Below is a reasonably informative video produced by AARP. It’s about 27 minutes in length but worth viewing all of it. Starts off slow but picks up interest a few minutes into it. AARP is to be congratulated on a fair and balanced piece. It’s about time somebody did it right!

Sheilah Kast, the hostess, makes a good effort at explaining reverse mortgages. But she incorrectly states that “… to find out if a reverse mortgage is right for you, you must talk to a reverse mortgage counselor.” This is simply not correct. You are never required to speak to a counselor just to learn about reverse mortgages. And when you do attend a session, the counselor does not/should not make any decisions for you. You should do your own homework and research … including speaking with a very experienced reverse mortgage loan officer. Get your info from a variety of sources and make up your own mind if a reverse mortgage is your best option.

Rep Barney Frank (D-MA) makes excellent points in rebuttal to an assertion that reverse mortgages are destined to become the next sub-prime lending mess. Frank also quickly debunks the unfounded recent public comments of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Peter Bell of NRMLA is a good spokesperson and discusses the code of conduct for the reverse mortgage industry. He also mentions recent changes that lowered fees and prohibited some kinds of past abuses practiced by a few unscrupulous individuals.

Consumers are very adequately represented by Suzanne Montezemolo, Center for Responsible Lending. She advocates for more extensive counseling and acknowledges that it is not the actual loan that could become a problem… it is often the inappropriate use of the money.

The most articulate, I think, is Mary Beth Franklin, Senior Editor at Kiplinger Magazine who is the last guest. She does, however, stumble a little in explaining the new HECH for Purchase product but does a great job overall.

Suze Orman Reverse Mortgage Video – Advice!

Here’s another good video – a very short one, too:

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Author – Robert H. Irving, CSA®
Senior Reverse Mortgage Consultant

Oh, how the ladies still love Bob!  He is ranked as the number 1 spokesperson for reverse mortgages and his ads generate thousands of phone calls to the Call Centers.  Peter Graves of Mission Impossible fame, the latest to join the procession of celebrity endorsements, has a tough act to follow.  Unfortunately, these free DVD discs and Video tapes provide information of little value.  They do, however, clearly identify TV viewers who are interested in reverse mortgages… and that’s what it’s all about as far as Call Center advertisers are concerned. If you respond, be prepared for phone calls to “follow up” on your information request.

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Author – Robert H. Irving, CSA®
Senior Reverse Mortgage Consultant

63% of seniors use the internet as a research tool.  You can learn a lot on the internet… if you are very careful.  We don’t mean careful about computer security (although you should always protect your equipment from potential virus infection).  We mean that you should understand that there are hundreds of internet-based commercial operations promising to “put you in touch with our preferred lenders” or have “our reverse mortgage expert call you immediately” or “send you valuable reverse mortgage information“.

Beware!

These people are simply trolling for names and addresses that they turn around and sell to lenders anywhere in the country.  Some lenders will pay as little as $5 per name or as much as $150 depending upon so-called quality.  The more expensive “leads” are usually the result of  responses to TV commercials – like the long running but recently yanked Robert Wagner offer to learn “much, much more…” – by requesting a free DVD or video.  Chances are good that contact information was sold to a lender willing to call you repeatedly (usually at dinnertime) and annoyingly offer reverse mortgage services.

Google Ads

If you “google” the words reverse mortgages you come up with millions of listings.  Listings that appear on the resulting first page are not there by accident.  There is an entire industry dealing with SEO (search engine optimization) that assists those who want to appear among the first few pages of search results.  For a fee, search engines  allow individuals or companies to have their listing appear within the top couple of positions. These paid listings are recognized by the shaded yellow background.  More advertisers  appear on the extreme right column of the page.  You have to wonder why would someone pay money to have you click on their listing?  The answer is usually (but not always) that they will be making money from the information they collect from you.

Other Problems

In the experience of many, the promised information is almost worthless.  The material you might receive will be generic at best, outdated and inaccurate at worst.  The list of “preferred lenders” is laughable.  Even HUD’s lender list is woefully inaccurate, incomplete and way out of date.  These lists are far worse.

Boiler Room Operations

Not only is the information probably worthless, it is likely that you will be dealing with someone sitting in a room full of phone banks calling seniors all over the country from a location in, say – Colorado. You will never see this person face-to-face.  This person will know nothing about lending regulations in your state, say – Massachusetts.  You will have no idea if this person is an expert in the reverse mortgage industry or a youngster that started working the phones yesterday.

Author – Robert H. Irving, CSA
Senior Reverse Mortgage Consultant

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Reverse Mortgage Ads Not Useful

The parent organization of the company behind those ads has experienced some financial difficulties of late.  I’m not seeing Mr. Wagner offering “much, much more” information via his TV ads these days.  Just as well.  They were not particularly useful anyway, in my opinion.  Most forms of Reverse Mortgage advertising are designed to snag your name & phone number and are not too informative.

Face To Face Is Key

And, how could you ever have a face-to-face family meeting to discuss reverse mortgages when the “loan officer” contact is actually a youngster located somewhere in Colorado?  This is not really a decision you want to make on a conference call with a junior telemarketer, is it?  You want your loan officer to have some life experience (maturity) in order to be able to relate to issues that concern seniors.  That’s what made Wagner’s ads so successful… for the lender.  Too bad he was not able to sit down at the kitchen table with you to provide real answers to your questions.

UPDATE: October 19, 2009 He’s back !!!

Author – Robert H. Irving, CSA
Senior Reverse Mortgage Consultant

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