Many senior borrowers who start looking into reverse mortgages are not aware of it, but there is a fixed rate Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) available. The HECM or Heck-um as you may hear it called, is the government insured reverse mortgage program offered by lenders and insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Many senior borrowers prefer the security of the government insured reverse mortgages but up until very recently, the only reverse mortgages available were adjustable rate mortgages.

Have you been considering a reverse mortgage but are just afraid of some of the negative things you've heard? There are some negative myths that senior borrowers have heard about this type of financing that simply aren't true and we're going to expose some of those here.

Myth #1 The Lender gets my house. This is not true. You own your home and the lender records a lien, just like a forward mortgage.

I received a call from the son and daughter of a senior borrower today and they wanted to know if their mother could refinance her reverse mortgage loan. I answered them honestly that yes, she could, but had to ask why was she thinking about refinancing.

The reason I asked for the borrower's motivation was because I had a borrower call just a week before and ask if he could refinance because he was receiving a payment and he wanted to change to a line of credit.

I was asked to give a speech to a group in Boise, ID about how seniors can stay in their homes by using a reverse mortgage. This was an easy one for me because I had helped my mother do this very thing. She didn't need as much help as some of the other seniors I have spoken with who worked with companies who specialize in home remodeling for seniors.

Since first offering reverse mortgages, I've often been asked, How do I/we know if a reverse mortgage is right for me/us? This is a question that has a different answer for different people. I always start with the same first response, The first thing I would recommend is that you seek the guidance of a qualified financial advisor. After having given that advice, I am only too happy to go through the circumstances for the individual borrowers and give them their options.

I have seen a lot of good that Reverse Mortgages have done for senior borrowers. I've seen them change lives and living situations for the better. I've seen people come out of foreclosure with a reverse mortgage and never have to make another mortgage payment. But is there a time when a reverse mortgage is NOT right? Honestly, yes.

There are a few examples I can think of off the top of my head for which I would advise a senior borrower not to get a reverse mortgage.

A Reverse Mortgage is a national program which typically is offered to homeowners 62 years and older but some private programs have recently been opened to borrowers down to 59 1/2 years old which allows the homeowner access to their equity in the form of cash, monthly income to the homeowner, or a combination of both with the homeowner never making another loan payment for life.

Reverse Mortgages are not short term, hard money, bridge or balloon loans normally associated with the type of loans people are forced to get to stop a foreclosure proceeding. But for seniors aged 62 and over, a reverse mortgage can be a life-line that rescues the seniors in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. Many seniors are faced with rising living costs with which their fixed incomes do not keep pace.

You've made the decision to get a reverse mortgage and now you talk to a bank or mortgage broker and the representative is telling you that you have a choice of the Government Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or Heck-um) or a Jumbo or Proprietary Program. Is one better than the other? Is one more expensive? Is one more risky? Let's see if we can't cut through some of the fat and get to the meat of the issues.

As I talk to borrowers and their families, I'm often asked what restrictions there are on the use of the funds from a reverse mortgage. The answer is simple, there are no requirements or restrictions on what you can do with your money, only restrictions against what you must do with the proceeds.

In other words, no lender can grant you a reverse mortgage on the condition that you purchase annuities with the money or that you have a prior agreement with
someone that you must use your funds for any other type of investment.

There seems to be a new phenomenon in the mortgage world known as the reverse mortgage. The ads touting how they can improve quality of life are everywhere and if you're a homeowner, age 62 and over, you receive them in the mail almost daily. Then there are the articles warning that reverse mortgages may be the new mortgage rip off. So what's the truth about this financing vehicle? Is it a God-send for seniors, or something for which older homeowners need to be wary? It can actually be both, so it pays to understand the loan if you or a loved one are contemplating a reverse mortgage.