. . . life is passing you by and you are missing out on purchasing a place in a lifestyle community right now while prices are as low as they ever may be again in decades to come.

Here we are staring the Holidays in the face and wondering to ourselves what in the world has been happening with property values and the residential real estate market during 2010. 

When the "mortgage meltdown" happened in September of 2008 and prices of homes began to correct downwards I think that somehow we all assumed that the whole mess would in some way magically correct itself during 2009, and after that things would get back to normal.

From time to time in life we have to have a paradigm shift and look at things in a different light so as to get on with things and not stay trapped in the same old rut.  To that end, I propose to you that opportunities exist now, RIGHT NOW, to make the most of the current economic situation and grab life while you can – AND at the very best prices possible!

Perhaps you are the conservative kind of person that didn’t plunk all of your money into investments that were high risk with promises of high yield returns.  If you were savvy enough to keep some of your liquidity in savings or money market accounts (or stuffed under your mattress) then listen to this.

Rather than try to sell your home now when the market is still saturated with repossessions and ‘short sales’ (a short sale is where the lender agrees to allow the borrower to sell the home for less than the mortgage balance so that they [the lender] don’t have to take the home back through foreclosure) why not think about waiting to sell your home until the market comes back and prices go up again?

That’s what a lot of you are doing now anyway.  You’re just sitting there and biding your time in the home where you raised the family and you’re foregoing the active adult lifestyle that awaits you in a 55+ or age-targeted community.

But life is passing you by and you are missing out on purchasing a place in a lifestyle community right now while prices are as low as they ever may be again in decades to come.

Here’s the paradigm shift idea.  It’s time to think "out of the box" and put some of your liquidity to work for you in conjunction with the HECM for Purchase program to grab your slice of the active adult good life right now.

The HECM for Purchase program was born as part of the Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and allows you to utilize a Government guaranteed financial instrument to buy a home for 50% or less of the purchase price out of pocket and you can live in the home (as your primary residence) for as long as you and/or your surviving spouse live and occupy the home and NEVER HAVE A MONTHLY PAYMENT!

OK, what’s the catch?  Well, there is one catch.  You need to be at least age 62 (and your spouse really should be at least 62 also) to take advantage of this program.

The program utilizes a Federally guaranteed financial instrument to provide you with half (or more) of the purchase price of the home.  Now hang on, I know that none of you like the ‘M’ word but the financial instrument in the HECM for Purchase program is a mortgage – but – it’s not a forward mortgage (the kind where you have to make monthly payments), it’s a reverse mortgage.

Here are some really salient facts about the HECM for Purchase (the acronym HECM stands for Home Equity Conversion Mortgage).  How about this?  The program (unlike the traditional mortgage process) does NOT take into account income or credit history for approval! 

And, as I mentioned above, you NEVER have to make a monthly payment for as long as you (or your surviving spouse) live in the home (as your primary residence).  That means you purchase the place with 50% (or less) of the purchase price (plus closing costs) from cash on hand and the lender provides the HECM for Purchase mortgage for the balance.

Here’s some more really good news.  Because the program is Federally guaranteed you (or your heirs) will never owe money on the house – even if it has gone down in value and is worth less than the mortgage balance.  If it happens that the home becomes worth less than the mortgage balance the Government pays the difference to the lender!  If, when the last surviving spouse passes on, and the home is worth more than the mortgage balance when it is sold – your heirs get the difference.

So, while you are sitting there with your liquid assets earning precious little at your favorite bank or investment firm and the opportunity to live the active adult lifestyle is passing you by, I say that it IS time for a paradigm shift in your thinking.  Buy a place NOW in the lifestyle community of your choice with the HECM for Purchase lender chunking in half (or more) of the purchase price for you.  

Keep your current residence until the market corrects and you can sell it then for what you want to get out of it.  Then you can bank your proceeds or spend them as needed or desired, or invest them as you see fit.  Maybe you can rent your current home out in the mean while, or let one of your kids move back in to watch it for you. 

There is a lot of valuable info available on the HECM for Purchase program and our friends at MetLife Bank will be happy to send it to you for free.  Read it over during the Holidays and maybe even share the idea with your kids to get their input – then make your plans for 2011 to grab the good life in an active adult lifestyle community, now while you can get it 4 Less.