As children of our nation’s senior citizens, you may find yourself feeling the responsibility of helping your parents with important decisions. You may feel a bit apprehensive when you hear that your parents are considering a reverse mortgage, perhaps because you don’t know much about the loan product. You also may not know the situations when a reverse mortgage could be the perfect answer.
The following are 5 signs your parents may benefit from reverse mortgage solutions.
1) Your Parents Are Possibly Facing Foreclosure
If there is even the slightest possibility your parents may end up in foreclosure, a reverse mortgage is the perfect solution to pay off any mortgage balance and keep the home. If inheritance of the home is a concern for the children, rejecting a reverse mortgage will help no one if the home is foreclosed on anyway. With a foreclosure, everyone loses, especially the senior parents, who may then be forced to live with their children and lose their independence. Keeping the home with a reverse mortgage always outweighs losing the home to foreclosure.
2) Your Parents Are Suffering From Health Problems
Stories regarding seniors who sacrifice their health because of a lack of income are also common. Health is never something that should be sacrificed, but the reality is, some seniors have no other choice. Medication is very expensive and some seniors are forced to live with pain every day because they simply cannot afford the cost of prescriptions and treatment.
For example, something as minor as a toothache can become an excruciating form of daily suffering when one cannot afford expensive dentures. When your parents have equity in their home to convert into cash and invest in their health and well-being, it is nothing short of silly to reject the opportunity.
3) Your Parents Are at Risk of Filing Bankruptcy
Your parents may be buried in a mountain of credit card debt that they cannot dig themselves out of. They may be swimming in a pool of unpaid bills they cannot afford. They may be struggling financially so much that the option of filing bankruptcy is a possibility.
It doesn’t have to be, especially when there is equity in the home. With a reverse mortgage, your parents are able to convert the equity in their home into cash, and best of all, continue to own and live in their home for the rest of their lives.
4) Your Parents Are Martyrs for Poor Quality of Life
Everyone knows the type: the generous and selfless parents who would do anything for their children or anyone else they loved. They would sacrifice their last penny to make sure their loved ones are happy and well. Yet, when it comes to their own comfort, they are content to sacrifice their own general quality of life.
It could be forgoing heat in the winter to save on electric bills, or cancelling cable and sacrificing their favorite shows in order to save a few bucks. Many parents would rather suffer in silence than bother their children with their financial problems. Sometimes the issue is pride, and parents want to avoid bothering their children by taking care of their own problems. The good news is, with equity converted into cash, they can.
5) Your Parents Are Struggling Financially in Any Way
Not all situations are as dire as the above mentioned. Perhaps your parents are not in danger of foreclosure, bankruptcy, deteriorating health, or poor quality of life. But maybe they simply do not have enough money to fully enjoy their life in retirement due to limited finances.
Perhaps they have always dreamed of visiting a tropical island. Perhaps they would love to participate in all those church outings. Perhaps there are cruise ship trips their friends embark upon that they cannot join. Perhaps they would love to be more generous in giving gifts to their grandchildren.
These are all simple wishes your parents simply miss out on. They are not able to go out and do simple things they would enjoy. Retirement is meant to be a period to enjoy a lifetime of hard work. Your parents don’t have to be in a dire situation to consider help from a reverse mortgage.
There is a possibility your parents are not admitting their hardships to you. Although there are many parents who openly share their financial struggle with their children, there are also many parents who hide their hardships to avoid worrying their children or burdening them. Be open to the possibility that this may be the case when your parents are researching reverse mortgages. Although the product may not be perfect for everyone, the truth is, for many people in certain circumstances, a reverse mortgage is a product that can be the absolute perfect solution to greatly improve your parents’ life in retirement. For more information, visit our most frequently asked questions page.
