Mortgages

The last time you were at your parents’ home, you discovered unpaid bills. They had forgotten to pay their gas bill for the past two months. You called the gas company and explained the situation, and then wrote out a check for the amount due, so everything turned out all right. But what if you hadn’t noticed the unpaid bills, and it was the middle of winter? Your parents’ heating could have been shut off.

O.K., nobody likes to admit it, but we all age. It’s part of life. We can deny it all we like, but the truth is, time takes its toll on our ability to get around. We can’t bounce up those steps like we did in our younger days. We can’t grip or push or pull like we used to either. The problem is, many homes have features that don’t take these types of limitations into account.

Fortunately, there’s a new trend called, “aging in place.” Many seniors are now choosing to remain in their homes longer rather than move to retirement communities. This means homes occupied by older residents many times need updates to help offset the effects of aging.

Have you heard about reverse mortgages? They’ve been in the media a lot lately, but they’re not really new; they’ve been around since the ‘60s. A reverse mortgage is a special type of home loan that allows homeowners (usually seniors citizens) to convert a portion of their home’s equity into cash.

A recent sharp increase in numbers has brought reverse mortgages into the public eye. In 2000 there were 6,600 reverse mortgages issued. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the number of federally insured reverse mortgages grew to over 115,000 in 2008.

Home, sweet home. A white picket fence … that you have to paint. A colorful garden … that you have to weed. A modern kitchen … for the 1960s, that you have to replace. You get the idea. Being a homeowner has its pluses and minuses. The big question always seems to be, should you rent (apartment, house) or should you own (house, condo).