Any mortgage or financial product requires good faith on the part of the company and its representative when working with a potential client. Full disclosure and honesty are non-negotiable when working with homeowners. In addition, every reverse mortgage professional should be fully-informed of the common objections and misconceptions about the HECM.

Maureen Hughes is a real estate professional with Keller Williams in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Her recent column entitled “4 reasons to reconsider a reverse mortgage’ warrants further examination. Are the four concerns or risks she outlines fair and accurate? As Hughes states “…there are some serious issues to be aware of and discuss before you jump on the reverse mortgage bandwagon.”

Troublesome Terms & Interest Rates

Reverse mortgages continue to be maligned as ‘high interest rate’ loans. Such inaccurate statements only serve to strike fear in the hearts of older homeowners and unfairly associate HECMs with predatory lending. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hughes states, “Reverse mortgage interest rates and loan fees in general tend to be higher than standard home loans. Often, reverse mortgages are not able to be renegotiated, so being sure this type of mortgage is the absolute best choice for you and your family.” To be fair, reverse mortgage interest rates could be marginally …

Download the video transcript here.