Countrywide Reverse Mortgage Home Loan

Reverse Mortgage Eligibility

Countrywide offers reverse mortgages to applicants who are over 62 and who meet the other requirements:

• There should be no mortgage on the home, or there should be a mortgage which can be paid off with the reverse mortgage.
• The home should be the applicant's primary residence and not a rental or vacation home.
• Applicants must complete reverse mortgage education from a counselor approved by The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

People who still owe a considerable amount of money on their mortgages and who do not have much equity built up in the home are not good candidates for reverse mortgages.

Ideal Applicants

Countrywide takes the stance that reverse mortgages are a great idea for people who have trouble making ends meet financially, and who qualify for a reverse mortgage based on the aforementioned criteria. A reverse mortgage can indeed supplement a retired person's income considerably, but a reverse mortgage is not free money. No matter how long the primary applicants live in the home, there will eventually come a time when the loan must be settled in full whether it is through the sale of the home or a refinancing of the Countrywide reverse mortgage home loan into a conventional mortgage loan.

Countrywide Reverse Mortgage Home Loan Rates

The interest rates for Countrywide mortgage products are generally competitive with the interest rates offered by other major mortgage lenders. Countrywide is more widely known as a lender that can get applicants approved despite bad credit histories and other detrimental credit scenarios than as a mortgage lender with rock-bottom interest rates. Before applying for a any mortgage loan – regardless of the mortgage loan product or the credit score of the applicant – a thorough review of interest rates offered by various lenders should be conducted. Although calling several lenders is one way to compare mortgage loan interest rates, interest rate comparison websites can speed up the process considerably.

You should never disregard the interest rate on a reverse mortgage. Just because you aren't making monthly payments to a loan does not mean that the interest rate isn't incredibly important.

Countrywide Education Information

Countrywide is certainly not an unscrupulous mortgage lender, and this company takes steps to make sure that applicants know there are other options available besides applying for a reverse mortgage. Some of the alternative options they suggest include:

• Selling your home and using the sale proceeds as supplemental income.
• Considering alternative loan products, such as equity loans and equity lines of credit.
• Taking up residence with a family member or friend.

Although Countrywide does not overtly discourage these alternative options, they are quick to point out the downsides to them.

Countrywide does offer plenty of education information on their website including a detailed sample process for receiving a reverse mortgage loan and a calculator which estimates the amount of money you can receive from a reverse mortgage based on:

• Your age
• Your zip code
• How much money you currently owe on the mortgage, if any
• The value of your home

The calculator is merely an estimation tool and does not reveal the exact amount of money you can receive from a reverse mortgage. The calculator can give applicants a good idea of a ballpark figure of what they might receive monthly from a reverse mortgage, however.

Apply for a Reverse Mortgage

To apply for a reverse mortgage from Countrywide you should call and speak with an advisor who can walk you through the application process. Countrywide: 1-800-959-3789