The difference between a golden parachute and a balloon mortgage is huge! Simultaneous maturation of mortgages and age is not such an uplifting idea.
Elder Law has recently emerged to address the increasing need of senior citizens. It has come to encompass traditional issues such as estate planning, wills and trusts, and conservatorships or guardianships; as well as the emerging issues of health care planning, Medicare or Medicaid planning, and elder rights.
Since the 1960’s, the variety of loan products available has increased exponentially, allowing many more people access to home ownership. That was pretty much a good thing, until our recent real estate downturn spotlighted variable rate mortgages on fixed rate incomes, which can be particularly detrimental for our senior population.
Reverse mortgages can
provide relief to this situation. Reverse
mortgages are a relatively new loan product designed to harvest the equity of a
house by selling it back to the bank. The
bank then claims the house when the homeowner is deceased instead of the
property going to heirs. Reverse
mortgages are only available to people sixty-two years and older, and they are
not for everyone. The program can generate much needed cash for nursing home
costs, or can simply enable a senior citizen to remain in his or her home
instead of moving into bankruptcy.
