The Senior Mortgage Borrower
By now, the word has gotten around that young people cannot afford to qualify for a home mortgage and buy a home. Their only hope for doing this is their parents, who can leverage their cash savings or, if necessary, their home equity, to provide money for a down payment, or else leverage their good credit and co-sign on the loan. What about seniors? Can they buy real estate? Clearly, the safest option, if you belong to the generation fortunate enough to afford homeownership, is just to be content with the house you already bought, mortgaged, and paid off, and to age in place. It makes sense if you want to buy a place that better suits your retirement lifestyle, one without stairs, for example, or a house with a yard where you can spend your retirement growing your own food, as opposed to a condo you bought years ago because it made for an easy commute to your work in D.C. It is still possible to buy a house after you retire, even if you cannot afford to pay the full purchase price outright and must take out a mortgage loan. For help strategizing about applying for a mortgage and using your retirement income to pay it back, contact a Washington, D.C. estate planning lawyer.
Why Would Retirees Want to Mortgage the Purchase of a Home?
Moving out of your empty nest is a standard part of most people’s retirement plans. Some people choose to sell their forever home, put the proceeds in the bank, and rent an apartment in an assisted living facility for the rest of their lives. In the old days, you used to be able to sell your old house and pay for a new one in full; this way, your housing costs would be low, and your Social Security check could just pay for things like groceries and utilities. These days, though, purchasing power is way down, and you might still need a mortgage loan if you are selling your old house and buying a new one. You might also want to keep some of the money in the bank instead of putting the entire proceeds toward the purchase of your new house.
Considerations When Applying for a Mortgage Loan After Age 65
It only takes simple math to understand why retirees would want a 15-year mortgage instead of a 30-year mortgage. The trouble with 15-year mortgages is that the monthly installment payments are higher. Can you afford the payments on a 15-year mortgage when all you have is retirement income? It depends. You can do it if you saved enough cash from the sale of your empty nest. You can also do it if one spouse has a retirement pension or employer-provided retirement account.
Contact Tobin O’Connor Ewing About Golden Mortgage Loans
A Washington, D.C. estate planning attorney can help you decide whether to apply for a golden mortgage loan, which sounds better than a gray mortgage loan. Contact Tobin, O’Connor, and Ewing in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.
Source:
msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/am-i-too-old-to-buy-a-house-suze-orman-s-take-on-buying-a-home-after-65/ar-AA1FVI2H?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=6b01dd08e7804ed6afe3cbc2412b5441&ei=18
