Tom Kelly writes a weekly real estate column for The Herald and other newspapers, and also has a radio program that is syndicated around the world, (locally it’s at 11 a.m. Sundays on KTTH-AM, 770).
Now he seems bent on branching out into the book world.
Not long ago, Kelly wrote a very good book on how to buy a small vacation home and parlay that into the retirement home of your dreams. Unlike a lot of real estate and investing books that are filled with a bunch of hooey, it contains practical information on realizing your dream. For those who don’t have it, it’s called “How a Second Home Can Be Your Best Investment.”
Now he’s written a new one that unlocks the mystery of reverse mortgages, which help seniors tap into their home for money without having to sell it or rent it someone else. That, in turn, allows people to stay in their home and at the same time get money for health care and other expenses.
The book is called “The New Reverse Mortgage Formula – How to Convert Home Equity into Tax-Free Income” (John Wiley &Sons Inc. , $19.95).
Kelly deals with the questions and fears about reverse mortgages, noting early that banks don’t want to take over your house. They’re just making you a loan, secured by your home, that isn’t paid off until you move, die or sell the place.
He explains the reverse mortgage market, how it was developed and how it works and its many uses. While using the money to pay for health care expenses is the biggest use, it’s certainly not the only one, Kelly notes.
He gave examples of a woman who took out a reverse mortgage and gave her daughters money for their families, a senior who used the money to buy equipment for his small business and another who put her daughter through nursing school.
There are even examples of people who use it to acquire a second home. And, of course, some people need to remodel their home to help them age in place.
At any rate, if you’ve been wondering about reverse mortgages, this is the book to get to learn how to get such a loan, how to structure the payouts and how much you can get.
Credit scores
My column last week on credit reports and scores prompted more than the usual number of calls.
Stewart Patey appropriately pointed out that getting one report doesn’t tell the whole story.
I had mentioned that I got one credit report and a credit score partly because I wanted to see if identity thieves had applied for credit in my name.
He noted I would need to get reports from all the three of the major credit agencies because they don’t all have the same information.
And Patey knows a little about credit theft. “It’s hit me three different times in different ways,” he said. “Just when you think you’ve got everything covered.”
I had mentioned that you can get free credit reports by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. Patey mentioned another feature there that I was unaware of. He said he was able to put a notation on his credit files asking people to call him if anybody seeks more credit, just to verify that it was his request.
He said he got a call a short time later indicating someone else had tried to do just that.
I also got a call from Bob Lowe of Marysville, a man in his 70s who was miffed because he can’t get a cell phone. Lowe said he’s paid cash for most things for most of his life. He also was once declared dead by the Social Security Administration, so his life has been more complicated than it should be.
He noted that he has paid his bills all his life and now has most of them deducted directly from his checking account. But that means he has a small credit score, hence the denial for a cell phone account.
“I can’t believe I got turned down on a lousy cell phone,” he said. “Why don’t they check on the local stuff (payment of local bills)?”
Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com.
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