If your house is worth $1,000,000 or more, and you want to access your home’s equity, a jumbo reverse mortgage could make sense for you. It’s an excellent way to use your home’s value to fund part of your retirement. But before you start shopping, be sure to speak to a reverse mortgage specialist who you trust.
What is a jumbo reverse mortgage?
A reverse mortgage is a loan to convert some of your home’s equity to cash. Once you take out a reverse mortgage, you don’t have to make monthly payments to pay it back. A reverse mortgage is only available to seniors age 62 or older.
You won’t make payments on a reverse mortgage, but you will still have to pay property taxes, insurance and home maintenance costs. You can repay the reverse mortgage by selling the house.
Over time, the amount you owe on a reverse mortgage goes up. This is because interest and fees are added to the loan balance each month. You can use the cash from a reverse mortgage for any purpose, including paying off other debts and boosting your nest egg.
The majority of reverse mortgages are loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Reverse mortgages guaranteed by the FHA are called Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM).
Traditional reverse mortgages face a loan limit of $679,650. Homeowners with home equity worth more than $679,650 cannot use an FHA guaranteed reverse mortgage to access all the value in their houses — and that’s where jumbo reverse mortgages come into the picture. Jumbo reverse mortgages allow borrowers to access up to $6 million worth of home equity. Since jumbo reverse mortgage lenders aren’t FHA guaranteed, lenders don’t have to follow FHA guidelines about loan size.
Jumbo Reverse Mortgage Highlights
For years, some seniors have been excluded from the government’s reverse mortgage program. A "Jumbo Reverse Mortgage" now offers many of them another chance to access their home equity. The"Jumbo Reverse Mortgage" does not have as many housing restrictions and lending limits as the FHA reverse mortgage, making it an ideal solution for many seniors nationwide. Unique features include:
A) No property restrictions. High-value homes, condominiums, homes with solar panels, and other residential properties which do not qualify for an FHA reverse mortgage could still qualify.
B) 100% of all"Jumbo Reverse Mortgage" proceeds are disbursed at closing. This means that you can access 100% of your funds as soon as you close your loan.
C) Higher lending limits mean that you could get more money at lower costs. In fact, some clients may be able to receive up to $4 million.
D) Consolidating debt is possible during the mortgage process. This may help you qualify.
E) "Jumbo Reverse Mortgage" is still a non-recourse loan, meaning that no matter how much your loan’s balance increases, you will never owe more than the value of your home.
F) Because"Jumbo Reverse Mortgage" is a fixed-rate loan, you can calculate how your loan balance will change over time.
How "Jumbo Reverse Mortgages" Work
Although the"Jumbo Reverse Mortgage" offers many unique benefits in comparison to a standard FHA reverse mortgage, it still functions in a similar way:
A) You will remain the owner of your home.
B) You can make payments if you wish, but there are no required monthly payments.
C) If you decide not to make monthly mortgage payments, interest for those months will be added to the loan balance.
D) You must still maintain the property, pay homeowners insurance, and property taxes to avoid foreclosure.
E) The"Jumbo Reverse Mortgage" will come due if you vacate the home, sell the home, or pass away.
Jumbo Reverse Mortgage Benefits
A) More money
B) Lower closing costs (no mortgage insurance)
C) Allowed to pay off debts to qualify
D) Loan amounts to $4 million E) Can get all proceeds at closing – don’t have to wait one year
F) House value not capped at FHA's national lending limit
G) One appraisal on values up to $2 million
H) Can have 4 financed properties plus primary residence
I) Non-FHA approved condos
2018 Jumbo Reverse Mortgage Upgrades
1) Higher loan amounts
2) Deferred disbursement option on a fixed-rate loan
3) Age requirement dropped to 60
4) Reverse second mortgage
5) Jumbo reverse with a line of credit
Once you know that a jumbo reverse mortgage makes sense for you, you can contact Call / Text Miguel Vazquez 562-881-9811 or email: miguel@homecentralfinancial.com
Jumbo Fixed Rate Options
The benefit of a jumbo fixed-rate reverse mortgage is the safety and security of knowing what the interest rate will be. If you’re of the opinion that rates are going to increase and that our collective deficit spending could mean rates rise considerably, a fixed rate provides peace of mind.
One of the biggest differences between the FHA and jumbo version is that with FHA, there are limits around how much can be accessed at closing (60%). Not only are FHA borrowers dealing with lower loan amounts, but having to wait a year to get up to 40% of what they’re eligible for is sometimes a big issue.
The jumbo reverse doesn’t have that constraint. The borrower can have the full loan amount at closing.
However, before the recent innovations, a homeowner had to take the full amount.
What if they don't want all the money on day one?
What if they don’t want to pay interest on money they don’t need?
Introducing the deferred disbursement option, which allows a jumbo reverse borrower to spread out up to 40% of their proceeds over the first five years.
Jumbo Second Mortgage
The jumbo reverse mortgage in second lien position is just what it sounds like: a second mortgage where the homeowner doesn’t have to make a monthly mortgage payment.
This is ideal for someone who has a low-interest rate on their existing first mortgage, they can comfortably make the current payment, but they either (a) can’t qualify for a second mortgage, or (b) don’t want to make an additional mortgage payment on a HELOC (home equity line of credit).
People in this group have the luxury of being concerned with legacy, preserving estate value, but still, need to access some of the wealth trapped in their home to do what they want.
Second mortgage examples that come to mind include:
Gifts, like helping children with a down payment on a home
Early inheritance strategies
Home improvements
Medical or insurance expenses
Bridge financing for construction or business
Settling taxes or judgments
Buying a second home or timeshare
Helping with children’s or grandchildren’s college expenses
Travel, lifestyle, etc.
Jumbo Reverse Mortgage Line of Credit
Now, homeowners can get a jumbo reverse mortgage, with a line of credit feature – similar to the FHA reverse mortgage – but with no mortgage insurance. This is a big deal. The jumbo reverse line of credit matches the initial draw with a 10-yr line of credit. At the end of ten years, the loan does not become due nor do amortizing payments have to be made.
Jumbo Benefit – No Mortgage Insurance
Closing costs on jumbo reverse mortgages are much less than FHA reverses, largely because there’s no upfront or annual mortgage insurance.
If someone takes out a small-draw FHA reverse mortgage loan (with a substantially unused line of credit), they still pay 2% upfront mortgage insurance on the value of the house. That equates to: 2% of $726,525 = $14,530
Not having to pay for mortgage insurance is why closing costs are much less with a jumbo reverse mortgage; i.e., $14,530 less.
And not having to pay annual mortgage insurance further lowers long-term costs. For example, the 10-year cost of annual mortgage insurance on a $340,000 FHA reverse would total $23,754. With a jumbo reverse, the annual mortgage insurance cost is zero... because there is no insurance.
Top 5 Uses of Jumbo Reverse Mortgages
As you might imagine, jumbo reverse mortgages are more about lifestyle than need. We often talk to clients who have a half-million or more in retirement accounts but they prefer to protect that liquidity. They know that their house will appreciate at the same rate whether it has a mortgage on it or not.
Data on recent jumbo reverse mortgage loans revealed borrowers are older and have larger loan amounts than expected. The average borrower age was 77 with a home worth $1.7 million.
The top five reasons for getting a reverse mortgage, in order, are as follows:
Home renovation, remodel, or repairs
Purchase vacation home or rental property
Help children buy a home
Gifting to heirs - early inheritance
Help adult children's kids (grandkids) with college
Once you know that a jumbo reverse mortgage makes sense for you, you can contact Call / Text Miguel Vazquez 562-881-9811 or email: miguel@homecentralfinancial.com
Jumbo reverse mortgage risks
Mortgage balance increases over time: One of the most important things for borrowers to understand is that with a reverse mortgage your mortgage balance is not decreasing. It’s increasing. Over time, it’s possible to owe more than what your house is worth. If you want to leave a house to family, you have to be careful with any kind of reverse mortgage.
Must pay taxes, insurance and maintenance: A jumbo reverse mortgage eliminates your monthly mortgage obligation, but you must continue to pay taxes, insurance and maintenance costs on your home. If you fail to make these payments, you could be forced out of your home.
Must take loan proceeds right away: FHA guaranteed reverse mortgages offer borrowers a monthly payment or a line of credit borrowing option. With jumbo reverse mortgages, those options aren’t available. All jumbo reverse mortgage borrowers have to take the entire loan proceeds right away. You’ll have to be responsible to use those proceeds as needed throughout retirement.
Higher interest rates: Interest rates on jumbo reverse mortgages are currently almost 2% higher than loans on FHA guaranteed mortgages. The higher interest rates mean that your home equity disappears faster.
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