Do you know someone over the age of 62 who is tired of climbing stairs and needs to be in a ranch home? Are they worried that they could never afford a new home? With the rising prices of ranch homes and townhome communities for parents who are over 62 years old, this fear is real! High demand is resulting in escalating prices for homes that fit this criteria for our ever-aging population.
I attended a meeting today with one of my favorite lenders who educated me on a loan program I was unaware of called a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage that is only available to homeowners or homebuyers who are over 62 years old. This program is potentially a game changer for homeowners who are looking to downsize or move to a comfortable master-on-main or one story home.
As you drive around, you may notice single story, ranch home developments are popping up all over metro Atlanta. As our population increases in age, there is a huge need for these type of developments and builders are selling these homes as fast as they can build them. They have all the features today’s buyers want, such as spacious, open floorplans, granite/quartz counters in the kitchen and master bath, and beautiful sun-filled master suites. And homebuyers can pick out all the design selections and upgrades that make their final home purchase everything they dreamed about.
Everything sounds too good to be true, right? Due to the high demand of these types of homes, the prices can be surprisingly high. Many homeowners at this stage of their life have significant equity in their current home, but may not be able to get enough money out of their current home to pay 100% cash for the new dream home…and due to their age, they may not be comfortable with taking out a mortgage for the remaining amount. Enter the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM for short)—the lender loans the buyer the difference between the Purchase Price and the buyer’s down payment (loan limits apply!) and sets up an Equity Conversion Mortgage that does not require any payments on the buyer’s part. The amount they are loaned gets paid back when the buyer sells the house, refinances, passes away or vacates the home. But NO payments are due during the term of the HECM, so the buyer is only responsible for taxes, insurance, HOA dues and upkeep of the home.
This program blew my mind today and I am so excited about the potential of this program to help our aging population get to the dream home they deserve. Please reach out to me if you want more information or if I can help connect to you to my HECM lender. There is an informational class in Roswell on March 8th. Full details will be released next week. I strive to be a resource to everyone I know and would be happy to pass along the information; please call, text or email if you would like to get more details about this mortgage or the class on March 8th -Kelly Rosen, REALTOR® Solid Source Realty, (770) 568-9241.