Reverse Mortgage AARP

Reverse Mortgage AARP

The AARP Website features a section devoted to helping visitors unravel this process. The site is a valuable, objective, resource for reverse mortgage information, featuring a comprehensive guide that walks visitors through the process’s basics. This section can help readers to understand how reverse mortgages work, compare reverse mortgage providers, and decide whether a reverse mortgage is right for them. The guide’s contents include:

- Understanding Reverse Mortgages explains the differences between reverse mortgages and other types of financing, including “forward mortgages.” The section lays out the various payment options that reverse mortgage borrowers can receive.

- Shopping for Reverse Mortgages provides guidelines to evaluate whether a reverse mortgage is the best solution to an individual’s financial needs. It examines three types of reverse mortgages—single-purpose, federally insured, and proprietary--and includes charts displaying the benefits and drawbacks of each.

- Comparing Reverse Mortgages summarizes the costs vs. benefits of the different types of reverse mortgages, including tables that show how different types of reverse mortgages affect a home’s equity.

- Reverse Mortgage Borrower Decisions outlines the downsides of this financial decision--a loan with "rising debt and falling equity," in which seniors accumulate debt while drawing value from their homes leaves less money for their heirs. The section also lists alternatives to reverse mortgages.

Contact Reverse Mortgage AARP for more information.