For Ocean County homeowners of retirement age: how a reverse mortgage turns part of your home’s value into cash while you keep living there, the two kinds, what stays your responsibility, and the cautions to weigh first. 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.
Pick the closest, or call and talk it through.
Fidelity Residential · NMLS #103098 · Equal Housing Lender
Ocean County has about 654,400 residents and about 296,400 homes in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates for 2020 to 2024. Four occupied homes in five, an estimated 80.7 percent, are lived in by their owners.
An estimated 22.6 percent of residents, about 148,000 people, are 65 or older, and 26.9 percent are 62 or older.
Of about 196,900 owner-occupied homes, an estimated 41.3 percent, about 81,300, have no mortgage. The Census Bureau estimates the median value of an owner-occupied home in the county at about $398,400.
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 County, and we lend across New Jersey.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024. Estimates, not counts.
A reverse mortgage lets homeowners of retirement age turn part of their home’s value into cash. You keep living in the home, and the title stays in your name.
There is no monthly mortgage payment to make. Instead, interest and other charges are added to what you owe each month, so the balance grows and the equity left in the home shrinks.
The loan is repaid later, usually from the home itself. It comes due when the last borrower dies, sells or moves out for good; heirs can repay it and keep the home, or sell the home and keep any value left once the loan is repaid.
The protections differ, so ask which kind fits before you choose.
The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, designed by HUD and insured by FHA, for homeowners 62 and over. HUD sets a limit each year on the home value the loan can be based on. Because of the FHA insurance, you or your heirs never owe more than the home is worth when it is sold.
Reverse mortgagesA private program without FHA insurance, for higher-value homes and, in some cases, homeowners from 55. The payout choices, the protection for a spouse who is not on the loan, and what happens if the home is worth less than the balance can differ from a HECM.
What is reviewed: your credit history, whether property taxes and insurance have been paid on time, and whether your income leaves enough each month after bills. If it does not, part of the loan can be set aside to pay the taxes and insurance.
For as long as the loan lasts, you keep living in the home as your main residence, keep paying property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and any association dues, and keep the home in repair. If you miss any of these, the loan can come due, and the home could be lost to foreclosure.
Counseling with an independent counselor comes before you apply. For a HECM the counselor comes from HUD’s list, and a spouse who is not on the loan takes part too.
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).
No. Our office is at 121 NJ-36, Suite 230, West Long Branch, NJ 07764, in Monmouth County. Call 732-686-9999 to talk with a licensed loan officer.
For a HECM, the FHA-insured reverse mortgage, 62 or older, and the home must be your main residence. A proprietary reverse mortgage may be open to homeowners from 55 in some cases.
Yes. It can pay off an existing mortgage and end that monthly payment. Some proprietary programs can leave an existing first mortgage in place instead.
A spouse who is not a borrower takes part in counseling too. With a HECM, an eligible spouse may be able to remain in the home after the borrower dies, when certain conditions are met; proprietary programs may not offer that protection, so ask before you choose.
Under the FHA-insured program, a stay in a care facility longer than HUD allows counts as moving out, and the loan can then come due. Ask how the program you are considering treats it.
Get a quote online, or call us and talk it through with a licensed loan officer.
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.