A pension
The award letter shows the amount and how often it is paid, and bank statements show it arriving. Some income must be shown to continue for a set time.
Ocean City, Cape May County
Mortgages on retirement income in Ocean City, NJ
For Ocean City buyers and owners living on a pension, Social Security or their savings: how a lender counts retirement income, what it needs to see, and the route to take when savings say more than the income. Fidelity Residential is a direct, licensed mortgage lender with a New Jersey office on Route 36 in West Long Branch, in Monmouth County, and we lend across New Jersey.
- Direct, licensed mortgage lender
- NMLS #103098
- Equal Housing Lender
What is your income?
Pick the closest, or call and talk it through.
Fidelity Residential · NMLS #103098 · Equal Housing Lender
Ocean City housing
Older residents and many seasonal homes
Ocean City has about 11,300 residents and about 21,200 homes, more homes than people, by the American Community Survey for 2020 to 2024. Of some 15,500 homes counted as vacant, about 14,000 were held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use.
About one resident in three, an estimated 33.8 percent, is 65 or older. Social Security reaches an estimated 45.2 percent of households and retirement income 40.3 percent. The median value of owner-occupied homes is about $840,500.
Fidelity Residential is a direct mortgage lender licensed in New Jersey under a Residential Mortgage Lender License. Our office is at 121 NJ-36, Suite 230, West Long Branch, in Monmouth County; we do not have an office in Ocean City, and we lend across New Jersey.
Owners and homes
- Owned outright: an estimated 48.0 percent of owner-occupied homes, about 2,000, carry no mortgage
- Age: half of residents are older than about 56.1 years, the median age
- Owners: an estimated 72.7 percent of occupied homes
- Attached single-family homes: an estimated 37.6 percent of homes
- Two-unit buildings: an estimated 17.3 percent of homes
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024. Estimates, not counts.
Retirement income
How a lender counts retirement income
Retirement income is read the way a lender reads any income: what it pays, how often it is paid, whether it actually arrives, and whether it is likely to continue.
Social Security
Counted from the award letter and proof of receipt. If part of an income is not taxed, tell your loan officer: income that is legally not taxed can be counted with that in mind.
Regular withdrawals
A retiree can set up regular withdrawals from a retirement account that then count as income. The plan’s withdrawal terms go in with the statements.
Still working part time? Wages documented the usual way can be counted alongside a pension. Whether a piece of your income is taxable is a question for your tax adviser.
Savings
When savings say more than the income
A retiree’s accounts can carry a loan that a pension alone would not. An asset-based mortgage is an ordinary home loan where verified savings, brokerage and retirement accounts count in place of, or as well as, other income.
The accounts stay in your name and nothing is pledged; the home is the collateral. Credit, your record of housing payments, the appraisal and the home are underwritten as usual. See asset-based mortgages.
Ways the accounts can count
- Added on: a monthly figure from your assets added to a pension or other income
- Spread out: what is left after the down payment, closing costs and reserves, spread over a set number of months
- Tested: in some programs, a test of the assets left after closing with no income figure
- Program rules: each program counts each kind of account in its own way
Be ready
What to bring to the first call
Most of a retiree’s file is paperwork that already exists: the letters that set your income, and the statements that show it arriving.
Refinancing a home you already own here? Add the latest statement for each loan on it. If the home has no loan, a cash-out refinance can place a new mortgage on it, with the usual limits on value, credit and income.
Buying here as a second home rather than your main home? Our Cape May County page covers second homes and Shore rentals.
What to gather
- Award letters: for Social Security and any pension
- Proof of receipt: bank statements that show the payments arriving
- Accounts: savings, brokerage and retirement statements, every page
- Plan terms: the withdrawal terms of any retirement plan you draw on
- Other income: statements and tax returns for interest and dividends
Questions
Questions from Ocean City homeowners
Do you lend in Ocean City?
Yes. Fidelity Residential is a dba of PFN Lending Group, Inc. (NMLS #103098), which holds a New Jersey Residential Mortgage Lender License, and we lend across New Jersey. You can check the licence on NMLS Consumer Access (opens in a new tab).
Do you have an office in Ocean City?
No. Our office is at 121 NJ-36, Suite 230, West Long Branch, NJ 07764, in Monmouth County, and we lend across New Jersey. Call 732-686-9999 to talk with a licensed loan officer.
Can Social Security count as income for a mortgage?
Yes. It is documented with the award letter and proof that the payments arrive, and read like any other income: the amount, how often, and whether it continues.
Does the income have to continue for a while?
Some income must be shown to continue for a set time. A loan officer can tell you how that applies to yours.
Can withdrawals from my retirement account count?
Yes. Regular withdrawals you set up from an account can count as income. Send the plan’s withdrawal terms with your statements.
Do I have to sell investments to buy?
No. With an asset-based loan your accounts stay in your name and you do not have to withdraw the money. The home is the collateral.
Talk with a loan officer near you
Get a quote online, or call us and talk it through with a licensed loan officer.
What happens next
- Tell us about your loan. A few quick questions about the property and the loan you want. No credit check to start and no obligation.
- A licensed loan officer reviews your answers and follows up with you, usually within one business day.
- This is a request for a quote, not a loan application and not a commitment to lend.
This page is general information, not a commitment to lend. Programs, terms and eligibility depend on credit, income, property and underwriting review and are subject to change without notice.
Reviewed by Robert Shamie, CEO, NMLS #241428 · Last reviewed:
Fidelity Residential (PFN Lending Group, Inc., NMLS #103098) is a direct mortgage lender licensed in 40 states and the District of Columbia, with 26 years in business.