It's important to have a group of professionals to help consult you when you make large financial decisions. The reverse mortgage may end up being one of the largest and last major financial decision a retiree makes. In order to make sure you're making the right decision and structuring it correctly there are other professionals you can seek advice from besides your reverse mortgage specialist.
1. Real Estate attorney or Title Attorney: Different states have different roles when it comes to a real estate attorney and title attorney. Title issues do come up with reverse mortgages and it's sometimes best to make sure your property doesn't have title issues. There are two recent circumstances that I ran across where the help of a title attorney would have made a big difference. The 1st client was the mother and guardian to a special needs adult child. The borrower thought the child had been removed from title prior to being placed in a guardianship. Borrower, just prior to closing, learned the child was still on title and could not proceed with the reverse mortgage without the approval of a guardianship judge. This delayed the borrower approximately 6 months in pursuing the reverse mortgage. The second borrower quit-claimed the deed to the home to his children to avoid taxes down the road. The title company was not aware of the desire to refinance the home into a a reverse mortgage. The borrower may or may not have avoided taxes upon death for his children but certainly made himself ineligible to pursue a reverse mortgage and take pressure off his cash flow in retirement.
2. Estate Planning Attorney: Probate can be a long drawn out process and the reverse mortgage requires certain things to be done upon death that are time sensitive. Consulting with an estate planning attorney can help you prepare for any eventualities and remove any potential headaches from your heirs, beneficiaries and/or estate.
3. Elder Care Attorney: Medicare and Medicaid planning can be complicated enough that it warrants bringing in a specialist to help structure end of life planning to be optimized for you and your estate. An elder care attorney can help make sense of what options are best for you through the end of your life.
4. Loan Officers/MLO's: A good loan officer will do their best to offer a consultation and not sell a product. While most loan officers will not be reverse mortgage experts they should be able to offer some insight into whether other tools will make sense or are worth considering.
5. Financial Advisor: If you're not working with a financial advisor they are a great resource to consult with prior to considering a reverse mortgage. The best advisors will carry a CFP, ChFC and ideally a RICP designation. These stand for Certified Financial Professional, Chartered Financial Consultant and Retirement Income Certified Professional. The first 2 designations are considered benchmark designations in the industry and the 3rd designation is a hallmark of advisors that are truly focused on the retirement income space.
If you need to be connected with any professionals please contact me and I'll be happy to help put you in touch with someone that can help provide you the clarity and confidence you need to make a good decision!
Top Professionals To Consult With About A Reverse Mortgage
July 6, 2021
Josh Blum
Retirement Housing Insighters
Take a peek behind the curtains on topics ranging from housing wealth in retirement to challenges, activities, new and studies. We'll also interview special guests and professionals that work with retirees and adult children every day. If you're looking for insight from some of the industries best professionals, this is where you'll find it!
