Tom Kelly The Real Estate Adviser

December 4, 2008

The Real Estate Adviser: Seniors can now buy homes by using a reverse mortgage

Reverse mortgages have been available for more than two decades for older homeowners who have accrued a significant amount of equity in their homes. Now, the government is backing a program to help older homeowners purchase a home with the increasingly popular financing program.

The Federal Housing Administration, a component of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, insures the nation's most popular reverse mortgage — known as the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or HECM.

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Previous columns:

• The Real Estate Adviser: Reverse mortgages up slightly as ‘jumbos' exit, 11-28-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Realtors offer plan to rev up housing, 11-13-2008
• Tom Kelly: Creative thinking would help fix mortgage mess, 11-06-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Should you lock loans in this crazy market?, 10-30-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: When in doubt, remodel home to meet your needs, 10-23-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Home improvements just for your family, 10-16-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Option ARM: the loan that took down WaMu, 10-09-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: WaMu's mortgage troubles started in '96, 10-02-2008