I recently posted on my other blog about our recent company and location change. Rather then repeat it all here, I’ll show a few pictures and give a link to the page.
We are still the same group of people, providing the same committtment to serviing our clients as always, we are just in a better location with a company that we feel will help us through these chaotic times.
If you are in Newberg, feel free to drop in and visit. I’ll even buy you a cup of coffee.
Larry Morris
Link to the Blog
Link to the Reverse Mortgage Center on my new website
3.9% of Oregon’s 1st mortgages were at least 30 days late and 1.3% of Oregon homes were in foreclosure in the 3rd quarter of 2008 according to an article in today’s Oregonian, More Oregonians late on Mortgages by Ryan Frank. While these are alarming figures, the upside is that we are still doing better than most of the rest of the country.
I tried to find information on how many of these homes are owned by senior citizens and was unsuccessful. However, I would imagine that the numbers are high. Many seniors are on fixed incomes and if this income is tied to investments, they have seen a reduction in their assets. Many who were able to live off of the interest from these accounts are now having to withdrawal principle.
One of the areas that we are a little luckier then the rest of the country is that our home values have not decreased at much as many other states. According to the Oregon Economics Blog, aside from Medford and Bend we are doing better than the national average.
With foreclosures rising and home values decreasing, we are seeing a nasty trend. When a home goes into foreclosure, it is often sold for less then it is worth. This drives the value of the homes in the surrounding area down, which makes it harder for those owners to sell or refinance. If they are on the verge of not being able to make their payments, this can often result in yet another foreclosure, driving home values down further.
Since many Oregon seniors purchased their homes prior to the boom times of the last few years, and have equity in their homes, they have options that many of their peers in some of the harder hit states do not. Seniors age 62 and older may qualify for a Government Insured Reverse Mortgage.
Structured correctly, a Reverse Mortgage can provide a life line in these chaotic times. Whether it is to pay off the current mortgage, freeing up $500 to $200 per month in mortgage payments that no longer need to be paid, or to provide additional funds to make ends meet on a monthly basis, a Reverse Mortgage might be right for you or your loved ones.
Give me a call if you have any questions regarding your situation or the situation of a loved one.
Larry: 503-421-0096
A new exciting component of the recent FHA modernization that was recently passed and signed into legislation is the increase in loan limits for the FHA’s HECM Reverse Mortgage. Previously, loan limits were based by county, and the more rural the county, the lower the limits.
Now, all counties will be at $417,000.
So what does this mean to you?
If you are 75 and own a home worth $400,000 free and clear and live anywhere in Oregon, under the new limits, you would qualify for approximately $270,000. This is a major increase over the old limits. Previously, this borrower would have qualified for approximately $196,000.
In the above situation, the proceeds could be taken as a lump sum of $270,000, a monthly annuity of around $1700 per month or kept as a line of credit and used as needed.
If your home is worth more then $417,000, then you are still capped at $417,000 in home value. The upside to this is that you will still have a lot of equity left in your home.
The new limits combined with a limit on closing costs will allow more seniors to benefit from a Reverse Mortgage.
Call me for details on your exact situation.
