1. Do you really need a reverse mortgage?

Why are you interested in these loans? What would you do with the money you would get from one? Are the needs you intend to meet really worth the high total cost of these loans? If you want to take a dream vacation, a reverse mortgage is a very expensive way to pay for it. Investing the money from these loans is an especially bad idea, because the loan is highly likely to cost more than you could safely earn. If anyone is trying to sell you something and recommending you use a reverse mortgage to pay for it, that’s generally a good sign that you don’t need it and shouldn’t be buying it.

Charles Harper married his high-school sweetheart, Charlotte, 20 years after graduation. They had rekindled an old romance at a high school reunion.

The couple lived in a nice Mamaroneck, N.Y., townhouse and had good jobs. Things changed, though, one day in early 2001 when Charlotte was walking to work. She collapsed when an aneurysm burst in her brain stem, and a blood clot left her paralyzed on the left side.

As seniors see their 401K savings shrink and the value of their homes plummet, the prospect of taking out a reverse mortgage seems like an option that’s almost too good to be true.

Some experts call these loans dangerous; others say they can work for careful borrowers

Charles Harper says he wouldn’t know what to do without the extra help he gets in caring for his wife, Charlotte. An aide comes in weekday mornings. But that care could end July 1 if state funding is cut for senior respite care. Charles Harper married his high-school sweetheart, Charlotte, 20 years after graduation. They [...]