Should my mother sell me her house now?
Thanks for your question. It is certainly an important one. Given that mortgage rates are currently extremely low and expected to rise in the future, it might be wise for your mother to sell you the home now, so you can refinance the reverse mortgage into a conventional mortgage.
However, there are two other things you should be aware of, given what you said about your situation. The first is that before your mother sells you the home, you should make sure you qualify for a conventional mortgage and have the money to make the mortgage payments. While low interest rates are available right now, many lenders are tightening credit and income requirements for borrowers. If you're unable to secure a conventional mortgage at a good rate, then it may make more sense not to sell now. Talk to a knowledgeable mortgage broker or bank to get a sense of where you might fit in, and keep an eye on the fine print.
Secondly, it is likely that your mother can sell the home while remaining Medicaid eligible, but it depends on how much money she receives and what happens to the proceeds. As long as she does not have more than $2,000 in her bank account at the end of any given month, she should remain Medicaid eligible. However, as Medicaid eligibility is hard to regain once lost and requirements can vary by state, you should check with the Medicaid office or a Medicaid specialist to make sure your mother does not lose her Medicaid eligibility if she chooses to sell you the home now.
I hope this helps. Best of luck caring for your mother and getting your business back off the ground!
This is a tough situation that I have experienced with clients in the recent past and it has become even more acute as economic conditions remain challenging.
The true issue is that purchasing the house from mom at this point may not make economic sense as I'm sure the property value has fallen appreciably and the mortgage balance is substantial.
Moreover, if you are not employed and the only household income is mom's Social Security, how do you propose to qualify for a mortgage?
Then there is the issue of maintaining Medicaid eligibility. If mom sells the house to you, which she must do at fair market value, the proceeds will have to be disposed of in the month received to maintain Medicaid eligibility.
Obviously if she gives a gift of the proceeds back to you or another party she will lose eligibility and if she holds the proceeds she will lose eligibility. There are, however, techniques available to deal with this issue.
This presupposes, though, that she actually realizes a cash gain from the sale. If she sells the property to you, and realizes no cash, then she should have no problem maintaining eligibility.
But again, unless there is a co-signer or you have some way to secure a mortgage under these circumstances, the point is moot.
Barring some economic miracle, I'm sorry to say the more likely outcome is that upon mom's demise you will end up letting the bank take the house and that is what you should plan for.
But who knows, if you leave things as they are for now and values have recovered enough by the time of mom's passing and you have some income at that point you may be able to make it work out.
I am pleased to see Q & A on the topic of reverse mortgages, especially the cautionary notes. My mother, who passed away relatively suddenly in 2008 at age 89 had taken out a reverse mortgage on her home in 2003. She used the money to make a few upgrades to a small house. (I don't know all of the details regarding how the money was spent. I live across the country and was unaware of the reverse mortgage until the time of her death in 2008. However, it's my understanding that there was a remaining $27,000 that would have been available for her to use at the time of her death.) I am sure that my mother had no understanding of the front loaded fees, insurance, etc. that would be involved.) Unfortunately, my younger sister (who has Meniere's Disease) lived in the home with her and looked after her. The only source of income was my Mother's SS and small pension. My mother left my sister the house in her Will. However, with fees, interest, (all those things that have been mentioned), the bank basically took the house, leaving my sister homeless. To make matters worse, (and despite the best efforts of the attorney acting as the Administrator of the estate)- relentlessly pursued a path to foreclosure. Fortunately, despite the bad market, the house sold relatively quickly (at close to appraised value) for $103,000. After all fees were paid, my sister received a check for $3000. While my sister's health and financial issues make the situation much more complicated, there is a cautionary tale. It would seem wise to planning ahead so that you will have the income you need and comfortable living arrangements when the time comes. Good luck.
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