Reverse mortgage presentation held at Warwick Senior Center

WARWICK, N.Y. — If you are 62 or older and live in your own home, a reverse mortgage loan could improve your financial situation but it’s not for everyone. That was part of the message at a presentation for senior citizens offered by Mark Trott, a reverse mortgage specialist at Ulster Savings Bank. The event, which took place at Warwick’s Senior Center on Jan. 20, was sponsored by Century 21 Mystic Valley Real Estate, 62 Galloway Road (Route 17A). Trott told his large audience that a reverse mortgage can be a good choice for seniors who have limited assets and plan to live in their homes forever. “But if you are heading for the Sunbelt in a couple of years,” he said, “this is not for you.” Much to the surprise of some members of his audience, he added that a reverse mortgage could also be used as an effective financial tool to sell a large house that has become difficult to maintain, purchase a more practical and smaller home in the same area and still have extra cash for any purpose. In a reverse mortgage the homeowner has the option of receiving a lump sum or monthly payments for the rest of his or her life, both tax-free. And Trott explained away a common misconception that ownership of the home is transferred now or later to the bank. “It’s always your home,” he said, “but the bank must be repaid once it is sold or the estate is settled.” He also cautioned that, in any case, heirs should always be consulted along with the family attorney and accountant. “This was one of our most interesting and informative presentations,” said Pearl Lendzian, president of the Warwick Senior Center.