You have some awesome, thorough commentors..

Try to look at the bigger picture. It doesn’t matter how or why they are in the situation they’re in. The fact is, here they are. And tapping into their equity may provide them a sufficient financial margin to rise above their difficulties.

Again, if you’re worried that they’ll make poor decisions with their infusion of money, do something for them and help them manage it wisely and responsibly. Don’t doom them to having to live without just because you don’t think they can handle it.

Thanks for hanging in there for the second part!

Have a great day.

John, I appreciate your concern. You have to understand, however, that just about anything can be used to harm and abuse people. I read a story just today, (the link to which I tried to insert in my original reply), about a pair of women who came up with an elaborate scam to swindle homeowners of all ages with a promise to help them avoid foreclosure.

We are not in a socialistic country. We do not have the right to disqualify people from their money simply because we think they won’t spend it the way we think they should. We do not tell people how to spend their money. That is what their loved ones and trusted advisers are for. It’s good to have accountability. But who are we to say, “sorry, I know you can get $100,000 with a reverse mortgage, but we don’t think you’ll spend it wisely.” If you had a family member or valued friend who came into a lot of money, you would probably offer your expertise and friendship to help them handle it wisely. Right?

Reverse mortgages are inanimate objects, like cars. Cars can’t make people NOT crash into other cars or people. Does that make cars bad? On the other hand, they are great to take people from where they are to where they want to be.

So can a reverse mortgage.

I know exactly what you’re saying about the potential for abuse, but truth be told, just about anything can be used to hurt others when in the hands of a devious person. Just today I read an article about a couple women who swindled homeowners of all ages by creating a scheme which was supposed to help them avoid foreclosure.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/27/BUCEVR033.DTL

While I understand your concern, we are not a socialistic country which can disqualify people from money they’ve earned because we happen to think they might not spend it the way we think they should.

Reverse mortgages don’t “provide another way for people that make bad financial decisions to do so”. Reverse mortgages provide people with money they’ve earned. What they do with it is solely up to them. We do not tell them how to spend it. That’s what their family and trusted advisers are for.

If you have a senior loved one, and you’re genuinely looking out for their best interests, you’ll offer them assistance, I’m sure, so they make very good decisions with the money they can obtain with a reverse mortgage.

Reverse mortgages are inanimate objects. They don’t make people do anything. Reverse mortgage lenders and loan officers don’t tell people how to spend their money. Cars can’t make people not crash into other cars or people. But they can get people from where they are to where they want to be.

So can a reverse mortgage.

You are 100% correct, and it should be known that this is a requirement on any reverse mortgage. When I am meeting with a prospective client, I always educate them on the program and service you offer. I make sure they understand that your job is to make sure I have done my job in explaining the details and functions of a reverse mortgage. It is also an independent, neutral voice which has no vested interest in whether or not the senior gets a reverse mortgage.

Thank you for making this point, and for looking out for seniors.

I take my profession very seriously. It is not simply a job, but an opportunity to befriend and help seniors in need. It’s one thing to form an opinion based on what other people say, but until you get to know the people who actually have been involved with reverse mortgages, be they borrowers or lenders, you’re just looking at words on a page. The lives that are touched is what my job is all about.

Be careful not to be so clinical in your opinions that you overlook the lives involved.

I guess I can only speak from personal experience (I’m in Australia by the way) that both my parents and my grandparents both own their homes outright and live well within their means. Here, a reverse mortgage is borrowing against the equity of your home, and the sale of the home upon your death pays back the mortgage. I wouldn’t think you’d be able to borrow the full value of the home, so you wouldn’t come out negatively?

For me, I would expect that all of my older relatives would use anything they had to ensure the best quality of life they can have for as long as they can, and that leaving me an inheritance should be the last thing on their minds.

My grandmother is 93 and still living at home with minimal care. I’m 38, and my parents are in their 60’s and already retired, so I expect I’ll be well and truly retired myself if any inheritance was coming my way. By then I expect to be looking after myself comfortably with my own investments and my own paid off home.

I did think it important though to make readers aware that you are in the industry. My intent wasn’t to question your integrity or perspective, just to make the readers aware.

I sincerely appreciate your comprehensive and thoughtful comments.