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It takes a village: The appeal of master-planned communities Consider a reverse mortgage if you are a good candidate Sea Haven from page 1 roaring fireplace for a nightcap. Engage your neighbors in a friendly game at the bocce ball courts. Become the local legend at the indoor pool table. Newly constructed homes near the iconic Monterey Bay coast- line are truly a rarified treasure. Combining the idyllic coastal life- style with stunning new homes provides an incomparable vision for the future. The city of Marina is the kind of sleepy little beach town we all dream about, still undiscovered, and Wa- then Castanos Homes has teamed up with award-winning archi- tects and designers to offer you an extraordi- nary opportunity to call this home. Sea Haven is a planned community featuring four distinct neighborhoods spread across a 248-acre portion of coveted coastal land near Monterey Bay. Ex- quisite brand-new homes are carefully nestled into this historic landscape, and nature trails mean- der throughout the vari- ous neighborhoods, 10 planned parks, and the coastal oak grove. It is a thoughtful development plan that finds a rare and delicate balance with the natural surroundings. An exciting array of architectural styles await you at Sea Haven, each with options built to suit your lifestyle. This eclectic mix of beautiful new one- and two-story homes offers floor plans with three to seven bedrooms, many that feature indoor-outdoor California Rooms that truly embrace Mon- terey's coastal essence. Prices at Sea Haven start in the low $1 millions. The sales offices at Sea Haven are currently open for tours of 10 exquisite model homes. Visit our website to experience an assort- ment of ways to become familiar with the new homes in each neigh- borhood. The first step to your new lifestyle at Sea Haven is to contact our sales concierge with any questions about pricing, availability and which of these incred- ible homes will best suit your needs. Find out more at www.liveseahaven.com, jillp@wchomes.com or call (831) 531-9038. Content provided by Wathen Castanos Homes By Marilyn Kennedy Melia CTW FEATURES It's been a pro- nounced seller's market throughout most of the country, but that's more or less the norm for a certain segment — the master-planned com- munity, or MPC. Typically in subur- ban locations where large portions of land are available, master- planned communities offer a mix of housing options, as well as rec- reational facilities, and sometimes even stores and schools. Like a little home- town within a town, that vibe helps in- sulate MPC housing prices from dropping during economic downturns because consumers tend to think these communi- ties hold value, says Todd LaRue, manag- ing director of real estate consulting firm RCLCO. In fact, prices on master-planned com- munity homes tend to carry a premium of anywhere from zero to 50 percent over simi- lar homes outside the community, depending on the specific market circumstances, LaRue says. Some 919 master- planned communities are currently selling newly constructed homes, notes Mollie Carmichael of John Burns Real Estate Con- sulting. In the past two years, with the growth in working from home, home sales in master- planned communities reached new highs, ac- cording to John Burns' research. LaRue agrees that MPC popular- ity benefited from the pandemic-fueled trends when suburban locations gained favor, and buyers wanted value during economic uncertainty. Recent buyers of brand-new homes in MPCs probably weren't trying to edge out com- peting purchasers in bidding wars, as "most builders offer homes at a set price," Carmichael says. Sometimes build- ers offer incentives, like free upgrades on certain housing fea- tures, but given the hot housing market, incen- tives have been largely absent. Instead of the buyer who wins a bidding war, it's been the early, eager buyer who purchased new master-planned community construc- tion, Carmichael explains. In the Bay Area, try https://www. newhomefinder.news/. Google searches of "new homes" and specific geographic locations can also yield some leads, as well as the sites BuzzBuzz.com and NewHomeSource.com. Besides the prices in MPCs, purchasers in these communities should ask about pay- ing a homeowner asso- ciation fee or perhaps another fee for the MPC amenities. By Erik J. Martin CTW FEATURES With a traditional mortgage loan, you receive money from a mortgage lender to pur- chase a home. You then make monthly payments to the lender until the balance is paid off. This process can also go in the opposite direction in the form of a reverse mortgage. Most reverse mortgages are government-insured home equity conversion mortgages (HECMs) that are available to homeowners over the age of 62. With a reverse mortgage, the mortgage lender makes monthly payments to you, allow- ing you to tap into your home's equity without selling. In exchange, the lender must be repaid or they get to keep your home after you pass away. "The payments made to you by the lender can be used however you choose. You get to retain the title to the home and no monthly payment is required from you — provided you continue to live in the home and comply with the loan agreement. This means paying ongoing property taxes and association fees while maintaining homeowners insurance," says Lyn Coffin, a Certi- fied Reverse Mortgage Professional (CRMP) with Danvers, Massa- chusetts-headquartered Mortgage Network. Payments to you from the lender can be in the form of a lump sum, a line of credit, monthly disbursements or a combination of these options, according to Jordan Connell, re- gional vice president at Cherry Creek Mortgage in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Your home is typi- cally your largest asset. If you are house-rich but cash-poor, "taking out a reverse mortgage loan is a way for those on a fixed income to pay their monthly expenses while remaining in their home," says Robert Jayne, a CRMP with Nationwide Mortgage Bankers in Melville, New York. These funds can come in handy, particu- larly if you encounter costly health issues in your older years. "One of the most common uses of a reverse mortgage is using the proceeds to pay off an existing mortgage and eliminate your monthly mortgage payments. Any additional funds can be used to pay for other things, such as creating a nest egg, making home repairs, paying off medi- cal costs and more," Con- nell explains. "If you no longer have an existing mortgage, you can use a reverse mortgage as a line of credit that can be accessed as long as you remain in the home." One of the biggest drawbacks is that you will deplete much of the equity you've built up in your home. "Additionally, a re- verse mortgage needs to be paid back either when you pass away, sell your home or no longer live in the home full time — for instance, if you move into an assisted living facility or move in with a fam- ily member. If you die, your heirs have 30 days to either turn the home over to the lender, sell the home and repay the debt or purchase the home from the lender," cau- tions Tabitha Mazzara, director of operations for MBANC in Manhattan Beach, California. "Also, you can't let the home fall into disrepair serious enough to significantly diminish its value." A good candidate for a reverse mortgage is an older homeowner who is looking for ways to lower his or her monthly expenses and create a fi- nancial safety net for ex- pected and unexpected expenses. It is also ideal for those who simply want more flexibility than a traditional mort- gage provides. "If you don't have enough equity in your home for a reverse mortgage to cover the payoff of your current mortgage, you have to bring extra funds to the closing. In this case, a reverse mortgage is probably not your best strategy," Connell says. Even though you are not required to pay monthly mortgage pay- ments with a reverse mortgage, you can make these payments if you'd like to lower your loan balance and increase your available funds in the future, Connell points out. Other alternatives to a reverse mortgage could be to "rent out your property, sell your home and downsize to something more afford- able, move in with other family members, or refi- nance your existing loan with a traditional mort- gage or home equity loan," Coffin adds. -DebtPayoffRefiLoans -ReverseMortgagesto$3M www.excellentmortgageloan.com Product Rate Points Fees % Down APR 30 Yr Fixed APR 15 Yr Conf. Fixed 7/1 Jumbo ARM 30 Fixed VA 3.875% 3.125% 3.000% 3.250% 0.00 0.000 0.000 0.000 $0 UW $0 UW $0 UW $0 UW 20% 40% 40% 40% 3.875% 3.125% 3.180% 3.480% RobHeath 408-482-8080 DRE#01241953/NMLS#319548 LicensedinAZ,CA,HI,OR,WA Calltodayforratequote! 3.375% 30 Yr Fixed APR Over21yearsexperienceand 5starYelpreviews Bayview Residential Mortgage 51 E. Campbell Ave #110 Campbell, CA 95008 CA Broker DRE#01498198/NMLS#329189 JUMBO REVERSE MTG, 5 Yelp reviews. NO CLOSING COST LOANS are available. H6 BAY AREA NEWS GROUP 111 Homes | Advertising Section

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