Almost 90% of older Australians say they wish to age in place – that is, to remain in their current home compared with moving into specialised care or moving at all, according to research from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) supported by Heartland. 

However, this research also revealed that 36% of older Australians live in a home that may be unsuitable for ageing in place, without upgrades or renovations, and 29% said they will not be able to afford the changes required to make their home age friendly.

A reverse mortgage could help. Whether you would like make your home more age friendly, or receive personalised in-home care, a Heartland Reverse Mortgage could be an option to help you finance ageing in place without having to sell your home. 

But what could this look like in practice, and is it possible to borrow with a reverse mortgage to support ageing in place? 

Let’s look at an example from one our customers Charles*, who used a Heartland Reverse Mortgage to help cover his home care costs plus ongoing income and other needs.   

Charles’s case study

Charles owns his own property in Western Australia valued at $300,000. 

At age 72, he applied for a Heartland Reverse Mortgage to cover home care fees plus ongoing income and other needs of $30,000 for the year and wished to pay this monthly using our regular advance option. This is the total loan amount requested. 

Though Charles needed home care support, to assist his ageing in place, he still was able to apply for the loan with Heartland personally, understood the requirements, and obtained independent legal advice from his chosen solicitor.

How much could he borrow?

72 (age) = 32% LVR (maximum potential loan) 

32% (LVR) x $300,000 (home value) = $96,000

Charles was eligible to borrow a total of $96,000 (as his application and valuation met Heartland’s credit criteria) which meant we could lend the $30,000 he requested for home care fees plus ongoing income and other needs paid to him in 12 monthly instalments of $2,500. He ended up deciding to extend this to 2.5 years, so the loan totalled $75,000. This has enabled him to live in his own home for longer than he may have been able to without the ongoing home care and financial support.

Want to know more? Find out more about using a reverse mortgage for ageing in place, or request your free Reverse Mortgage Guide. More information on home care fees can be found here.

Ready to apply? You can now Apply Online, or request an Application Pack that provides everything you need to apply.

If you require any assistance, feel free to get in touch, we are here to help you.

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of our customers. 

Information provided is accurate as of 11 August 2023 and may change from time to time.