Issue 41.17
Well it is October and a perfect time of the year to be in Southern Utah. Amazing weather with lots of happenings going on. Most importantly the Huntsman Senior Games are in town. There is a reason that St. George is perennially voted as one of the best places to retire in the country. And, if you’re in town for the Senior Games, we hope you enjoy your time and we welcome you to make St. George your retirement home for the long term.
If you are traveling around town, you will find some of the larger adult communities talking and marketing the senior loans that are available when buying a home today. “But this home for roughly half the price with a one-time down payment and have no mortgage payments for life!” Sounds like a gimmick, right? The truth is – is that seniors today have more options than just conventional financing and or paying cash when purchasing a home when you are over 62.
HUD / FHA insures a HECM for Purchase program that allows seniors to purchase a home anywhere in the country for a one-time down payment and have no mortgage payments for life. So, for example you can purchase a 300,000-dollar home for 150,000 to 160,000 in a one-time down payment and never have a mortgage payment for life. You and your spouse are both secured for life if one of you are in the home and you are of course keeping up your property taxes and insurance.
You can own more than one home of course and you can spend part time in another home, but this loan allows seniors to purchase a home and not have mortgage payments while still maintaining another home elsewhere if they choose. For the majority of our homeowner’s, this new home here will be their only home. They may sell their primary home in Northern Utah or California for example and come to beautiful Southern Utah and purchase a 400,000-dollar home for roughly a one-time down payment of 200,000 and keep any additional monies in their savings account and now both spouses can live in the home for life without using up all or most of their savings.
The homeowners of course must maintain taxes and insurance on the home because you purchased the home and you are responsible for the home with exception of the mortgage payment as you have none! When both spouses have passed or can no longer live in the home full time, then the heirs own the home and they will need to decide what to do with the home at that time. Most of the time, the heirs will simply put the home up for sale and pay off the accrued loan with interest and keep the additional equity in the home for inheritance. If for whatever reason, the kids do not find equity in a home because of the parents living a long life or perhaps the housing market going down or in a recession like we experienced in 2009 then, they are certainly not responsible for any losses that the home incurred or the HUD loan would not make any sense if the heirs had any liability.
To keep things simple, as a senior and retiring you have a lot more options than a younger home buyer because of your age and what HUD and or FHA has rolled out over the last 6 years for our seniors.
If we can help with any questions or you would like a free information packet on the HECM for purchase program, please call our office at 435 525 2222 or contact your local lender or credit union and ask about the senior purchase program today. And again, we hope you enjoy your time in our beautiful community.