRSP withdrawals.

Mortgage experts like ourselves can introduce clients to all the benefits of a reverse mortgage. However, since we are not tied to any one lender or type of product, before recommending a reverse mortgage, we will do a thorough analysis of our clients’ situation, needs and goals. Only then will we make an unbiased recommendation about which product is right for them.

In most cases, that will be a reverse mortgage. But as mortgage experts, we have access to innovative lines of credit and other home lending products that may fit their specific needs even better.

It does matter how your mortgage gets registered – collateral or conventional

Many people are unaware that there are two basic types of mortgages: conventional and collateral. With a conventional mortgage, the amount you’re borrowing (property value minus down payment) is the amount that’s registered. But with a collateral mortgage, the amount that’s registered is 100-125% of the property value, and the lender has both a promissory note AND a lien registered against the property for the total registered amount. Most credit unions such as Vancity register their mortgages collateral while TD Canada Trust and ING Direct switched to collateral mortgages in 2010.

The advantage of a collateral mortgage is easy access to credit. Since the mortgage is already registered for a larger amount than you need to buy the house, you can access additional funds in the future without any extra steps or legal fees.

But there are also several downsides of collateral mortgages:

– Free transfers or switches to a new lender when your term is up aren’t usually available. Most other lenders don’t like the fine print and restrictions of collateral mortgages and won’t accept them unless they’re a refinance, which costs you legal and possible appraisal fees.

– You could end up paying a higher interest rate at renewal. If your collateral mortgage makes it difficult to switch lenders at renewal, you don’t have the ability to shop around for the best rate. That could end up costing you up to 1% more on your mortgage rate.

Obviously, it’s very important for you to know up front whether you’re getting into a collateral mortgage or a conventional mortgage. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize they have a collateral mortgage until it comes time to renew and they don’t have the flexibility they need. We would be more than happy to help make sure this doesn’t happen to you!

Your cellphone account can impact whether you’ll be approved for a mortgage.

Equifax and TransUnion are the two main credit reporting agencies in Canada. They collect all the data on your loans, lines of credit and credit cards to create your credit report and calculate your credit score. This information is then used by lenders—including mortgage lenders—to determine whether you’re a good credit risk.

Recently, both credit reporting agencies started including cellphone accounts in their credit reports. This means if you make a cellphone payment after the due date, it appears on your credit report and reflects negatively on your borrowing profile. Even worse, if you allow your cellphone account to go delinquent and it’s sent to a collection agency, not only does this appear on your report, it can also reduce your credit score. Mortgage lenders use this information to make underwriting decisions. Therefore, having a negative record with your cellphone provider can actually impact your likelihood of being approved for a loan and increase the interest rate you’ll pay.

If you’ve recently walked away from a cellphone contract, it’s a good idea to get the company to put in writing that the contract has been fulfilled and is now closed. This can help prevent any damage to your credit rating. We are always pleased to help if you want more information on how to preserve or improve your credit rating.

How much does rate matter?

Often times, borrowers are fixated on their mortgage rate because it’s the one aspect of their home financing they know to ask about. But, it’s important to look beyond mere rates into the bigger picture surrounding what’s significant when it comes to your specific mortgage needs.

If we dollarize the difference between 2.99% and 3.04%, for instance, it works out to an additional $2.66 in your monthly payment per $100,000 of your mortgage. Over the course of a five-year term, this culminates into just $159.60 per $100,000.

While “no-frills” mortgage products typically offer a lower – or more discounted – interest rate (like the 2.99% used in the example above), when compared with many other available products, the lower rate is really their only perk.

The biggest problem with looking at rate alone is that you may end up paying thousands of dollars in early payout penalties if you opt for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage, for instance, and then decide to move before the five years is up.

No-frills mortgage products won’t let you take your mortgage with you if you purchase another property before your mortgage term is up – eg., portability is not an option with this product. Portability is an important option that could save you money over the long term if the home of your dreams is within your reach before your mortgage term is up and rates have risen, which they have a tendency to do over a five-year period.

This type of product is only plausible for those who have minimal plans to take advantage of benefits that will help pay off your mortgage faster – such as prepayment privileges including lump-sum payments.

Essentially, this product is only ideal for: first-time homebuyers who want fixed payments and have limited opportunities to make lump-sum payments during the first five years of their mortgage; and property investors who need a low fixed rate and aren’t concerned with making lump-sum payments.

It’s understandable why these products may seem appealing. After all, not everyone feels they have the extra cash to put down a huge lump-sum payment. And who needs a portable mortgage if you’re not planning on moving any time soon?

But it’s important to remember that a lot can change over the course of five years – or whatever term you choose for your mortgage. You could get transferred, find a bigger house, have babies, change careers, etc. Five years is a long time to be anchored to something.

Many people won’t sign a cell phone contract for longer than three years that they can’t get out of, so why would they then sign a mortgage for five years that they can’t get out of?

The thing is, you can still obtain great mortgage savings without giving up the perks of traditional mortgages. For starters, many lenders are willing to offer significant discounts if you opt for a 30-day “quick close.

And there are many other ways to earn your own discounts. For instance, by switching to weekly or bi-weekly mortgage payments, or by obtaining a variable-rate mortgage but increasing your payments to match those of the going five-year fixed rate, you’ll be ahead of the typical discount of a no-frills product before you know it – and you won’t have to give up on options.

Banks don’t give anything away for free – they’re there to make money. That’s why it’s essential to discuss the full details surrounding the small print behind the low rates. It’s also important to take into account your longer-term goals and ensure your mortgage meets your unique needs now and into the future.

Be aware of your credit report

A mistake on your credit report can cost you money. It can increase the interest you pay on loans, prevent you from getting a mortgage, buying a car or getting a job.

A new 8 year American Government study was released today and indicates as many as 40 million Americans have a mistake on their credit report. Twenty million have significant mistakes.

In Canada is not different, mistakes are made every single day. There a 2 Credit Bureaus in Canada, Equifax and TransUnion. We always recommend our clients to review their credit report on a regular basis (every six months to a year) and not just for mistakes, but for potential identity theft, which could be financial devastated for an individual.

Both Credit Bureaus have free service, when you ask to a report mail to you. If you want to download your report, you have to pay for it.

Don’t risk your credit health and review your credit report often.

For more information regarding this problem read Credit reporting error costing Canadians.