Interest in reverse mortgages spikes among seniors, but available loans are dwindling

Senior citizens and retirees are increasingly looking for ways to regain financial security, according to recent usage data from Golden Gateway Financial’s (note: correction appended) online Reverse Mortgage Calculator. Over the past three months, the number of seniors using the tool increased by 90 percent, indicating that older homeowners are following the overall trend in reverse mortgage growth. Their research may be somewhat futile, however, with declining home values diminishing the amount of money available to older Americans through such loans. In addition, new federal regulations have cut reverse mortgage proceeds by 10 percent, and these stand to be reduced even further when a piece of legislation that temporarily increased mortgage limits expires at the close of 2009. TRD

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