The collapse of the real estate market, along with a down economy has created a fertile environment for fraudsters to attempt to advantage of the many desperate homeowners that are out there. Their methods vary from foreclosure “rescue” schemes, mortgage assistance scams and other scams that generally offer to lower your payments or debt, prevent foreclosure, etc. Below is a list of tips the Department of Justice published this week to help consumers prevent themselves from becoming a victim of fraudsters.
The FBI released it’s Mortgage Fraud Report for 2010 showing that mortgage fraud continued at elevated levels in 2010 and was consistent with levels seen in 2009. The top states for mortgage fraud activity in 2010 were Florida, California, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Georgia, New Jersey, and Maryland.
I have been hearing a lot of talk about Reverse Mortgages (aka Lifetime Mortgages) lately so I decided I wanted to find out a little bit more about them. Upon first hearing about them, I thought that they were a terrible idea, but after finding out a little bit more, I can now at least see some of the potential advantages to having one. Either way, I am not a mortgage expert and most of what is included in the article was what I found during a couple hours of research about them – so if you see anything that Continue Reading →
Ah, the reverse mortgage battle continues…Consumers Union says their risky and dangerous; RetireSafe, a grassroots organization that advocates on behalf of seniors says they provide financial independence to Seniors…so who’s right?
First off, I have to say that I personally feel reverse mortgages offer an excellent opportunity for seniors to live a better life, or get them through a tough financial period, by tapping the equity in their homes. I have written before about a friend of mine, Tom Carter, who has helped dozens of seniors over the years with reverse mortgages. Having said that, obviously, like almost Continue Reading →
Dennis Norman
Reverse mortgages have become increasingly popular over the past few years with seniors that find themselves with a large amount of equity in their home, but short on cash, or struggling to pay for the upkeep of the home, property taxes, insurance or other living expenses. A reverse mortgage allows people in that situation to pull the equity from their home in a lump sum, monthly payments or just as they need it.
Dennis Norman
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced this week that it intends to make modifications to its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), a reverse mortgage loan insured by the federal government, to make it more attractive and cost effective for older home owners seeking to tap their home equity.
A HECM is a reverse mortgage that is insured by the FHA. It is designed to enable elderly homeowners (62 years or older) to borrow against the equity in their home without having to make monthly payments as is required with a traditional mortgage or home equity loan.
St Louis Real Estate – Reverse mortgages pave the way to financial freedom for many St Louis seniors
By: Dennis Norman
Many seniors find themselves in a situation where there are struggling to keep up with rising costs of gasoline, utilities, property taxes and insurance but yet they own a home that is either paid for or has a significant amount of equity. Since, in many cases, they have been in their homes for years, raised families and have a lifetime of memories in their home selling it to realize the equity out of it is usually not something they would consider.
A “reverse mortgage” may be a “best of both worlds” alternative: A chance to get Continue Reading →