post by Sam Collins

A most recent article in the LA Times, points out that many Americans who may have contemplated retirement are now having to make changes.

Many homeowners are finding they have no equity left, because of the falling house prices, or lost their pensions due to business closures, and most cases a severe loss in their 401K portfolio.

There is some some good news, about 30% of homeowners do not have a mortgage. Yet, 1 out of  6 are upside down and owe more than their  house is worth.

Here are some of the suggestions, if  you find your client’s portfolio has been impacted:

1.  Continue working.  Having a job creates income, which in turn may allow a refinance or a home equity  loan.
2.  Downsize to a smaller home.  However, this may not make sense considering the decline in current home values.  In most cases staying in the home works best.
3.  If  there are  assets, such as a car, second home, jewelry, artwork, that can create cash, consider selling.
4.   The other big suggestion was consider a reverse mortgage.   The article went on to explain the benefits and payment methods.

Knowing how the challenges your senior clients are facing will enable you to understand and give consideration to how they can shore up their nest egg that may have cracked just a bit.

Remember, keep moving foward to stay ahead in reverse.

*Attention:
REMALO Members, special call in day this Thursday, 1/15/2009, 3:00 PM EST.   REMALO members, attendance information is listed on the event calendar of home page.  Click on date 15.

Tags: reverse mortgage loan officers

This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 2:33 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.