Ask Liz Weston

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reverse mortgage

Q&A: Reverse mortgages can be a boon, but come with potential risks

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Dear Liz: Please write about the issues people can face when they have a reverse mortgage and need to move out to get long-term care. My mother, who is now 94 and lives on a small teacher’s pension, got a reverse mortgage in her late 60s to donate to charity because she was sure she would not live past her 80s. Now she needs long-term care and does not have the funds for it. If she moves out, she is required to sell the home. The capital gains taxes will eat up any remaining equity after that reverse loan is paid.

Answer: A reverse mortgage can be a helpful tool for people 62 or older who are house rich and cash poor. These mortgages allow people to tap some of their equity without requiring that the balances be paid back until the borrower dies, sells the home or permanently moves out.

The problem is that the debt can grow over time and leave too little equity for late-in-life expenses, such as long-term care.

Of course, many people make the mistake your mother made by underestimating their longevity risk — the chance they’ll live longer than expected and run short of money. They focus on maximizing current income by saving too little, taking out reverse mortgages too soon or applying early for Social Security without fully considering what these decisions could mean for their future selves.

Please get your mother in touch with an elder law attorney who can assess her situation and suggest alternatives. He can advise her about qualifying for Medicaid, the government health program for the poor. Medicaid will pay for long-term care expenses but rules vary by state, and a mistake could delay her eligibility.

Q&A: Elderly and cash-strapped, a couple consider a proposal to sell their home to neighbors

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Dear Liz: I’m 80 years old and my wife is 76. Our only retirement income is Social Security, and we have less than $50,000 in savings. We have about $600,000 equity in our house, which we bought in 1971. We presently have property taxes deferred, at 6% interest. The house is in disrepair.

We have two neighbors who are willing to buy the house after one or both of us die. The neighbors are willing to postpone occupancy and contribute to mutually agreed-upon home repair costs, which will be deducted from the selling price. Details will all be in the contract. These payments will greatly improve our lives. What could go wrong?

Answer: Well, a lot, which is why you need an experienced real estate attorney to represent you if you go ahead.

It’s not clear from your letter if your neighbors are locking in a sale price now, which would mean you and your wife (or your estates) would give up future price appreciation. Are the payments simply contributions toward the repairs or are they purchase payments? Also, what happens if you need to tap your equity to pay for long-term care? If you or your neighbors want out of the deal, would that be possible? Those and many more details need to be thought through.

But your situation, and your proposed solution, are not that unusual, says Los Angeles estate planning attorney Burton Mitchell. Many older people with highly appreciated properties don’t want to sell their homes and trigger taxable gains in excess of the $250,000-per-owner home sale exclusion.

Another alternative to consider is a reverse mortgage, which could allow you to tap your equity while you remain in the home. You wouldn’t have to make payments on this loan, and the balance would not be due until you and your wife die, sell the home or move out.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money new

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Today’s top story: Should you use a reverse mortgage to pay for long-term care? Also in the news: A new episode of the Smart Money podcast on giving family and friends money, a look at the Metro affordability report for first-time buyers, and the easiest ways to make your cell phone bill cheaper.

Should You Use a Reverse Mortgage to Pay for Long-Term Care?
A reverse mortgage can provide a crucial stream of income to pay for long-term care costs, but there are some limitations.

Smart Money Podcast: Giving Family Money, and What’s Happening With Inflation
This week’s episode starts with a discussion about when and how to give your family and friends money.

First-Time Home Buyer Metro Affordability Report – Q1 2022
Two years into the pandemic-era housing market, affordability falls again, making a bleak first quarter for first-time home buyers in 2022.

The Easiest Ways to Make Your Cell Phone Bill Cheaper
Your attention span is already prisoner to your phone; your wallet doesn’t have to be, too.

Friday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: Don’t let your first car be a $30K mistake. Also in the news: House Democrats push Treasury, IRS for repeal of rule blocking state and local taxes cap workaround, should you use a reverse mortgage to pay for long-term care, and the easiest way to make your cell phone bill cheaper.

Don’t Let Your First Car Be a $30K Mistake
Buying your first car right now isn’t easy, but with the right prep you can find a car that won’t become a burden.

House Democrats push Treasury, IRS for repeal of rule blocking state and local taxes cap workaround
Three House Democrats are still pushing for relief on the $10,000 limit on the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT.

5 ways to get around high credit card interest rates
Credit card interest rates have started going up.

Should you use a reverse mortgage to pay for long-term care?
Someone turning 65 has nearly a 7-in-10 chance of needing long-term care in the future, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Easiest Ways to Make Your Cell Phone Bill Cheaper
Your attention span is already prisoner to your phone; your wallet doesn’t have to be, too.

Q&A: Taking out a reverse mortgage may help if coronavirus wipes out your job

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Dear Liz: I read with interest the letter from the person who was a tour guide and lost their job due to the virus. I kept reading, expecting you to suggest a reverse mortgage. Are these a bad idea?

Answer: Not necessarily. The person in question owned the home with a sibling, and the sibling did not live in the home, which could complicate the process of getting a reverse mortgage.

If there was substantial equity in the home, however, a reverse mortgage could pay off the existing mortgage and might be worth the effort. One way to investigate this option is to talk to a HUD-approved housing counseling agency.

Q&A: The ups and downs of reverse mortgages

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Dear Liz: I have been a reverse mortgage specialist for the last 12 years and had some thoughts about the writer who complained that the $40,000 she initially borrowed had grown to a debt of $189,000, or more than her home was worth.

Using a compound interest calculator, it would take about 16.5 years for the debt to grow that large. The borrower would have lived in their home for all that time without making payments toward the debt, although they were still responsible for taxes, insurance and maintaining the property. They can stay in the home for as long as it’s their principal residence. Once they leave the home, the lender will sell the home and receive the difference between the sales price and the loan balance from the government insurance program that everyone with a reverse mortgage pays into. Otherwise, no lender would take out this loan for a potentially long term and risk losing money in the end. Maybe it was a good deal.

Answer: Possibly, but she regretted the decision anyway. She took out a reverse mortgage at a time of financial hardship and now wishes she hadn’t.

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People facing financial crises often develop tunnel vision and grab at solutions without thinking through the future costs of their decisions. (The excellent book “Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much” by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir explains the science of why that happens.)

Advertising for these loans can gloss over the downsides, such as potentially not being able to tap your equity later, when you may need it more. Reverse mortgages can be a good solution for some seniors but certainly not all of them.