Kevin Guttman from C2 Financial joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to discuss the ins and outs of reverse mortgage. In this segment, Kevin talks about how to purchase a new home using a reverse mortgage instead of a traditional mortgage loan.. C2 Financial is the third largest mortgage broker in the country and the number one reverse mortgage broker in the country with 1,200 loan officers.

Kevin says, "When somebody decides to buy a home, they have three ways they can finance it. Cash. A traditional loan, with a monthly payment. Or a reverse mortgage, where they make one large down payment, we'll call it 65%. It varies. It depends on their age and different things, but let's just say 65%. But then they have no more monthly mortgage payment. The mortgage payment's optional. They can make a payment if they choose to, but they don't have to. So who's a good candidate for this? Let's say somebody who's lived in their home a long time, 20, 30, 40 years. Maybe the neighborhood's changed. Maybe they don't feel safe anymore. Maybe they want to live closer to their family, or their doctor. Maybe they can't do the stairs, or the maintenance on the house is too much.

"I have a great story about this. There was a family that moved back to Colorado Springs from northwest Arkansas, and the husband had to be on oxygen at altitude because we're 7,000 feet above sea level, and he couldn't breathe very well. And so his wife leaves the room for a minute while I'm talking with them. And he says, 'Listen, this is important to me. I need to make sure my wife's going to be okay. I'm not long for the Earth. I'm sick, I'm dying, and I need to be sure she's okay.' So what does that look like? He said, 'Well, I need the right home, a low maintenance home.' They ended up buying a condo where they're just responsible for the inside. 'We need to put enough down to where she doesn't have a monthly payment, and I need to be sure it's in a safe area.' So the realtor took care of the condo and the location. I helped with the financing. Sure enough, at the time, they only had to put 50% down. This was several years ago, interest rates were half what they are today. But four months later, the wife calls and says, 'I just want to let you know that Bill passed away, and you had told us that we could stay in this home as long as we paid the property taxes and the insurance on time, and not have a monthly mortgage payment. Is that right?' I said that's correct. Big sigh of relief. She says, 'Oh, good. That's the only way I can afford to stay in my home.' Why? Because they just lost his income. Their reverse mortgage changed her life.

"This is a game changer for people, If they only understood, 'Oh, I can finance a home with a first mortgage, I put one large down payment down. I don't have a monthly mortgage payment. And I'm in a safer home, safer neighborhood, maybe gated community, that kind of thing. Low or no maintenance. It's amazing."

💠 Connect with Kevin Guttman and C2 Financial at 877.251.9729.

💠 Visit C2 Financial's website for research, essays, videos, interviews

💠 Ebook: Betty’s Story: A Prudent Senior Citizen’s Guide to A Reverse Mortgage Loan

✨ Visit Answers for Elders online

Mentioned in this episode:

Walk to End Alzheimer's

Learn more about the Walk to End Alzheimer's at https://www.alz.org/walk.

Chateau Retirement

Chateau Retirement