If you are a senior citizen, taking a reverse at this time, it is only natural if you're a little fearful of moving forward with its decision in the light of current conditions, mortgage and credit markets. The financial markets these days is unprecedented loss of confidence.

But your fear is justified. mortgages and lenders that provide them are not from the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

This market segment is not involved in originating risky loans that you have created on Wall Street chaos and an unprecedented number of foreclosures On Main Street. Huge losses on their reverse loan portfolio to write down the risk of mortgage lenders do not. So, if you currently need a reverse should not be deterred scary sound bites on the evening news.

The issue is that the general public, especially the elderly, there is no difference between these two market segments. Recently, I heard a few senior home saying things like, "I never think of it as a reverse, with everything going on." Or, "I can not get a reverse now and risking your house closed today's market."

Thinking this way is like throwing the baby with the bath water. The reverse is completely different from the usual traditional "forward" mortgage. mortgages and mortgage forward is not at all the same thing. You should not be dismissed out of hand, get a reverse at this time, simply due to the fact that the product name has the word "Mortgage" idea.

First, reverse require no monthly fees or repayment of any kind, as long as the senior living home.

So, you could never lose your house closed due to lack of payment. The reality is that many older people actually save their homes from foreclosure to get a mortgage to replace the traditional forward mortgages that they had difficulty making payments. As long as you keep your property and pay your property taxes, your house is close to foreclosure proof, if you take the government insured mortgage loan.

Secondly, if you get a HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) is insured by the FHA (Federal Housing Administration). What does this mean to you, the light of recent bank losses and hedge fund failures is that if your lender is supposed to go out of business for any reason, the FHA insurance fund steps to make sure that you continue to receive money and benefits from its reverse.

A third safety feature of a mortgage loan is the fact that all concerned with this type of loan, you must first complete the HUD counseling. HUD counseling FHA / HUD approved non-profit credit counseling agencies that are not owned or associated with the lenders. Consulting includes a reverse loan and draws attention to the possible alternatives that the elderly should consider instead of the mortgage pros and cons. HUD counseling is free of charge and may be senior to go in person or by telephone. Older people are encouraged to have a trusted adult child counselors or anyone else that can help you make a decision to attend counseling sessions, as well. After completing a senior counseling, a certificate is issued, which must be submitted to the lender before the reverse application can be processed.

Even though it is understandable that the general public believes that now is not a good time to consider any mortgage, it's not really true, if you are thinking about a mortgage mortgage. In fact, getting this type of loan sooner rather than later could actually be useful. The reason is that the main ingredient in determining how much money you can get from a reverse the hinge amount of equity you have in your home. If your home is worth, because of the current housing and credit crisis is decreasing, you will realize a lower benefit amount if your home is worth less in the future than it is today.