Condos can be a nice fit for many retirees; there is no yard to maintain, and there is usually a community pool or recreation center, sometimes the condo even sits on a golf course. Life in a condo can be relaxing and maintenance free. Often times those in condos think they cannot get a reverse mortgage because their condo is not currently FHA approved. In order to get a HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) reverse mortgage a condominium association has to be FHA approved. This can be a lengthy and expensive process for any Home Owners Association. It costs almost $1,000 and the approval expires every 2 years. The condo must provide legal, financial, insurance and rental information to apply to get approved. Once all this is done, you may get denied. For these reasons, many condos are not FHA approved. As a condo owner it can be difficult to get your association to approve the funds and effort it takes to get approved.
I was recently helping my client, Terry in Encinitas California get her FHA condo approved so she could get a reverse mortgage. Terry had put a tremendous amount of money into fixing up her condo; she put in concrete countertops, upgraded her cabinets, as well as all the flooring and fixtures. Her home is beautiful and she greatly enjoys living there. She has a wonderful spot on the balcony that looks out to the ocean. With all these improvements she had spent a little more than she planned and Terry was looking to get some of that equity back out of her home. We spent 7 months working with the HOA board, going to meetings, the board had to send surveys out and in the end the Condo would not even apply for the FHA condo approval. As you could imagine, she was quite disappointed that all of her work was for nothing. I was able to find her another reverse mortgage (Non-FHA) that would approve her condo with a condo certification only; a much simpler, and less expensive process that requires no approval from her condo board. Terry got a low fixed rate on her reverse mortgage, this program requires no Initial Mortgage Insurance Premium (IMIP) which would have cost her $15,000 on a HECM reverse mortgage. She just has to maintain her insurance, pay her property taxes and keep her home in proper repair just like she normally does. Terry now gets to sit on her balcony enjoying her ocean view with no monthly mortgage payments, plenty of money in the bank, and she lives each day with peace of mind knowing she made a great choice for her retirement.
If you or someone you know is living in a condo and would like to see how much equity you may be able to access with a reverse mortgage, you can check my calculator here or contact me directly for a more detailed quote. Robert Snow Krepps NMLS #255191 at HighTechLending Inc. Call today to discuss how a reverse mortgage may be able to help you (877) 567 – 7476 or rkrepps@hightechlending.com .
HighTechLending Inc, NMLS # 7147, is an Equal Housing Lender. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act.
My name is Donald Meyer. I am in the same situation as your client in this brochure. I have been trying for seven years to obtain a reverse mortgage, but can not get it done. Our retirement funds are wearing down and we want to spend the rest of our lives in this Condo. Can you do the same for us.
Thank You,
Don Meyer
Mr. Meyer,
We recently closed a few spot condo FHA reverse mortgage loans. There are some additional fees involved to do the approval, but it is possible to get those done! We will reach out to you right away to assess your situation and see if it may be possible to help you to have the peace of mind of a Reverse Mortgage. Have a wonderful day!