Reverse Mortgages with Bill Duffy

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

Welcome back to the program everyone. This is Suzanne and I’m so excited to have two lovely gentlemen sitting across from me from TILA Mortgage. Number one is Mr. Bill Duffy, who is the owner. Nice to meet you, Bill. Thank you, Suzanne. And Ryan Howiverson, you are the reverse mortgage expert. Is that correct? That is correct. You know, I’m glad we’re here talking about reverse mortgage today because I have a personal story. When my mom was still living in her home, she was so concerned about running out of money and of course we never know what’s you know what’s happening or what’s out there, and she ended up basically going ahead and signing a reverse mortgage and I remember being like so many families today. I felt like I was completely lost and I didn’t know what to do and I was fearful of what did she just sign? And then yet I learned that she could live in her house for two more years and she didn’t have the burden of that mortgage payment, she didn’t have the burden of so many things that seniors worry about in a fixed income. And so what I would love us to do is talk a little bit about reverse mortgage to eliminate a lot of that fear that a lot of seniors have, and I’m sure Bill and Ryan, you guys have heard some of that. Is that correct? Oh yes, Oh yes, and and some of it is deserved because in the past these reverse mortgage loans, also known as a home equity loan, have had there were UN sixty minutes highlight right sixty minutes as a bad example of somebody who was, I don’t know, thrown on the street because they couldn’t afford the payment or whatever it was. But those times are changed. There’s been changes to the program and the reverse mortgage is a tremendous product right and it really is and and it’s something that families, that you guys are out there. I know that you’re worried about your your parents. I get that there’s a lot of concerns about you’re not sure what your parents are doing or what you’re signing. And one of the great things about working with the local company like TILA and not a company that’s off the internet or or on TV just because you call them because the celebrities up there, is you really have a partner here in the community that’s going to be there for you. And Ryan, you are the primary reverse mortgage expert at TILA, are you not? That is true, tell me a little bit about what your role is in the company. So as specifically as it relates to reverse mortgages, the my main goal with people that get referred to our company that I talk to is to educate them on the program more so than taking sales approach to try and sell them on signing up for a program that they may not be educated on. So initially, before we do anything else, we educate the seniors on all the details of the program, good and bad, and then oftentimes family members and trusted advisors to the family are involved in the initial exploration process. That’s so important and you know, I like the fact that you guys welcome family members to be a part of this process. That isn’t something they’re going to do in a back hallway or anything like that that you don’t know what you’re getting into, and it’s so important that your company really focuses on education so that people know walking into a really what it’s all about. So, Ryan or Bill, either one of you, would you share with us a little bit about what are the requirements and qualifications for a reverse mortgage. First and foremost, there’s an age requirement. So senior has to be sixty two years of age or older. So that’s a good starting point because oftentimes we have people that don’t meet the age requirement that are interested in learning about the the program. We’re happy to educate them as well. But as it relates to qualification, you have to be sixty two years old old. From there it’s qualification is dependent on the the amount of equity that a person has right. So typically they need to have about fifty percent equity in the home to be eligible. So common misconception is they think that they may not qualify because there’s an existing mortgage. Sure, and that is not the case. So oftentimes we’re finding clients that the main benefit that they’re receiving from the reverse mortgage is eliminating an existing mortgage and the associated paintings. Sure, and obviously a lot of our seniors here in the area they’ve lived in their homes for, you know, forty, fifty years. Sometimes, I’m sure you’re you’re dealing with that. So a lot of them, I’m sure, may own their homes outright. Yeah, that works great as well. So if the home is own free and clear, that increases a number of options that somebody has as far as how they can have the equity distributed through the reverse mortgage. So, Bill and Ryan, once somebody gets a reverse mortgage, it’s like, what happens to the ownership of the house? Well, I can speak to that. So the ownership of the of the house is maintained on title for the client. I A lot of folks sometimes think, Gosh, if I do a reverse mortgage, I’m going to give up my right to the home, and that’s far from truth. So you the home is still yours, just like any forward mortgage. You’re on the title. There’s a lean against the property, just like there is a regular than HMM. So it’s almost like your partner with them and their house. It’s almost like you’re an investor. Correct. It’s pretty much like saying, you know, John Smith, I’m going to you know, go ahead and take over your mortgage payments up to a certain amount. You you’re going to be able to live longer, you’re not going to have the burden of that mortgage payment. And the Nice thing about it is is that, no matter what happens to the equity of my house. I’m going to be protected to live to a certain degree. Is that correct? That is correct. That’s that’s a great tool. So we all know that with the economy and with things, when the reverse mortgage tool came out, there was a lot of people jumping in and of course some of them, like you said, gave it a bad name. But what happens is they got tighter, didn’t they? And now it’s much more regulated. It’s actually a better tool for families on and you know, I would love to talk to little bit you guys have now it’s a little bit more difficult, but there’s a good news about that, isn’t it? There is. There is the you know, the these products are a government loan first of all, and the regulation is a little bit greater, and these are nonrecourse loans. So for something were to happen in the economy, were to struggle and the values of people’s homes were to go down and they were to go down past the amount of loan that you owned, this is a nonrecourse loan. You you are not going to be held accountable for any shortfall if something were to happen. Wow, so we are talking again to Bill Duffy and Ryan Halverson from TILA Mortgage. And you guys are in Bothell, is that correct? Or in Bellevue? Oh, you’re in Bellevue. I’m sorry. So you cover in the entire Puget Sound reason region. What what areas do you cover in this area? Oh, well, we cover the state of Washington also. Wonderful. Anybody who’s listening and lives in the state of Washington, we can help them or give them good information. So what would you consider a great candidate for reverse to get a reverse mortgage? What would be the atypical type family? Somebody that’s looking for to free up equity in their house? Maybe they have, you know, not save well enough for retirement and most of their net worth is tied up in the equity and their home. The reverse mortgage can help convert that equity into cash that they can use for anything that they want. Specifically, you know, we see it often used to, you know, create an additional source of income for seniors in retirement right who may be struggling to get by on fixed income, whether that be Social Security pension. It’s difficult in some cases for seniors to live comfortably with their fixed income, especially when there’s a mortgage payment. Sure, so if they can use the reverse mortgage to eliminate the existing mortgage payment, that improves their month monthly cash flow. Sure additionally, if there is no existing mortgage payment, they can use the reverse mortgage to create additional source of monthly income. Sure so, really just help seniors live more comfortably in retirement and not be stressed about money all the time, and also not to mention modifications that might need to be made, whether it’s remodeling the bathroom so that they can navigate better. Always it’s important with that role, and you know if you’re living in your house, is to take a look at how you can make your house more safe. So that’s a good way to do it. It’s an amazing tool to help people age in place, like you said, if they’re making alterations to their home to make it more friendly for, you know, an aging person or couple. So what would happen? Obviously we went through this economic downturn and about what was it, eight years ago, whatever, two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine, we had we had seniors living in like seven hundred thousand dollar homes. All of a sudden their house was only worth four hundred zero. We saw a lot of that. Of course we’ve been lucky in this area that we bounce back in many ways, but I’m sure that there’s this element of yeah, well, I got, you know, three hundred thousand out of a reverse mortgage, but I’m not sure what happens if I lose all the equity in my house. What happens? Well, I think that. Well, we know that because of this type of mortgage is it is, like I had mentioned earlier, it’s a nonrecourse loan, right. So, you know, you start out with equity and you start to use that equity on a monthly basis, whether it be a lump sum cash out to do various things or whether, like Ryan said, it’s a it’s a monthly draw of for income purposes. But if the market does change and the value of the property is lower than the existing mortgage, the homeowner is not responsible for that difference. See, that’s an amazing that’s that’s awesome. So that’s something that you know, those of you that are concerned out there that it member dad ever get underwater, you guys aren’t going to be as a family liable for any debt whatsoever. It sounds like that’s true. That’s true. So I get a lot of us. We’re braced with reverse mortgage ads. Right. What tell us a little bit about how you guys are different then somebody that you could see like, say, a celebrity on TV? Well, I think first of all we’re local. So I always say to the people that work for me, you know, have car, will travel. And so we discuss the initial conversation, certainly over the phone. We develop a relationship with those folks and we have an opportunity to share with them the basic information. If they feel comfortable with US based on our answers and our discussion, then we personally like to meet all of our clients in person. How do we reach you? Bill? You can call our mainline, which is two hundred and six, seven, six, six, eight, eight, eight eight, or you can send us an email at info at TILAMortgage.com, or the website is www.tilamortgage.com. Thank you both for being on the program thanks for having us. Thank you!