California Reverse Mortgage Information

A California reverse mortgage has been a popular option for many California senior citizens in recent years. In fact, up until 2007 California originated more reverse mortgages than any other state. Then in 2007 Florida by-passed California in the number of senior reverse mortgage loans closed. However, California continues to have a very high demand for this type of home equity loan.

An obvious reason that a California reverse mortgage has been so popular is because of the unusually high home values in California compared to most other states. Additionally, from the year 2000 through 2005 California home values sky-rocketed to all time highs. The increase in the amount of equity that the average California homeowner realized during those years was in the double digits annually for most counties throughout the state.

California Home Equity

The reason that home values play such an important role in a California reverse mortgage is because the amount of money that you can receive from the loan is based primarily on the amount of equity you have built up over your years of ownership. Equity by definition is the difference between what you owe on your home and what the current market value of your home is. The higher your equity, the higher your benefit or loan amount can be from a California reverse mortgage.

Understanding the importance of having substantial equity in your home if you are thinking of applying for a California reverse mortgage, has been motivating many seniors living in this state to act sooner rather than later. As the nation has been experiencing falling home prices across the board, Californians are experiencing some of the most severe downturns in the country. This translates into lower loan amounts and fewer benefits for those considering a California reverse mortgage.

If you think that this type of loan is something that you will need down the road but not necessarily right now, you may want to give some serious thought to doing it sooner, if you think your house may continue to decline in value. You may be disappointed later if you find out that your loan benefits are drastically reduced because your home is not worth nearly as much at the time you decide to apply for a California reverse mortgage.

Use our reverse mortgage calculator to compare benefit amounts based upon various values for your home. You can run the calculator based upon today's value and then use your browser's back button on the calculator page to experiment with different home values and compare the difference in your benefit amounts. You may be surprised and how much difference you will see.

If you would like a detailed benefit summary today to see how much money you qualify for, we can help with a FREE California reverse mortgage quote.

• Link to AARP in California