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Health & Housing Task Force centers on aging issues
Reality has a way of breaking down barriers and opening one’s eyes to opportunity. Recently a bipartisan commission was launched creating a task force to tackle the critical challenges of aging this year. The good news: the commission is positive about the role reverse mortgages play in the planning process.
The Bipartisan Policy Center’s new Health and Housing Task Force will work to present policy recommendations focused on…
Download a transcript of this episode here.
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3 Comments
The Task Force seems more focused on being positive about reverse mortgages than understanding the segments and demographics of those seniors who are best served by reverse mortgages in this era of reverse mortgages.
The language in the report is vague and is more in line with the concepts of the aging in place or helping needs based seniors than a mortgage with special features designed to help seniors manage their cash flow throughout retirement. In part this is why the endorsement is so couched in caveats.
As mentioned in the Cynic’s response, a HECM loan has features that can be used for “helping seniors manage their cash flow throughout retirement.” However, when the seniors see the old actor on TV and then call into a call center for a phone salesperson, it will be difficult for them to get a HECM loan structured in a manner to use those features or the advice necessary to understand how to use them. They will just get the Reverse Mortgage that will fund the most on closing for the largest YSP. Maybe I’m a cynic too.
Charles,
If you are going to quote me, please do so accurately. Your left quotation mark was one word too early. My use of the verb help was as an infinitive not a gerund. That is crucial since the phrase you took the majority of the quotation from was describing what a reverse mortgage is designed to achieve.
While I certainly do not agree with the practice you claim that at least one lender exercises in originating a HECM, I am skeptical about any method of origination which does not include an admonition that the prospect should seek out the advise of an individual who is state licensed individual (or if not, at least a CFP) in selecting the right product and terms.
Mortgage originators, even reverse mortgage originators, should be mortgage originators, not cash management advisors. Let those who are licensed to provide specific services provide those services, not the services they are not licensed to provide.
However, understanding the needs of customers is critical to recommending specific types of HECMs and various options. Going beyond those recommendations to advising on cash flow management and similar matters is inappropriate and should be avoided.