Reverse mortgage...redux

Glenn/RZ500

Well-known member
I think it`s been discussed before,.. anyways. I`m getting old, like many members here are, approaching geezer status. Off to see my financial planner next week to go over everything related. I think it is possibly viable for my situation. I`m thinking of living large for my remaining term, I`m 68, of 13 family members, no one got past 81. And health generally declines for all of us. I looked into CHIP and qualify for about 240K, they have several payment plans so amounts can vary as well as residual home value after 10 to 12 years. All my family are gone and beneficiaries are 2 friends, husband/wife who are great people but we don`t often see one another or even talk. My home runs about 725K, I`m lucky to have good total pension income, work and gov`t and decent savings and investments, no debt of any kind too. After 12 years the home runs about 625K to 675K, as it appreciates annually, after repayment there will be a bunch of cash left too. I count my blessings every day, I know how lucky I am, 5 years out from prostate cancer, living thru the debacle of Covid and now dealing with spinal stenosis. I get it that the clock is ticking and have serious fear of regret of not going for it as I age. Like Valentino Rossi said about racing, " What if I had never tried it "? Also too, don`t be the wealthiest guy in the cemetery, and in the end, it `ain`t my problem. What say you, `O wise collective?
 
I think it`s been discussed before,.. anyways. I`m getting old, like many members here are, approaching geezer status. Off to see my financial planner next week to go over everything related. I think it is possibly viable for my situation. I`m thinking of living large for my remaining term, I`m 68, of 13 family members, no one got past 81. And health generally declines for all of us. I looked into CHIP and qualify for about 240K, they have several payment plans so amounts can vary as well as residual home value after 10 to 12 years. All my family are gone and beneficiaries are 2 friends, husband/wife who are great people but we don`t often see one another or even talk. My home runs about 725K, I`m lucky to have good total pension income, work and gov`t and decent savings and investments, no debt of any kind too. After 12 years the home runs about 625K to 675K, as it appreciates annually, after repayment there will be a bunch of cash left too. I count my blessings every day, I know how lucky I am, 5 years out from prostate cancer, living thru the debacle of Covid and now dealing with spinal stenosis. I get it that the clock is ticking and have serious fear of regret of not going for it as I age. Like Valentino Rossi said about racing, " What if I had never tried it "? Also too, don`t be the wealthiest guy in the cemetery, and in the end, it `ain`t my problem. What say you, `O wise collective?
I haven't looked at the details but most independent financial advice says reverse mortgages are the devil. I'd seriously investigate a HELOC. That let's you access about 65% of the homes value. Maybe. I think it gets income tested if you want that much but you have income so that may be ok. Upside is great flexibility as you can withdraw or pay down as finances/desires/ability change. Very low chance a HELOC will result in you being booted from your house before you are ready to go.

Our crazy house prices are a blessing and curse. A lot of people are in a situation similar to you and have a substantial portion of net worth locked into their house.

It may not work for you (it wouldn't for me) but another option is sell the house and rent. Say you net 650K and invest that, you can probably withdraw 65K a year and not run out of money before you run out of the ability to spend it.
 
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You will find strong opinions both ways... great idea, terrible idea...

I sit in the middle, it just needs to work for your situation. I do see it as a shorter term solution and not a decades one. Keep in mind they will likely have fairly strict home maintenance requirements to maintain value which may cost some significant money down the road. Look closely at the fine print.
 
My concern are end of the road costs. You hit the wall where you need actual care and heaven forbid long term care and that shite is expensive. If you gave away your equity and lived large , and are comfortable being a ward of the state in a crappy home go for it . I do want to be the guy that thought eighty one was the ceiling and I’m cashless and turning eighty five .


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My concern are end of the road costs. You hit the wall where you need actual care and heaven forbid long term care and that shite is expensive. If you gave away your equity and lived large , and are comfortable being a ward of the state in a crappy home go for it . I do want to be the guy that thought eighty one was the ceiling and I’m cashless and turning eighty five .


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While not the path for everyone, in his case (without decendents), there is a strong case for living large and then pulling the plug instead of maximizing time on earth.
 
@GreyGhost exactly why I've actually looked into these as well...I have step kids but no intention of leaving them anything (they're in the US and I didn't raise them)...hubby will get automatically get my pension and whatever else I decide to leave to him...so yeah, live large in early retirement (which for me is in 4 years) and then let my estate worry about paying off the reverse mortgage...
 
Personally I don’t like them. In your position my first choice would be to sell the house, then rent or move your base to somewhere less expensive (my modest 2br house in Timmins is $2k/year in taxes and worth $250k - it would be at least $1.2m and $6k in taxes in the GTA. . Invest the money using a wealth manager, then bleed down from your investment portfolio.

If you want to stay in you current home, you’re better off with a heloc or refinancing. A heloc only cost you interest on what you are borrowing, refinancing unlocks up to 80% of your equity at a lower cost than a reverse mortgage - and if you have a decent wealth manager you can get a better return than the mortgage cost.
 
My concern are end of the road costs. You hit the wall where you need actual care and heaven forbid long term care and that shite is expensive. If you gave away your equity and lived large , and are comfortable being a ward of the state in a crappy home go for it . I do want to be the guy that thought eighty one was the ceiling and I’m cashless and turning eighty five .


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Get yourself on the waiting list for Creekway in Burlington, or Markhaven in Markham

Better LTC than anything I’ve seen in the private world.
 
While not the path for everyone, in his case (without decendents), there is a strong case for living large and then pulling the plug instead of maximizing time on earth.

Suppose I hit 75 and decide I want to go, will the Hospital approve MAID even if I am not suffering / not have any critical illness?
 
My reading is no and why wouldn't you still be riding post 75.
I'm 77 and still on mcycle and a guy in Western Australia has the same CB500F with 304,000 km ....still doing 600km+ days and he's 87.!!

I cannot see you gettting approved for MAID just for whimsy.
My Dad was driving legally at 95 and topping trees for neighbors at 80.
You should be celebrating no suffering and no critical illness instead of plotting your demise.:sneaky:

Some guy in NZ is still doing track at 100!.
 
Suppose I hit 75 and decide I want to go, will the Hospital approve MAID even if I am not suffering / not have any critical illness?
Watch the last episode of Sons of Anarchy.

Why leave the decision to bureaucrats?
 
My reading is no and why wouldn't you still be riding post 75.
I'm 77 and still on mcycle and a guy in Western Australia has the same CB500F with 304,000 km ....still doing 600km+ days and he's 87.!!

I cannot see you gettting approved for MAID just for whimsy.
My Dad was driving legally at 95 and topping trees for neighbors at 80.
You should be celebrating no suffering and no critical illness instead of plotting your demise.:sneaky:

Some guy in NZ is still doing track at 100!.
With the rules of today, he couldn't get approved. Keeping people alive as long as possible once they have no quality of life is torture for the patients and expensive for the system. I expect maid will be expanded within the next decade to allow people the choice of when to end it. That frees up ltc spots for those that want to live. For shear economics alone, I expect this to happen.

If I was in the op's shoes, a decade of riding, travelling and good food beats a decade of austerity followed by a decade or more of living with zombies.
 
You don’t always need MAID , my father at ninety one having survived two cancers and a stroke , when faced with what would have been an ugly death with lung cancer took himself off all his heart and related meds and was gone in twenty days . His small town doctor ( Milton) was also the coroner . When dad ‘went’ I spoke with the Doctor who was not the least surprised . He said your dad asked what would happen if I did X and the doc apparently said the result will be Y . Done .

The other question is what does living large look like ? Travel is expensive, fine dining is nice and expensive, what do you want to do ? Personally I’m going through a bit of a renaissance, we bought a smaller thirty ft boat , I race less, cooking a really nice steak happens on my grill , I found some Portuguese wines I like at $ten a bottle. Small stuff but a dollar saved is a dollar earned . F me , I’m my mom.


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Watch the last episode of Sons of Anarchy.

Why leave the decision to bureaucrats?
A shame to destroy that old Harley, even worse to traumatize the trucker. Back to the real world,....long ago when I lived in Markham there was a bike crash at Markham Rd. and 14th, might have been McCowan or Kennedy though, long ago remember. A rider on a RZ500!! torpedoed the huge concrete base of a railroad overpass at high speed, in a suspected suicide.
 
I ain't no financial genius, but...
Any scheme that uses a washed up/retired figure skater as a spokesman on late night tv commercials is very sus'...
Hey at least they have Pattie Lovett-Reid in rotation now, far easier on the eyes. I`d hope with her background she has some integrity despite being paid. :unsure:
 
You don’t always need MAID , my father at ninety one having survived two cancers and a stroke , when faced with what would have been an ugly death with lung cancer took himself off all his heart and related meds and was gone in twenty days . His small town doctor ( Milton) was also the coroner . When dad ‘went’ I spoke with the Doctor who was not the least surprised . He said your dad asked what would happen if I did X and the doc apparently said the result will be Y . Done .

The other question is what does living large look like ? Travel is expensive, fine dining is nice and expensive, what do you want to do ? Personally I’m going through a bit of a renaissance, we bought a smaller thirty ft boat , I race less, cooking a really nice steak happens on my grill , I found some Portuguese wines I like at $ten a bottle. Small stuff but a dollar saved is a dollar earned . F me , I’m my mom.


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It's nice to just be content.
 
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