Getting a Reverse Mortgage, but Not From a Celebrity
By
Fred Schindler used his reverse mortgage to pay off the last bit of his original mortgage on his condo and to open a line of credit. CreditJeff Swensen for The New York Times
PITTSBURGH — If you don’t have a reverse mortgage and don’t know anyone who does, your familiarity with the product probably comes from television commercials. There, often late at night, Pat Boone and Henry Winkler have peddled them with great sincerity.
Sound sketchy? The loans, which allow people age 62 and older to pull some of the money from their home equity without having to make any monthly payments on the debt, have a pockmarked history. Financial con artists have persuaded borrowers to put the proceeds in inappropriate investments, and some spouses who weren’t on the mortgage have lost their homes…
Getting a Reverse Mortgage, but Not From a Celebrity
