reversemortgages

The reverse mortgage was invented to help seniors facing economic hardship access the equity in their homes. But these loan products are complicated, expensive and ripe for abuse, which lead a reader named Fred to ask DailyFinance's Laura Rowley for some advice. Here's what she told him:

More than 8,000 Baby Boomers are turning 60 each day, and many have made serious miscalculations about what they'll need in retirement. So Elder advocate Marion Somers, Ph.D., is crisscrossing the country again to spread the word: "This country is going to be hit with a geriatric tsunami and we are not prepared."

The two biggest banks in the reverse mortgage business are getting out of it. Now, Bank of America and Wells Fargo accounted for less than half of the reverse mortgages in America, and other lenders are still writing them. But seniors in financial trouble should explore theses alternative ways to stay in their homes.

Seniors, whose home values have taken a particularly bad beating in the recession, take note: Light may peeking through the end of the tunnel. After remaining flat or declining for seven consecutive quarters, older Americans' average home values stopped sliding late last year, according to data...

Bad actors have solidly shifted their attention to reverse mortgages, causing a top consumer organization to warn seniors to choose such loans carefully. A new report by the National Consumer Law Center likens the aggressive lending practices in today's reverse mortgage lending to those common in...

My mother-in-law is divorced, newly retired and wants to enjoy her Golden Years. Because she just turned 62 and owns her house, she considered a reverse mortgage to turn her home equity into a steady income stream every month. But after I gave her the highlights of a new report from the National...

The FBI is warning senior citizens to protect themselves with reverse mortgage deals on the sharp increase and the number of scams increasing along with them. Since 1999, reverse mortgages have increased by 1,300%, the FBI said. Reverse mortgages, also called Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, are...

A piece in the Sunday New York Times looks at the soaring popularity of reverse mortgages: As the United States has become an older nation, reverse mortgages have grown into a $20-billion-a-year industry, with elderly homeowners taking out more than 132,000 such loans in 2007, an increase of more...