Leave it to a witty journalist to get creative around Halloween by writing a story like Trick or treat: Reverse mortgages can be foreclosures in disguise.
TampaBay.com writer James Thorne writes that:
Right in time for Halloween comes a topic right out of the ghoul’s guide to mortgage lending: Reverse mortgages, which a growing number of Tampa Bay homeowners consider to be little better than foreclosures in disguise.
He writes about one couple who says that Robert Wagner is no longer their favorite celebrity pitch man, now that they have tapped tens of thousands of dollars to repair the roof and hook into city water from their reverse mortgage.
But it sounds like they’re more upset with their drop in home values (who isn’t?) but decide to blame Robert Wagner:
If real estate values had continued to rise, or even flattened, the Rushes wouldn’t curse their decision. But few reverse mortgage holders counted on the market meltdown.
What’s really frustrating is the last line:
Before you rush into a reverse mortgage let Melly Rush’s word echo through your cranium: “We don’t own our home anymore.”
After reading an article like this, it just makes me realize that we have such a LONG way to go on educating the public on reverse mortgages.
Trick or treat: Reverse mortgages can be "foreclosures in disguise"
