The first part of a two-part article published in the McComb Daily out of McComb County, Michigan, aims to refute the arguments of reverse mortgage critics by citing a National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association study, released earlier this year.

“Reverse mortgages have been the target of a lot of bad publicity of late, much of it concluding that such loans are dangerous, expensive and generally poor choices,” the article begins. “But new research shows that the folks who have used the loans to tap into the equity they have in their homes are overwhelmingly happy with their decisions.”

Citing responses in the study regarding the happiness and satisfaction of those who have taken reverse mortgage loans, the article says those seniors have given the product “exceptionally high” marks.

Among other survey findings included in the article: Nine of 10 current reverse-mortgage borrowers said they were not pressured to take out the loan; 75% said they understood what they were doing either “well” or “very well,” and 77% received professional counseling before deciding to move forward with a reverse mortgage. Among that latter group, 86 percent found the counseling useful. (The article also states that reverse mortgage counseling is required by a federal mandate.)

In refuting the critique that seniors who take out reverse mortgages will not be able to leave their family homes to their offspring when they die, the article points to a study finding that less than half still live in the same place where they raised their kids and that most seniors don’t care about bequeathing their homes to their children.

Because the study was sponsored by NRMLA, the article says, the results may be slightly tainted, however, an analyst with survey experience is quoted as saying that seldom do respondents give a topic or product such a strong vote of confidence.

View the entire article.

Written by Elizabeth Ecker