The truth about relocating: Marketing to the mature homeowner part 4

Senior Moving“When I retire I plan on moving to a smaller home.”
“When I retire I’ll relocate to be closer to the kids.”

Although people may make similar statements in middle age, the reality is quite different. One study found the general move rate for seniors aged 55-64 to be just 7.4 percent per year. Clearly, while the idea of relocating to a senior-centric area (such as Florida) or to be nearer adult children might appeal, the pull of the home where they’ve raised those children, built a life, entertained their friends, and created a lifetime of memories is often stronger.

This is a boon for reverse mortgage professionals, who can help people avoid having to sell their memories (i.e., their home) in order to generate sufficient cash flow for their golden years.

There are emotional and logistical issues to moving and/or downsizing, as well as financial considerations. For some people, moving makes a lot of sense: the house is just too big, or their health isn’t up to caring for it. For the vast majority, however, aging in place (see our series on mature homeowners) is the keynote for savvy seniors, thus making them ideal reverse mortgage leads.

To better understand your target market, consider that leaving their long-term homestead means:

  • Emotional upheaval. Their house holds a lifetime of memories, as does the neighborhood. They’ve built relationships with everyone from the grocer to the librarian to their auto mechanic; it can be as difficult to let go of these peripheral connections as it is to say goodbye to cherished friends.
  • Relinquishing friendships. It’s harder to meet and form new friendships as we age, partly because we don’t have the built-in people access we did when we were younger (through school, work, civic and community activities, health clubs, etc). Some seniors may have decades-long friendships in the town where they’ve lived all their adult lives; losing these friends at this life stage could precipitate depression.
  • Logistics. Not only does relocation — especially to a smaller dwelling — necessitate selling, storing, or giving away precious possessions (a huge task in itself), there’s also the matter of adjusting to a whole new area, and choosing a new doctor, dentist, hairdresser, grocery store, etc. Many people can find these tasks daunting, depending on their age, mobility and overall health.

Thus, in marketing reverse mortgages to the mature homeowner, it’s wise to recognize and acknowledge their choice to stay put, for all these reasons and more. Your reverse mortgage prospects will feel validated in their decision — especially knowing that the equity in their beloved home can help support them as they grow older.

Cookie-Baking Granny … Or Purple-haired Artist? Marketing to the Mature Home Owner / Part 3

In the Leave It to Beaver and My Three Sons era, grandmas wore aprons, baked mouth-watering cookies, and indulged their grandchildren in ways mom and dad would not. Grandpa might have been a bit gruff, but his grandchildren knew his arthritis was acting up, and he loved them even if he couldn’t run and toss a ball like dad. Had reverse mortgages existed back then, our grandparents probably wouldn’t have known what to do with them.

Welcome to the third millennium. Lillian, age 83, sports fuchsia-streaked hair and a dry wit. After lovingly nursing her husband through a long illness, followed by a grieving period, she’s now so busy she doesn’t have a lot of time to chat.

She’s creating charcoal portraits of the hospice staff that cared for her beloved during his final weeks. (Lillian only discovered her artistic talent at 70, when she enrolled with her daughter in an art class). She also tutors several high school students, and participates in a discussion group at the local college. She often eats meals out because she hasn’t time to shop, cook, and keep up with all her activities. Fortunately, she has the financial freedom to enjoy her unorthodox lifestyle, unfettered my monetary concerns.

Lillian is by no means unusual among today’s dynamic elders. (See previous post, Marketing to the Mature Home Owner / Part 2 . Though some seniors may still live as our grandparents did fifty years ago, many more are coming into their own late in life, taking up hobbies they’ve just discovered, like Lillian, or those laid aside while raising a family and working long hours. The calendar may call them “old,” but they’re still giving younger folks a run for their money, pun intended.

The best way to reach these reverse mortgage prospects? Remember that people don’t usually change dramatically just because they age; they simply become more of who they’ve always been. So in marketing reverse mortgages to 70-plus homeowners, appeal to their independence and interests, engage their intelligence, and you’ll be rewarded with a concomitant interest in reverse mortgages — and some wonderfully unique new clients.

 

Boomers Rock with a guitar, not a chair

Reverse Mortgage Marketing to the Mature Home Owner

Marketing to the Mature Home Owner / Part 2:
If They Rock, It’s With a Guitar!

A business magazine recently ran this “humorous” column: “Middle-Age Texting Codes”. The list included such abbreviations as ATD (“At the doctor”), BFF (“Best friend fell”), BYOT (“Bring your own teeth”) and FWIW (“Forgot where I was”).

It’s doubtful these acronyms would amuse many people in their eighties, let alone someone who considers him- or herself middle aged. President Obama celebrated his mid-century birthday last month, and while he loves his BlackBerry, it’s unlikely he’ll be texting any of the above messages any time soon.
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The eldest of the approximately 79 million Baby Boomers reach retirement age this year, at the rate of about four million per year. For reverse mortgage professionals marketing to active adults 57-65 years of age — early Boomers who are planning work and lifestyle changes — respect is the keynote that will win their attention, and ultimately, their interest in qualifying for a reverse mortgage. As noted in the first post in this series, Marketing to the Mature Home Owner / Part 1, nobody becomes “old” overnight simply because they celebrate a birthday.

From the Baby Boom generation onward, the new American senior might best be defined by the Dylan Thomas poem, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”. They will forever consider themselves youthful, and as such, the marketing mindset that worked with previous generations must be modified if it is to succeed.

Younger seniors (many of whom prefer terms such as “mature” or “older adult”) will be interested in quotes for a reverse mortgage, not because they want to rock on the front porch (unless it’s with a guitar), but possibly because:

  • They’re planning to help put kids (or grandkids) through college
  • They need to care for an elderly parent (these days it’s not uncommon for two generations to be “seniors” simultaneously)
  • They want to travel
  • They’re considering surgery — plastic surgery, to look as good as they feel

To make the second half golden for both your “younger” reverse mortgage prospects and your business, focus on how you can help these elders fulfill the next great adventure in their lives. That’s the spirit that will win their trust, because while denial may not be a river in Egypt, it flows through the fecund minds of the newly minted senior set.

Not saying anything is often times doing harm to clients

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Does the doctor really know what’s best?

What if you went to the doctor and they didn’t know about a life-saving treatment that had been used for 20 plus years and you left becoming worse? That’s similar to the situation many retirees find themselves in when meeting with financial planners who either don’t know about, or misunderstand reverse mortgages. It is a potential solution that should always be considered and presented for the client (patient) to choose.

We look at the changing perspective of financial professionals and the need for our industry to spearhead an effort to educate the financial community at large about the uses and functions of a reverse mortgage.

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Remembrance: What makes us strong. Friday’s Food for Thought

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During this week of remembrance here are some things to remember that have made the reverse mortgage industry stronger:

  • We’re not selling loans, but changing lives
  • Our industry has improved consumer education, product choices, and costs
  • 4 million plus Baby Boomers will reach retirement age each year
  • We are getting traction in the mainstream media
  • Investors and the secondary markets support our product
  • We will remain as a long-term solution for years to come.

Reverse Mortgage Industry