Can Retirees Get a Mortgage?
If you have lived anywhere in the United States, especially Florida, for the past three years, you would not be unreasonable to think that consumer debt is an inalienable feature of the human condition. From the time you enter the workforce or reach the age of majority, whichever happens first, until you die, you are in debt. Your mind is a swirl of minimum payments and grace periods; you are always doing a balancing act to see whether you will break even on your debt balances this month, or whether your situation will get worse. Retirement is supposed to bring financial relief, but this dream has gone the way of the 9-to-5 workday and the 25-cent hamburger. Seniors can and do file for bankruptcy protection. The Florida courts have recently abolished permanent alimony, but this only means that everyone except your ex-spouse has the right to keep you in debt forever. It is unsurprising to find out that it is possible to take out a mortgage loan after retirement, but whether you should is another matter. A Dade City estate planning lawyer can help you decide whether to take out a mortgage for the purchase of a house after you retire.
You’re Never Too Old for Lenders to Make Money Off of You
Home mortgage loans do not work like life insurance. Lenders do not add your age to the term of the loan and then shake their heads in disbelief that you will live to age 90. As long as you have enough income to afford the monthly payments, lenders are happy to make money off of you. If you die before paying off the mortgage, lenders will find a way to make their money.
Senior Mortgages Are Not Always Such a Bad Idea
With or without a mortgage, home purchases later in life are usually more affordable. You can use the sale of your previous house to make a large down payment. Retirees tend to buy homes in less expensive areas, since work location is not a factor in their choice of house. The luckiest retirees can afford to pay in full for their forever retirement home, but others can get a mortgage with a reasonably monthly payment.
Even with today’s sky-high interest rates, home mortgages are less expensive for you than they are for the younger generation that has not built up decades of home equity like you have. Your senior mortgage today could become the perfect assumable mortgage for your children in the future. In other words, your house does not have to be paid off for you to transfer ownership of it to a family member. Think of it as generational wealth for the rest of us.
Contact a Florida Estate Planning Attorney About the Role of Your House in Your Estate Plan
An estate planning attorney can help you make responsible retirement plans to buy a house and borrow a home mortgage. Contact The Law Office of Laurie R. Chane in Dade City, Florida to discuss your estate plan.
Source:
cnn.com/2024/06/01/success/buying-house-in-retirement-mortgage/index.html?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc
