Equity Rich Cash Poor!

[Ruchit Patel]

Hello,

I know two retired families in my group, sitting on $3M+ real estate, free & clear. They living in it. Very humble, hardworking, blue-collar family and they happen to grow up in a part of California that is highly desirable now. So their not-so-good place is wroth more than 3 million. 

They have no income, so they can't refi or HELOC to use their equity for their personal expense. My question to this forum is, what's the best practice here? How can they tap into their equity and live a normal life? I feel sad when I see them stressed out about money all the time.

All suggestions are welcomed :)

Thank you. 

[Kevin Sobilo]

@Ruchit Patel, if they are dead set on remaining in their current home then a reverse mortgage could be the answer because it allows them to get income from the equity in the home.

However, they would probably be financially better off selling and using the proceeds to live on. They could downsize into something in a more modest price range or even become renters so they don't have to deal with maintenance etc.