Friday, February 04, 2011

Defaults On Reverse Mortgages Spike As Elderly Fail to Keep Up With Property Tax, Homeowner's Insurance Payments

The Orlando Sentinel reports:
  • Thousands of older homeowners in Florida who tapped the equity in their paid-off homes to boost their income now face the possibility of foreclosure as the number of defaults on such "reverse mortgages" skyrockets.

  • More than 30,000 U.S. homeowners are in "technical default" on their reverse mortgages and could lose their homes because they have failed to pay their property taxes or property-insurance premiums, according to a new research report based on the latest government data.

For more, see Seniors find dark side to reverse mortgages (Growing reverse-mortgage defaults put homeowners at risk of foreclosure).