It has become very apparent to me that the best time to have purchased something in life was 5, 10, or 20 years ago. Think about it, when was the best time to buy a house in Colorado? Or when was the best time to buy a certain stock that has doubled or tripled in value like Amazon or Google or Apple? Or when was the best time to invest in your retirement account? Or even, when is the best time to take a trip with your loved ones? Hindsight tells us that the best time to do something or to invest is almost always in the past. However, we cannot go backwards in time and change the past (at least in a conscious state of mind as far as I know). So, I will ask you this question, why did you not do “it” back then? Did you not have the money to do “it”, or did you not have the right information or the proper advice to do “it” back then? So, if you did not do it in the past, when is the next best time? The answer is NOW! Why wait any longer? Nothing seems to get better with time, except fine wine and cheese and even those both start to stink at some point.

There are numerous reasons why it does not make sense to wait to do a reverse mortgage or a home equity conversion mortgage. However, there are only a few good reasons to wait. Here are 10 reasons why you should not wait to do a reverse mortgage and why you should do one as soon as you are eligible:

1. Account/ asset preservation. You can use some of your home equity to avoid spending down your other assets. The longer you maintain your other assets, the more growth you will gain and the more value they will provide you with in the future. If you use your other assets first, they will obviously be gone, and they cannot provide future growth/ value.
2. Interest rates are still going up right now, not down. When rates go up, you will be able to access less equity in the future.
3. Home values seem to be “softening” with rising rates. If home values go down, you will have less home equity and you will have less money available with a reverse mortgage.
4. The longer you wait, the more money you will spend on mortgage payments, and you will use more of your savings.
5. The sooner you open the home equity conversion mortgage, the more growth you will create in your line of credit (LOC). The compounding effect of the growing LOC proves that it is better to do this sooner rather than later (even when you don’t need it) and allow the LOC to grow and grow.
6. If you still want to make mortgage payments, you can absolutely do that which will also help to grow your available LOC.
7. The future is uncertain, and we don’t know what the terms (rates, fees, accessible equity, program details, etc.) will be in the future. 
8. Your future health is unknown and likely not as good in the future as it is today. Live for today and plan for tomorrow!
9. Spend your money while you are alive because you can’t take it with you.
10. Give your kids and grandkids their inheritance today when it means more to you and to them versus in 10 or 20 years when you are gone, and it has less value to them.

Now, those are all reasons why you should do a reverse mortgage today and not wait. However, there are certainly situations where it does not make sense to do a reverse mortgage or why it makes sense to wait. Here are a few good reasons to wait:

1. You are not eligible (not age appropriate or you do not have enough available equity).
2. You are going to sell your home and move in the next couple of years.
3. You do not own a home.

As you can see, the list of reasons to wait is very short and there are not too many good reasons to wait.