Ever since first falling in love with this house some twenty five years ago, the two of you have agreed that this is where you want to spend the rest of your lives. Now, moving into retirement, with the house paid for, you have been taking steps to keep up the value and appearance of the property and grounds. But as you’ve only now begun to realize, this home, like many of those of your friends and neighbors, was not designed with senior citizens in mind. Though thankfully, you’re hardly ready for a wheelchair ramp or stair lifts, there are some important renovations and repairs that will need to be done pretty soon; other changes that will become important in years to come. Installing solar roofing might involve upfront costs, but would probably save money on monthly expenses. After doing extensive “homework”, getting a number of cost estimates, you’re now trying to decide how to best finance all these first-stage renovations, looking ahead to find room in your retirement budget for future costs. Options under consideration include a home equity line of credit and cashing in a portion of your investments, (neither of which had you considered in your original retirement planning). Also a possibility for financing later adaptations is selling the Florida timeshare you’ve owned for decades.
It seems one option you’ve apparently failed to consider is using the equity in the house itself as a financing tool for as-needed aging-in-place adaptations. A reverse mortgage line of credit would eliminate the need to make payments on a home equity line of credit, while providing a source for tax free withdrawals you would make on an as-needed basis to pay for the different stages of home adaptations. You’d continue enjoying the timeshare (perhaps selling it later should travel become a burden or should you need an additional funding source). While interest would be charged on the funds you withdraw, the unused portion of your home equity line of credit would continue to grow at a rate guaranteed to match the interest accruing on your silent loan balance.
While the house may not have been designed with senior needs in mind, a reverse mortgage can help it become “future-proof .”
David Garrison
Home Equity Retirement Specialist
NMLS # 1595194
Serving the State of Indiana
p (317) 644-2595 c (765) 516-0130
e [email protected]
2169 East Rutland Lane, Martinsville, IN 46151
Corporate NMLS #1025894