You've worked hard to pay your mortgage every month. For seniors who would like to keep their homes, but are worried about finances, there is a solution: reverse mortgages.
Reverse mortgages reward homeowners who have diligently built up equity in their home over the years. By freeing up that equity, a reverse mortgage provides older homeowners with enough money to truly enjoy a comfortable retirement , without ever having to move out of their home or pay back a loan.
Before reverse mortgages, there were only two ways to take advantage of your home's equity:
You could sell your home and move into cheaper housing
You could borrow against your home, and have another monthly loan payment
Reverse mortgages have been available since the late 1980's, but are just now catching on as seniors learn how to get money from their home without having to downsize their home or create additional loan payments. In 1990 there were just 234 reverse mortgages taken out, as compared to over 40,000 in 2004.