I have been a Reverse Loan Consultant for almost 17 years and until the last five or so of them, most articles that discussed reverse loans and media pieces were not only incorrect but very negative and certainly created the wrong impression and more than likely, turned off a number of seniors who could have benefited from using it to provide additional income.
However, we in the reverse loan industry have seen quite an “about face” in the last few years and more and more positive and encouraging articles and media news are promoting the benefits of the FHA HECM reverse loans to the public.
After taking a “beating” for too many years, each day seems to have another article or something on the news that not only is more often correct than it was in the past, but is seriously letting people know that a reverse loan is a good option to use in lieu of drawing down on a retirement fund.
In particular, the Boston College Center for Retirement Research has published a number of studies over the last few years, pointing out the reasons why seniors should not rule out using a reverse mortgage as part of their retirement plan.
And just recently they published a new report addressing the reasons why some seniors are resistant to the idea of using their equity in their home to sustain their lifestyle and to pay for any unplanned medical expenses and that their reasons are not “rational”.
I’m going to share a summary of their findings in the next few posts.