Not too long ago, a major publication had an article about a 97-year-old man who applied for a 30-year mortgage loan. Guess Guess what? He got the mortgage loan! Federal law forbids discrimination on the basis of age. Many older potential borrowers may not realize that they are eligible for loans which would expire well beyond their statistical life expectancy. According to the FHFA (The Federal Housing Finance Agency), people over 65 years old account for approximately 10% of all mortgages.
A retired borrower can qualify for a mortgage if the monthly income stream from all sources is large enough. The lenders may treat the income like a salary. In some cases, a letter and/or monthly brokerage statements may be needed from a stockbroker in order to verify an IRA or 401K distribution program. This information should be helpful in obtaining approval for a mortgage as long as the distributions last for a number of years. Lenders may consider ownership of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds as positive items. Also, if a real estate property produces income, then that revenue can help in obtaining approval for the mortgage. Of course, the property tax and homeowner’s insurance on the investment property could hurt an applicant’s chances to some extent. Call me. Love, Robin
