| Sale of a house with a reverse mortgage….
CLIENT QUESTION:
My parents have a reverse mortgage on their home. My father passed away and now we are thinking of selling the house and moving my mom to assisted living. Any advice would be appreciated.
MY RESPONSE:
As you all know, a reverse mortgage is a mortgage you have on your home that you do not have to pay back until the home is sold, usually after death. However, the house can be sold while you and/or your surviving spouse remain alive. At the closing, the reverse mortgage will have to be paid off in full, leaving the net proceeds for you or your surviving spouse to spend as you like. The problem here is that, over time, the mortgage continues to grow because interest keeps accruing, leaving less for you or the survivor upon sale. Will this lesser amount be enough for you to afford somewhere else to live? Will there be enough money to pay for assisted living? This will be answered on a case-by-case basis, but it does provide some limitations.
My big concern here is running out of money. Assisted living is generally a private pay situation running from $3500 to $9500 per month depending upon how much “assistance” is needed.
Another option might be to stay in the house and perhaps get Medicaid to provide aides to help keep mom safe in the home.
I would need more information to fully answer this question, but these are my first thoughts. |
