What is a reverse mortgage? A reverse mortgage is a special kind of mortgage loan for senior citizens. The borrower and co-borrower must be at least 62 years of age to qualify. Actually what is a reverse mortgage? It is a safe, simple way to turn your home equity into tax free cash.

It is dissimilar to a home equity loan and you do not have to make monthly payments. Instead of that, a reverse mortgage pays you. More significantly, you do not have to repay the loan for as long as you live in the house. It’s a great way to keep your home and obtain money from it at the same time.

What is a reverse mortgage? The name “reverse mortgage” illustrates exactly what the mortgage is - it is the exact opposite of a conventional mortgage. That is, with a conventional mortgage the borrower pays the lender. On the other hand with a reverse mortgage, the lender pays the borrower.

In the past, a senior citizen in need of money would have to take out a loan against their house and straight away start making monthly payments again or sell their home. But a reverse mortgage allows senior citizens to borrow against their equity they already have in their home. And the advantage is that they never have to make a monthly payment.

The reverse mortgage is basically a proposed solution to the current nest egg problem we are seeing in the United States. In reality what is this problem? Well, we have a swell in the demographics for people 50 or older and they are sitting on large amounts of money. The problem is that the money they have is locked up in their homes.

The bank makes payments to you as substitute for equity in your home. As told earlier, you must be over 62 years of age to qualify for the program. If you meet these criteria, you can qualify for to have part of the equity in your home converted into bank property in exchange for monthly or a lump sum payment. Lenders will usually charge between $10,000 and $30,000 to get the mortgage started. You will also pay a higher interest rate on the amount borrow when compared to conventional loans, often two percent higher.

There are many advantages and disadvantages of a reverse mortgage. Eventually, the reverse mortgage is a slap shod effort to give people with liquidity for their homes. In reality, you should only resort to a reverse mortgage in a situation where it is your last possible option. The costs of the program are simply outrageous and sometimes you lose control of your home. The Bank of America reverse mortgage helps many people who are in need of cash.