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Two Birds, One Stone: How a Reverse Mortgage Helped Finance a Post-Graduate Degree and a Purchase of an Investment Property

General Tim Hill, MBA 13 Oct

I recently met a couple that took out a reverse mortgage to purchase a house in Hamilton, ON. Their daughter was attending McMaster University, and was just starting her post-graduate degree.

After spending close to $25,000 over 4-years in rent, her parents decided to get into the landlord business!

Here’s how the numbers worked out:

  • Clients 58 & 60 years old
  • $3M home in Oakville, ON
  • Approved for $600K reverse mortgage
  • McMaster Rental Property – $2375 monthly rental income (daughter lives rent free), or $28,500 rental income per year
  • CHIP Reverse Mortgage Interest – $28,500 (4.75%)

Now at first glance, it looks like these freshman landlords will simply break-even as interest expense is equal to rental income.

But there are a few considerations:

  • Daughter is living rent-free – parents are saving $5700/year in rent
  • CHIP Reverse Mortgage Interest is tax deductible against total taxable income
  • $3M Oakville home – if it increases in value long-term, by only 1% per annum, this will cover the interest expense & more
  • The flexibility of deciding how much or how little interest payments to make on their reverse mortgage puts these clients in an enviable cash-flow position.

House rentals are not for everyone as they tend to be a “hands on” investment. But for the right client, rental properties can be a lucrative opportunity as part of a diversified investment portfolio.

To learn more about how this CHIP Reverse Mortgage can work for you, contact the mortgage professionals at Dominion Lending Centres.