A good friend recently quoted their grandmother, “I didn’t plan on living this long, I may run out of money!” Fortunately this person was joking, but at 93 years old there was truth to this statement and it struck a chord with me.

The average Canadian has not saved enough for retirement. Not even close. With inflation and debt levels on the rise, it makes sense that every generation is falling short of their retirement goals. In fact, most retirees are cash poor but maybe, just maybe, have built up a nice nest egg of equity in their home. Most likely, the majority of your net worth is in your home itself. It makes sense that reverse mortgages are the fastest growing mortgage product in Canada, exceeding $6B Nationwide to date.

We now have 3 fantastic providers of reverse mortgages in Canada, all offer a no-negative-equity guarantee on your home. This means you will never owe more than the fair market value of your home in case of a downturn in the housing market. Each provider offers a slightly different product, it is my job to steer you towards the best one for your unique situation. We have access to all of them.

Whether you are looking to pay off debts, pay for at-home-care, help a loved one with an early inheritance or gifted down payment, do some renovations, or simply want to enjoy your retirement, please reach out and see how these products have transformed into viable tools for a better lifestyle.

Reverse mortgages at-a-glance – What are they?

– Allows the borrower to tap into a portion of their equity as tax free payments or lump sums
– Borrower qualification is primarily based on your homes’ value, the location of your home and your age on a sliding scale
– You maintain ownership of the home, the lender does not take title
– Available to Canadian citizens 55 years or older on your primary residence
– No payments – Don’t think traditional mortgage, think “reverse”
– No need to sell your home to fund your retirement, continue living in it
– Minimal income verification, but spend the money how you want
– Main rules: Maintain your property, insure your property and pay your property taxes

There are some downsides to reverse mortgages and they are certainly not for everybody. It is best to understand the cons as much as you can get caught up in the pros. There are many other options to consider, this is only meant to be one of those considerations.

Reach out if you want to discuss your eligibility for this tool in more detail and how it can help you or a loved one live a more fulfilling, dignified retirement.

Casey Struck
www.struckmortgages.com
casey@ratefair.ca

Good afternoon,

I thought I would give you a breather from my long, info-packed monthly newsletter and share an interesting take on our national housing-crisis. Interest rates are higher than they have been in over 20 years and construction of new housing is constrained by policy and costs.

Here is a 25 minute video that offers some no-frills perspective on what is going on in our Country:

Navigating The Great Canadian Housing Bubble with Ron Butler From Angry Mortgage

If you enjoy Ron Butler’s take on the housing market or are interested in hearing his “no-bu!!$#!t” take on mortgages in general, subscribe to his “Angry Mortgage” podcast, a new episode comes out weekly. You will NOT be disappointed. Very entertaining, often angry, honest and very educational. Remember, there is LOTS of swearing!

The “Understanding Macro” podcast (the interviewer in this video) isn’t bad either! A Calgary investor with some very interesting guests. He asks the questions that we all want answers to.

If this wasn’t crazy enough, Statistics Canada likely “underestimated” close to 1 million non-permanent residents in Canada, bringing the true total of “unaccounted for” people to nearly 2 million people! Read about Benjamin Tal’s discovery here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-a-million-more-non-permanent-residents-live-in-canada-than-official/

The good news? Well, as Ron suggests, we may need to bring back purpose-built rentals. This will require government policy change, CMHC and corporations to step up and help make this change to accommodate the millions of people needing affordable housing. In episodes of his podcast he also addresses the need to attract investment in the trades to boost interest in construction of new dwellings. Our skilled-labour shortage only adds to the housing crisis, but it CAN be solved with the right investment. The biggest factor with any of these solutions is time. Therefore today is when change needs to start. Well, maybe yesterday or yesteryear, in hindsight.

What do you think of all this? Feel free to reply and share your opinions on the state of our housing market, and what solutions you would like to see!
Have a great week!

Casey Struck
www.struckmortgages.com
casey@ratefair.ca