Your heirs will continue to inherit your home when you pass, exactly the same with a Reverse Mortgage as with any other Mortgage. They will inherit your home with the mortgage attached to it.

What is different is that a Reverse Mortgage is due when the last person on the note no longer lives in the property as a primary home, i.e. when you move out or pass away.  When that event occurs the loan is due and must be paid off in full.  Your heirs may accomplish this in any way they see fit.  Most simply sell the home, payoff the Reverse Mortgage and keep the proceeds for themselves (or split between siblings).  However, they may refinance and obtain their own Mortgage and keep the home to live in or rent. The options are endless and completely up to the heirs’.  The only requirement is to settle and payoff the Reverse Mortgage upon the last borrower no longer living in the property.

The Reverse Mortgage comes with a “non-recourse” guarantee that many loans do not have.  This feature guarantees that neither the borrower nor the heirs will be held responsible for the shortfall.  This is a tremendous guarantee and a welcome safeguard during retirement that assures you of improved cash flow without financial danger down the road.

-Eliminate your monthly mortgage payment
-Receive tax-free money to spend as you wish
-Receive a line of credit for future use
-Take comfort that if you pass, your spouses’ retirement won’t be disrupted

Learn more about this powerful retirement program.  We offer free reports and will give straight and honest information.

Call now to get your questions answered.  (949) 440 2002

Bryon Pyle

How much money you receive from a Reverse Mortgage is based upon an established formula based on 3 main factors:


1) Age of the youngest borrower


2) Home value.  Home values have hit an all-time high but just now appear to be starting to slip lower.  If the economy continues to get worse, this lower trend is likely to accelerate with further value decreases.


3) Current interest rate.  The lower rates are when you obtain a Reverse Mortgage , the more money you receive.  Likewise, the higher rates are when you get one the less money you receive (all other things being the same).  We have been at the lowest rates in history, while they have begun to increase slightly, they are still low by all historical measures.  But as rates move higher, the amount of proceeds available decreases.


Right now we have the perfect mix of peak-high home values and relatively low rates, thus creating the perfect time to get one.


Call now to receive a report of how a Reverse Mortgage would improve and safe-guard your retirement.  (949) 440-2002


Bryon@Crossmarkfinancial.com
Bryon Pyle


P.S.  Please ask me any and all questions.  Nothing is too small or too silly to ask!  I am positive that as you learn more about the program, you will realize it is a perfect fit for retirement.

Yes, stocks are down quite a bit this year and it seems that they will stay down for quite some time.  However, the damage is already done, so your best bet is to remain in the market and wait for it to come back.  Taking any money out now is expensive (because it is worth 25%-30% or so less than it was just 6 months ago) and ‘locks in your loss’.

But what do you do when you depend upon receiving a distribution from these funds to support yourself during retirement?

Rather than cashing out of the market at todays’ much lower values, many folks are taking full advantage of their huge increase in home values over the last couple of years and using our Reverse Mortgage as a perfect tool to supplement their retirement income and to avoid liquidating any stocks or other investments.

Why and what is the benefit?

It is simple, by staying in the market, they know their funds will recover the recent 25-30% loss in time.  The Reverse Mortgage is simply a much cheaper source of retirement funds than selling your investments at a steep discount.  Additionally, the proceeds from the Reverse Mortgage are tax-free, so it spends much further than your taxable investments.  The Reverse Mortgage does two important things for you: it eliminates your monthly Reverse Mortgage payment, thus decreasing your monthly expenses so you can get by on less and may provide a distribution of cash which is tax-free.  It is the perfect solution to decrease your monthly expenses and to avoid taking a distribution from your retirement account while the value is so depressed.  It also is the perfect play to take advantage of the huge increase in home value before home values head the other way.

With inflation at 40 year highs and no end in sight, everything will get more expensive.  Act now to protect your retirement.  Call for our Free Report on How to Improve Your Retirement that will walk you through the details and explain why it is your best financial move you can make right now.

Bryon Pyle: 949 440 2002

Let’s face the facts.  Most people are simply not prepared for retirement.  They find themselves either on the doorstep of retirement in just a few years, or in retirement and wondering how they are going to make financial ends meet not only today, but for the rest of their lives.


If this sounds like you, (and overwhelming odds suggest that it does) this booklet is specifically written for you.There are several important and safe strategies that you can employ now to dramatically improve your retirement, or if you are just a few years away from it, better prepare for it.  But before we get to the solutions, let’s take a look at the problems that we face during retirement and what can go wrong.


Problems in preparing for or living in retirement


-Have little to no money saved for retirement
-Have retirement savings, but not enough to “go the distance”
-Lost a spouse and experienced a decrease in income as a result, now or about to struggle financially.
-Increases in everyday expenses are squeezing your available cash flow.
-Do not have enough money for large cost items like new car, property repairs or improvements, vacation, etc.
-Unexpected health care costs are overwhelming your available cash flow and resources.
-Losing too much of your qualified retirement account to income taxes
-Market losses decreased your retirement account.
-Inflation has eroded your retirement plan and now puts you in danger (This will become a very serious problem a few years from now).


The following will discuss each of these scenarios and what you can do to protect yourself against them.  You will also learn what to do in response to each situation in order to overcome it and how to provide the very best possible retirement for you and your spouse.


Before we look at the solutions to your possible scenarios and problems, let’s look at what you have done right and where you may be from a financial viewpoint today.


Taking stock of your total wealth


Most likely, you have more wealth to access for your retirement than you may have realized.  The average person only has $25,000-$50,000 saved for retirement.  This is clearly not enough (especially in face of the underfunded social security and Medicare systems).  Fortunately, most people have more wealth to help them manage their retirement than they realize.  The secret is that the average homeowner (who is in or immediately prior to retirement) may have 10 times this amount of wealth stuck in their home or other real estate.  The problem is that while they may have this wealth, they do not have access to it and therefore it does them no good.


Consider the following example:  Sam and Mary are both in their early 60s with a lot of retirement life ahead of them.  They have $40,000 saved for retirement (not nearly enough) and have a home worth $500,000 that only has a $100,000 mortgage on it.  When you break down the source of their wealth and their allocation, you find that only 10% of their wealth (or $40,000) is “liquid” and currently usable, while fully 90% of their wealth is non-liquid and “unusable” today.  What we realize is that Sam and Mary actually have quite a bit of wealth (in this case almost half a million dollars of wealth) but because they don’t have access to the overwhelming majority of it (90%), they feel poor and their retirement will be dismal as a result.


So how did Sam and Mary end up with the majority of their wealth stuck in their home?  Planning was not the problem.  Sam and Mary never decided to put the majority of their wealth into their home and make it inaccessible to them.  It just slowly happened that way over time.  This happened for two reasons; their home (or sting of homes) increased dramatically over their years of ownership, and they slowly paid their mortgage off or down over time.  Sam and Mary (just like most of you) have enjoyed a “windfall profit” from the dramatic increase of value in their home over the years.  Something that they never actually “planned on”, but a very fortunate event and one that will prove to be their saving grace in retirement if they use it correctly.


Wealth is wealth


We know that most people in or looking at retirement have the overwhelming majority of their wealth stuck in their home or other real estate.  We also know that most of their retirement problems are not due to not having enough wealth, “but due to not having full access to the wealth that they already have”.  This is a very important fact and one that everyone facing retirement needs to fully understand.  I like to describe it this way; every homeowner has two kinds of wealth in each pocket of their pants.  In one pocket they have their “liquid wealth” (cash, checking, savings, etc.).  In their other pocket they have their “non-liquid wealth” (wealth stuck in their home or other real estate).  As they go through their retirement life it does not matter which “pocket” they pull money or wealth out of to purchase things they need, but what does matter is that they have enough to make their financial ends meet.  For example, if you go to lunch and it costs $10 dollars; does it matter if you pull the money out of your left pocket or your right pocket?  No it does not.  It will cost you the same no matter which pocket you pulled the money out of.  What matters is that you have enough money in your pocket to buy your lunch.


So the important lesson here is that “wealth is wealth” and it does not matter which source of wealth you access in order to support you through your retirement.  What matters is that you arrange your finances so that you have access to as much of your wealth as possible in order to have the most secure retirement possible.  In order to do that, you must gain access to the “non-liquid wealth” that is stuck in your real estate.


Unlocking your trapped wealth


There are only three ways that you can unlock the wealth trapped in your home or real estate.  You can; 1) Sell your home.  2) Obtain a “cash out” refinance.  3) Obtain a Reverse Mortgage.


While selling your home is an option, it comes with the most expensive fees and will probably be a costly mistake in the long run.  On top of closing costs and real estate commissions (about 7% of your home value), you may be forced to pay capital gains taxes as well.  As bad and costly as the previous items may be, the most expensive part of selling your home usually happens down the road and is not immediately noticed at first.  Real estate values tend to keep pace with increased cost of living or inflation.


Consider that a home valued at $500,000 today will be a worth over $1 million in just 14 years at a mild appreciation rate of 5%.  Continuing to own your home allows you to continue to participate in this increasing value which will help you keep up with the increased cost of goods are services years from now.  This increase in real estate values is the primary reason why you have accumulated so much wealth in your home or other real estate in the first place.  So, from a straight “investment viewpoint”, selling your home could cost you very dearly down the road by missing out on the potential increase in value over time.


Secondly, if sell your home, you would still have to live somewhere.  This means either re-buying or renting.  If you re-buy you lose a significant amount of wealth due to the closings costs and commissions of each transaction.  Re-buying can make great sense if you sell an expensive home and purchase a more modest home. But if you purchase a home of similar value it usually does not make sense and only serves to further decrease your available wealth for retirement.


Renting will usually prove to be equally bad for similar reasons.  The primary goal of every landlord is to raise your rent as fast as they can get away with it.  Taking the same example from before, rent of $1,500 that you may find acceptable today could easily be $3,000 or more over a 14 year period at a small 5% increase each year.  When you factor in the increase in cost of everyday items, plus lack of increases in your social security or other income streams and you can easily see how you could become “squeezed” by the with higher expenses over time until you simply don’t have enough cash flow to meet your expenses.  In order to avoid having any increase in housing expenses over time, I strongly caution you against selling your home while you are alive.  Additionally, there are significant tax benefits for your heirs by passing the home to them once you have passed, as opposed to selling it before you have passed (contact my office for my Free Report on Capital Gains and how to easily and legally avoid them).


Continuing to own your home usually makes the most sense and also offers you the most protection against inflation down the road.


If you want to keep your home (and I recommend that you do) what is the best and safest way to access some of your trapped wealth?  Let’s take a careful look at your options.


The safest way to unlock some of your trapped wealth


You have three basic choices:  1) Obtain a forward mortgage.  2) Obtain a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit – which is a 2nd mortgage).  3) Obtain a Reverse Mortgage (also available as a line of credit).


All three are mortgages and you continue to own your home 100%.  You continue to benefit from any increase in value over time and all three allow you to pass your home on to your heirs when you die.  Additionally, all three require you to pay your property taxes and maintain homeowners insurance.  Lastly, all three will charge you interest on the amount of money you borrower, for the length of time that you borrow it.  Based on the above, all three programs are very similar.  Now lets’ consider the differences.


A forward mortgage and a bank HELOC both require you to qualify in order to obtain.  While some people in retirement may be able to qualify and obtain these loans, many will not.  Fortunately the Reverse Mortgage is much easier to qualify for than the other two options, so the Reverse Mortgage will help many more people than the other two.


Both a forward mortgage and a bank HELOC require monthly mortgage payments.  These payments decrease how much cash flow you have available for other things.  Only the Reverse Mortgage requires no monthly mortgage payment (as long as one of you continues to live in the home).  This is a tremendous advantage.  If you can eliminate a $1,000 monthly mortgage payment, you now have another $1,000 per month to spend on other things that are important to you.


Safety is Very Important for Retirement


Perhaps the most important issue is safety.  The Reverse Mortgage is clearly the safest of the three options.  Since no monthly mortgage payment is due as long as you live in the home, there is no risk of losing your home for lack of the mortgage payment.  Both a forward mortgage and a bank line of credit do carry this heavy and serious risk.


You may currently think that a forward mortgage or HELOC are OK if you can afford to pay the proposed monthly payment now.  However, you need to consider possible or probable events in the future.  How able will you be to pay the payment in the future after you or your spouse pass (and income drops)?  What if medicine or medical care expenses increase in the future?  What if one spouse needs nursing care?  Will the house payment still be manageable after 10 years of inflation and higher expenses for everyday items?  Where will you obtain the increase in income down the road to continue to make financial ends meet?


Clearly, eliminating one of your highest payments each month (your mortgage payment) is one of the safest moves you can make to ensure that both you and your spouse are able to continue to live in your home at the lowest cost (zero in monthly payments) even after one of you passes and the survivor experiences and significant decrease in income.


Now that you know a little more about your options, let’s review the main problems in preparing for and living in retirement and see what solutions a well thought out plan may look like.


Strategies and Solutions to improve and safe guard retirement


Getting the most from Social Security


One of the major components of creating the best retirement possible is simply maximizing what you are already entitled to.  This can be very simple, but the statistics show that about 72% of American’s take Social Security before they reach full retirement age (a financial mistake).  The alarming problem with this is that the earlier you take Social Security (SS) the lower the monthly payment you receive.  If you knew the exact date of the end of your life it would be very easy to tell you the exact time to apply for your SS benefits.  Since that is not possible we need to use statistics, math and common sense.  Average life expectancy is about 83/84.  However many people live longer, and females live slightly longer than males.  I strongly suggest you “plan to live long” for the simple reason that the longer you live the more retirement money you will need.  If you live short, you won’t need as much money.  Even if one spouse passes early, it could very well be that the other spouse lives long.  Therefore, planning to live long is very important, the safest way to plan and will result in having the most money available for your retirement over the long run.


If you take SS benefits at 62, your monthly amount will be permanently reduced by 25% than if you had waited until full retirement age of 66.  If that is not bad enough, if you continue to work they will take away $1 of SS benefits for every $2 in earning above $15,480 (a low level) until you reach FRA.  Therefore, do not collect SS benefits before full retirement age if you are still planning on working and earning over $15,480 for the year.


Waiting until FRA (full retirement age) will give you your full amount of SS each month.  For each year you wait after FRA to start your benefits, you will get an additional 8% going forward.  Therefore, waiting until age 70, the latest age possible, will increase your monthly amount by 32% above your full retirement benefit.


If you calculate living to average life expectancy, you will receive more total money from SS by taking your SS at the latest age (70) and at the highest monthly amount than if you took it earlier and at smaller monthly amounts.  This could mean tens of thousands of total extra dollars from SS, simply by making a good decision on when to begin to take it.  So in order to get the highest total money possible from SS, wait until age 70 to maximize this benefit.


You need to think of the decision on when to take SS benefits as a “team decision”, that is what is best for you and your spouse (if you have one).  Most of the bread-winners are husbands, often with a younger wife.  This is important to consider because, the survivor will receive the “higher of” their husbands SS or their SS (but not both).  So it is very important that the breadwinner maximize his or her SS benefit, both for their sake in order to potentially receive the most money possible while alive, but also so they can leave the largest monthly amount from SS to their surviving spouse for the remainder of their spouses’ life.  If you have a younger spouse and your spouse lives beyond average life expectancy this may increase the amount you and your spouse receive from SS by possibly hundreds of thousands over choosing to take it early.  It can have a major impact on your retirement, so pay attention to it.  NOTE: If you already began to take SS and now realize you would rather wait until later to start your benefits, you have 12 months to change your mind and get a “do-over” with Social Security.  Contact me for more info or for our free report on this topic.


While SS is more valuable the longer you wait to take it, the Reverse Mortgage is more valuable the younger you take it because you will receive more total benefit.  Therefore, the Reverse Mortgage is a great tool to use in order to postpone taking SS until you have maximized the monthly amount at age 70 (for the breadwinner).


Have little to no money saved for retirement


A Reverse Mortgage can help in two ways.  It can help you improve your cash flow and may also provide large sums of money.   If you have little savings or a lack of cash flow and simply need more to get by, a Reverse Mortgage can make a major improvement in one or both of these cases.  Certain strategies or structures may allow or help you to qualify for other benefits such as SSI, or Medicaid which might also help you improve your retirement.  However, if you already have this benefit, it could cause you to become disqualified as well.  Therefore it is best to speak to an expert in this area in order to help you help you make the right choice, strategy and solution for your unique circumstances.


Have retirement savings, but possibly not enough to “go the distance”


Many people have managed to save a fair amount of money for retirement, but most continue to worry whether they “have enough” or worry about outliving their money.  Their concerns are well founded for several reasons.  No one is really sure of how much they will need in retirement.  Healthcare and health issues, inflation, market losses, income loss when a spouse passes, and taxes can all have a major and disastrous effect on even the best designed retirement plans.  Therefore, it is not enough to simply have “saved for retirement” you must continue to be wise and spend smart in order to make your savings last.


Taking your retirement savings (qualified accounts) out as slowly as possible will allow you to preserve and prolong these funds.  This strategy is also important because it will help you to minimize your income tax liability, giving less to Uncle Sam and leaving more for you to spend on yourself.  By using a Reverse Mortgage to eliminate your mortgage payment, you are able to significantly reduce your withdrawals from your IRA or 401K.  The proceeds from a Reverse Mortgage may allow you to wait longer until full benefits are reached before accepting social security or other retirement benefits like pensions, thus increasing your utility out of these other types of programs.  This will ensure that you have maximized your income and cash flow from all of your possible sources by only using safe and guaranteed programs or benefits.


Lost a spouse and experienced a decrease in income as a result and currently or about to struggle financially.


On top of the emotional loss, the passing of a spouse is usually accompanied by a significant loss of income for the survivor.  The passing of a spouse can cause income loss from full or part time jobs, social security, pension or other benefits that stop when someone passes.  The survivor is now left to continue to carry on with their retirement, but often have significantly less money to get by on.  If you are a widow or widower, you undoubtedly know what I am talking about.


The Reverse Mortgage can help in several ways.  It can used early, while both people are alive and already in place when the event happens, or it may be used after the event.  However, there is no guarantee the program will remain available later or that future changes to the program will still allow it to be an effective tool or provide you enough money.  For these reasons and many more, it appears that the safest strategy may by to establish a Reverse as soon as you can to ensure that you have it for the future when it may be needed.  Once it is in place, the amount it provides is contractually guaranteed.  Prior to obtaining one, the availability and amount you might be able to receive can change or become non-existent.  It is better to have access to these funds and not need them, than to need them and not have access to them.  This can create additional safety and provide peace of mind for the survivor in the event a spouse passes.


Increased in everyday expenses are squeezing your available cash flow.


A classic result of inflation, or the increased cost of everything over time is that people in retirement find that their incomes or cash flow do not rise as much or as fast as their expenses.  This leaves them squeezed year after year with less money to meet their needs.  You can only “tighten your belt” so many times until there simply is no more room and you need an increase in cash flow in order to have the things that you need and want.  Eliminating your current mortgage or receiving cash from a Reverse Mortgage can help in both of these cases and get you back on tract.


Do not have enough money for large cost items like new car, property repairs or improvements, vacation, etc.


Again, because the Reverse Mortgage is “tax-free” it is a much better source of a lump sum of money than your IRA or 401k.  Why?  Because you do not have to pay the associated income tax on a Reverse Mortgage that you would on a distribution of an IRA or 401k.  On an IRA or 401k, the more you take out during a single year, the more you are taxed and the higher the percentage of your IRA or 401k is lost to tax.  Therefore, IRAs & 401k should be taken out very slowly and kept to a minimum each year in order to make it taxed as little as possible so that it will provide you with the most utility possible.  Avoid using your IRA or 401k for large distributions and use the Reverse Mortgage for such items.  You will reduce your income tax substantially and preserve more of your wealth for your retirement and not for Uncle Sam.


Unexpected long term care costs are overwhelming your available cash flow and resources.


This best way to avoid this risk is with a strong insurance policy, but one that doesn’t bleed you with increasing monthly or annual premiums.  I know of a great strategy and policy that do a perfect job of offsetting this risk, while still allowing you to recapture your money at the same time.  We do not sell this insurance product, or earn any commission for it, but you may want to request our strategic solution (Long Term Care Policy with full Refund) on this topic before it is a problem for you or your spouse.  Unexpected health care costs are, one of the most financial damaging and most likely events during retirement.  Having a strong policy in place, one that does not cost you more each month or each year, and with a guaranteed refund of premium is the way to go.  (Don’t buy any Long Term Care insurance until you have read our Free Report on this).


If you did not obtain insurance, and are already experiencing significant health care costs, it is doubtful that you will be able to obtain insurance now and must decide the best course of action moving forward.   If this is the case, forcing MEDICAID to pay may be your very best bet.


Medicaid is a government entitlement program that will pay your medical bills if you qualify.  The qualification is based upon the amount of your liquid assets.  If your liquid assets as a couple are greater than $83,000 (at the time of this writing) you do not qualify and must pay your own medical bills until you have exhausted your liquid assets down below the $83,000 threshold.  Paying your own bills until you have exhausted your liquid assets below $83,000 may leave the surviving spouse in deep trouble for the rest of their retirement.  A better solution may be to “structure yourself” so that you DO qualify for Medicaid assistance BEFORE you exhaust your liquid assets and shift this financial burden over to Medicaid.


Consider this case study:  Joe and Mary have $183,000 in liquid assets and a home worth $500,000 with a mortgage of $150,000.  Mary is sick and requires expensive, ongoing medical care.  Because they have more than $83,000 in liquid assets they do not currently qualify for Medicaid and must first exhaust their liquid assets below the $83,000 level.  They cannot just “give” this money to their kids because Medicaid will do a “look back” through their financial records and count any money given away as money that they still have access to.


However, they could reduce their liquid assets by using this money to reduce their mortgage by $100,000 enabling them to now qualify for Medicaid (paying down your debts is not considered as “giving away your money” and home equity is not currently counted against you in qualifying for Medicaid).  They could also obtain a Reverse Mortgage with a line of credit option so that they still retain “access” to their $100,000 and possibly quite a bit more (in this example, their usable credit line could be in the $250,000 range).


What Joe and Mary have accomplished by using this strategy is to preserve the access and use of their $100,000 (plus created an additional $150,000 for a total of $250,000 credit line available) AND are now positioned to have Medicaid take over their expensive medical bills, thus reducing their medical care cost substantially.  This will help to ensure that Joe, the survivor, still has enough money to live during retirement.


NOTE:  We are not attorneys or Medicaid specialists and we highly recommend that you consult with these experts beforehand to ensure any actions on your part will produce the desired results and enable you to participate in the Medicaid program.


Losing too much of your qualified retirement account to income taxes


Even with good planning taxes can take a significant bite out of your available qualified retirement account.  However, with poor planning the tax bite can become huge and you can find yourself losing tens of thousands of dollars or more in unnecessary taxes.  This will leave you with significantly less money available for your retirement and may cause you to run out of money while you are still alive.  Therefore, it is absolutely vital that you are “tax wise” when it comes to taking distributions from your qualified retirement account.


While you do have to take the required minimum distribution (RMD) based upon your age (and pay the associated income taxes that go along with it), any amount above and beyond that is voluntary and will continue to push you into higher and higher tax brackets causing you to lose more and more of your retirement account to taxes that you don’t otherwise have to lose.


A far better approach is to focus on keeping your taxable distributions low and supplement those distributions from a “tax-free” source like the Reverse Mortgage.  This way you can still create the cash flow that you need or want, while minimizing your actual income tax liability.  If you practice this method it will have a tremendous positive effect on your retirement accounts by dramatically reducing the tax liability, and because you have slowed down your distributions out of your retirement account you have now preserved and prolonged the useful period that the account will last.


Our sample case study shows an income tax savings of over $100,000 over a 10-12 year period.  That’s a $100,000 more for your retirement or inheritance for your family.  On top of dramatically reduced taxes, the retirement account now lasts much longer with over ½ million still available 12 years later verses a completely depleted account.  The facts are clear: you must minimize your income tax liability in order to get the most out of your retirement account.  The Reverse Mortgage or any other source of tax-free money will make a huge difference in achieving this goal. (Request our free report on tax savings for more details and to review our sample case).


Market losses decreased your retirement account.


Chances are that you have some of your retirement money invested in the stock market.  Whether this money is in mutual funds, stocks or bonds you are probably aware that the value of these assets can and do fluctuate quite a bit over time.  The worst time to take these funds out is immediately after they have experienced a significant drop in value because you will miss the corresponding up swing.  The worst the market drop, the more important it is to remain patient for the market to recover before withdrawing those funds.  This is important because only funds that are still in the market will have a chance to correct and increase when the market increases.  Those funds that have been removed will not increase with the market, and of course are worth considerably less than previous to the market drop and possible quite a bit less than the eventual recovery will be.  Therefore, you need an alternative source of funds that can be accessed while you are waiting for the market to correct.


The Reverse Mortgage can be an excellent alternative source for many reasons: the money is tax-free, the money may be paid back, the interest cost is low, and the cost of the Reverse Mortgage may be much lower than the cost of cashing out assets that have just dropped in value.  You may also consider selling other holdings like real estate, motorhome, etc. in order to avoid accessing retirement accounts that have recently loss value in a declining market.  However, with the Reverse Mortgage you get full use of the money while still enjoying full ownership and use of your home.  Selling a motor home or other real estate is not quite as good because you lose use and ownership and any continuing upside benefits.  So while you may have other options, you will probably find that the Reverse Mortgage offers you the best choice while retaining the best benefits at the same time.


Inflation may or has eroded your retirement plan and now puts you in danger (I expect this to become a very serious problem a few years from now)


You may have initially “had enough money” when you first retired, but now years later find yourself squeezed between rising expenses and your fixed income.  Unfortunately this is a very common event for people during retirement.  Because of the constant increase in the price of every-day items (inflation), you simply need more money to make ends meet today than you did years ago.


You may have assets that you no longer use that you can sell to help you keep up, like a boat, motorhome, other real estate, etc.  However, the obvious downside of selling things like a boat or a motorhome is that you will no longer have use of it.  Selling real estate may also be a poor choice because real estate tends to increase in value during times of inflation, so it may be much smarter to hold your real estate rather than to sell it.


The Reverse Mortgage may very well be your best choice for gaining access to more of your wealth so that you can increase your cash flow, yet still retain full control, access and ownership of your home.  This may be especially true during times of inflation again because real estate tends to increase in value significantly during inflationary periods.


Conclusion of How to Live Better During Retirement


Retirement is a great time of life, but also comes with many financial challenges.  Since most of your wealth is probably stuck in the equity of your home, it makes good sense to consider how this wealth may be best used in order to compliment your other plans and supplement your cash flow.


Study after study shows the benefit of using a properly structured Reverse Mortgage as a key part of your retirement strategy and as a solution to many of the common problems.  I hope that this booklet has given you additional ideas on how to further improve and safe guard your retirement by using one of the strategies above.


While there is a lot of confusion and misinformation regarding Reverse Mortgages, let’s set the record straight with simple facts:


-Most of your total wealth is probably stuck in your home.
-The Reverse Mortgage allows you to access some of this wealth so that you can live better during retirement.
-You continue to own your home 100% and continue to give the home to your heirs when you pass away.
-The money received from the Reverse Mortgage is tax-free.
-The Reverse Mortgage eliminates your current mortgage payment and no monthly payments are due as long as you live in the home.
-The most common Reverse Mortgage program is the federally designed and insured program.
-The Reverse Mortgage is due in full when the last person on title ceases to live in the home.
-The Reverse Mortgage is usually repaid by the sale of the home (once you cease to live there), but may also be repaid by keeping and refinancing the mortgage, by other cash or any other means.
-The Reverse Mortgage has specific safe guards and safety features as part of the contract to further protect you and your heirs.
-The Reverse Mortgage is the easiest mortgage to qualify for and primarily based upon the age of the youngest borrower and the home value (subject to the home value limit).  The credit and income requirements are very low. Therefore, the Reverse Mortgage will be able to help more people during retirement than any other program.


When viewed with the facts in hand and with an eye toward improving your cash flow, the Reverse Mortgage is the most viable and versatile tool to help the average person make a dramatic improvement in their retirement well-being, while still continuing to own and enjoy all the benefits of homeownership.


Additional information and Free offer


Each client has a unique situation and different challenges that they face during retirement.  We would enjoy the opportunity to understand what challenges you face and what is financially important to you.  Chances are that we will be able to help you identify and create the best solution for you so that you can better prepare for retirement or live out your retirement years in comfort and security verses anxiety and scrapping by.


At last count, there were 36 different options of federally insured Reverse Mortgage program available.  It is essential that you speak with an expert who knows each of these options and is able to match your specific criteria, needs and desires with the exact program and option that will best suit your particular needs.


Please contact us for a free consultation regarding your personal circumstances or to request any of our extensive free material on how to better prepare for and live during retirement.


I look forward to helping you survive and thrive during retirement.


Sincerely,

Bryon Pyle

About the author


Since graduating with a business degree in Finance in 1981, Bryon Pyle has been involved in mortgage lending and has focused on helping individuals improve their cash flow and obtain the American dream, homeownership.  From helping thousands and thousands of clients, Bryon has been able to see how the bedrock of America handles their finances.  Alarmingly, most Americans do themselves a tremendous disservice by making a series of poor choices.  Most Americans arrive at retirement age with a severely underfunded retirement plan and no time left to redirect themselves, yet continue to make poor or uninformed retirement choices.  Approx. 62% take Social Security before they reach full retirement age and short change themselves in the process.  Many pay too much in income taxes on their retirement savings due to poor planning.  Too few know or understand how to maximize what they have to help provide the highest amount of access to cash/cash flow while minimizing their taxes and other outflows.  Our goal at Crossmark Financial is to provide safe, well thought-out solutions and support that improves cash flow and provides greater access to cash in the safest manner possible.  We have written extensively along these topics and encourage clients and financial advisors alike to obtain and read our reports in the hopes that together we can help clients’ improve their financial retirement well-being.


Bryon Pyle may be reached at (949) 440 2002.  You may speak with Laura or Jay his assistants for questions, to request free reports, obtain more information or to schedule a free consultation.

How you can easily avoid this expense for both you and your heirs

If you have owned your home for some time, there is a very good chance that you could experience significant, to very-significant income tax liability in the form of capital gains tax upon the sale of your home.  Without any understanding or planning, selling your home could cost you and your heirs quite a bit more on top of the costly standard real estate commissions and closing costs.

Capital gains tax is owed on the difference from your original “purchase basis” vs. the amount you sold your house for (less closing costs).  Currently a single person on title is entitled to the first $250,000 in gain tax free ($500,000 for a married couple).

To calculate your possible capital gains tax exposure upon the sale of your home, the formula is: original cost you paid for the home plus the closing costs you paid upon the purchase, the cost of any improvements (not repairs, but only improvements) to the home, less what you sold it for and minus any cost of selling.  Lastly deduct either $250,000 if single or $500,000 if married (or if your spouse passed away not more than 12 months before the sale).  Any excess profits above this amount will be taxed at the current capital gains tax level.  Currently in California you can expect 22% to the Feds and another 9% or so to the State.  Figure 31% as a fairly accurate estimate.

As an example, let’s say you purchased a home years ago for $100,000 and it is now worth $1,000,000 and although you made plenty of repairs, repainting and reflooring, you never really made any capital improvements (never added square footage).  Your capital gain might look something like this: basis ~$105,000 (purchase price + closing costs on purchase) minus sales price less cost to sell (sold for 1 million, but had $70,000 in real estate commissions and cost to sell).  Therefore you have basis of $105,000 less $930,000 (sales price less cost to sell) = $825,000 in capital gains.  If you are single or if your spouse passed away more than 12 months ago, you may only deduct the first $250,000.  In the example above, if single you would owe capital gains tax on $575,000 x 31% = $178,250 in tax.  If you are married you would owe $100,750 in capital gains tax.  Either way you go, this is a very significant amount of additional tax to be caught owing and the result significantly reduces your level of wealth (for both you and your heirs).

How to legally avoid this cost

As disappointing and expensive as this may be, there is a very easy away to avoid this additional tax entirely for both you and your heirs.  Simply keep the home until at least one of you passes away (and ideally until both you have passed).

When you or your spouse pass away, the surviving spouse receives a “step-up in basis” to today’s current value.  Depending upon how you hold title (and this is very important), you may get a full step-up in basis or only ½ step-up in basis (on the deceased spouses ½ interest) to the current fair market value (request my free report on how to ensure a full step up in basis rather than just a ½).

Key points to keep in mind

-You can often save a very significant amount of taxes simply by keeping your home until at least one of you pass (if married) and certainly until after you pass if you are single.
-By reducing your tax liability you preserve and provide more wealth for your heirs.
-Capital gains tax can be very expensive, so speak to your tax professional and learn your options and the cost of those options BEFORE you decide which route to take.
-It is important to hold title correctly so that you obtain the highest step-up in basis possible upon the passing of the first spouse (call and ask me for this info).
-A Reverse Mortgage may eliminate your monthly mortgage payment and/or may provide you with tax-free distribution from a portion of the equity within your home.

–Obtaining a Reverse Mortgage may help provide you with dramatically improved cash flow so that you can comfortably postpone selling your home early and allow you to avoid any capital gains tax.

A little planning, especially on the sale of a home that has been owned for some time, will enable you to save and preserve a significant amount of wealth, for your spouse or your heirs.

I hope that this report inspires you to learn and understand your options so that you may use this new found knowledge to make the very most of perhaps your most valuable asset.  By doing so you will pay less in tax and have significantly more money available for you and your spouse while in retirement and thus helping you to live the very best retirement possible.

Retirement is a very important phase of life.  Be sure you are doing it right.  Call me with any questions or request any number of our free reports to discover the best strategies currently available and learn your best retirement options.

Sincerely,

Bryon Pyle

About the author

Bryon Pyle is president of Crossmark Financial Corp. and HomeSafe retirement solutions.  He has a BA in Finance, an active Real Estate Brokers license (00840513), an active NMLS license (251192), previously Insurance licensed (now expired), an active mortgage lender in CA, AZ, an active real estate investor, author and speaker on retirement and retirement related topics.

From having helped thousands of individuals of all ages, he is keenly aware of how under prepared most people are for retirement.  As a result, he has written of simple ways and strategies that the average person can employ to improve their retirement readiness and position.  He has helped Financial Planners, Attorneys and CPAs understand the benefits a Reverse Mortgage can bring to the retirement planning table.

Bryon is available for free private meeting to discuss any mortgage or retirement related questions or issues you may have.  He is also available for speaking engagements regarding retirement and the options pitfalls people face during retirement.  To request a private meeting or to enquire about his availability to speak at an engagement, please reach his office at (949) 440-2000.