In the beautiful spring month of May 2011, I received a call from a business friend who said “we are ready to sell our home of 20 + yrs. and move closer to services!” This excited announcement could only come from a couple living in the country and longing for a short commute and a plethora of conveniences. The reasons he gave included health care resources, educational opportunities, not to mention friends and all that an urban environment offers compared to living in a rural community.
That phone call and sincere desire to change led to a 5-year search and retirement plan involving everything from the perfect, new house wish list to current home repairs to coming to terms with the inevitability of retiring from a lifelong career. One steady conversation was about the pending reality of a fixed income and their modest bank reserves. Then of course along the way there was angst of locating a home in the appropriate price range, the right configuration, plus the all-important timing of selling their primary residence before buying the next one. That two- step was required in order to provide the down payment for the new primary. Only this wasn’t just the next residence, this home would be the last one, and this home would be bought with a HECM purchase money loan.
Imagine being in your late 70’s and buying a new home, in the right price range, with just the right floor plan, near all the required resources and amenities for retiring on a fixed income. Imagine too that your once modest bank account, just received an infusion of funds from the sale of your primary residence. Why? You only need some of the proceeds from the sale to buy the new home.
Your new, perfect, home with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths only required a cash outlay (down payment) of less than ½ the purchase price and the rest is a reverse mortgage (HECM purchase loan) with no required monthly payments. Did I mention that your bank account swelled with new funding from the sale of the old house?
In the end, a good life for my friends changed for the better; a little more money in the bank, (what a bonus that became) health care resources and various other benefits, especially extended family and friends nearby, all reachable within a short leisurely drive.