The reason that most seniors start looking into the option of obtaining a reverse mortgage home loan is because they want to be able to stay in their homes long after they have retired. They worked hard to be able to achieve the American Dream of owning their own homes and they want to be able to hang on to that dream even after their income has decreased due to retirement. So they take out a reverse home mortgage loan in order to continue to afford their lives and their large homes.
However, a recent article in the Topeka Capital-Journal suggests that there might be another kind of home that seniors can use their reverse mortgage money for: the nursing home. As seniors start to get up into their later years, they may find that they can’t continue to live on their own in their homes. They can afford to because of the help from their reverse home mortgage but their personal needs are such that they need the kind of care, security and personal assistance that most people have to go out-of-home to obtain.
The article, which is primarily about medical fraud from people who can afford nursing homes but are cheating the system, suggests that obtaining a reverse home mortgage is one legitimate way to afford nursing home care. CNN Money makes the same suggestion. Nursing homes are undeniably expensive and many families struggle to pay for the care that elder folks in the family may need. The reverse mortgage allows the individual to move out of the home when the time comes but to be self-supporting in the nursing home. This relieves the family of the burden of paying for the final years of care that the individual requires.
