I always knew it was a good idea for a salesman to take a customer-centric point of view. Well, after 32 years in the mortgage business (the second half of which was spent selling reverses), I am doing exactly that. I finally qualify for a reverse mortgage. Now I understand what my clients are going through.

Now that my clients are also my peers, I find I am much more interested in learning what they are currently doing if they are now retired. Since I am approaching retirement myself, I want to get ideas of how to spend that time—or, in some cases, how not to spend that time.

I am also up to speed on how Social Security works, so I understand how it might factor into my clients’ overall financial picture. I have Medicare now, so I can relate on that front as well. (Boy, is that a huge savings from the plan we used to have. Listen to this: With Medicare and a supplemental health plan, I have 100 percent coverage, no co-pays to see a doctor and an annual deductible of approximately $150. The last year I had commercial coverage, my annual deductible was $8,000. Oh, and I almost forgot, with my supplemental Medicare plan, I get a free gym membership—hot cha cha!)

Now that I am of qualifying age, I’ve learned that folks who are between 62 and 65 years old are in a tough place. They don’t yet qualify for Medicare and so they have to figure out how to pay for health insurance. Can they keep working long enough to get coverage through work? And if they are not working any longer, which plan can they afford?

Another rub for the 62- to 66-year-olds is if they decide to take Social Security now, they receive less money. If they wait it out past age 66 for every year they delay, their monthly payment will grow 8 percent. So waiting to age 70 will get them about one-third more money.

But that’s not all. There are physical limitations that come along with this age milestone. I understand how it feels to have arthritis in different parts of my body and not be able to do all of the physical things I used to be able to do. I used to love working in my garden, but now it’s not worth the backache. My hearing and vision aren’t what they used to be either.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking for sympathy; life is pretty darn good. It’s just that it’s different and I’m different. Here’s something else: I am contemplating what I want to do with the last chapter of my life. I started taking piano lessons to learn jazz, blues and rock and I joined a standup comedy class because it seemed like a fun thing to try to do.

Oh, and this is big. My wife and I are traveling to places all over the world. We always wanted to go, but family obligations, work and a million other things kept us from going. Now we have gone to Europe and Asia, and have visited some beautiful places right here in the United States.

In summary, I’ve learned that at this stage in life, perhaps it’s good to branch out and try new things, something I wouldn’t have guessed from the other side of my 60s.

What about your clients? Let me tell you, they are not some alien beings that walk the earth. They are real live people who have had a long life with many experiences. They might not be ready to sign up for a reverse mortgage today, but it might be worthwhile to explore some different scenarios with them to show how the product could work for them in the future.

Ask questions about their plans and find out about their family. Will they be staying put or are they planning to move? Do they get along with their kids and can they rely on them? What do they plan to do or what are they doing with their time if they are retired? What did they always want to do when they were younger, but never got around to doing?

I also ask questions about their estate plans. Do they have a will or a trust in place? How about a health care directive and a durable power of attorney? If not, why not? I discuss the benefit of trying to get this all down on paper today, so that tomorrow can run a lot smoother when they hit a few more bumps in the road. Those few bumps are a matter of “when,” not “if.”

I don’t try to sell folks on the product; I just want to see if it makes sense for them in any meaningful way. After all, I’m not ready for it today and they might not be either. I just need to understand their lives better to know if it’s the right choice for them now or later.

Go ahead and put yourself in their shoes. If you are lucky, you might just get there yourself someday.