The reverse mortgage industry has been under siege by respected magazines and Newspapers (Consumer Reports, CPA Journal, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc.) and by the National Consumer Law Center. The amazing fact is that the reverse mortgage program depicted in the articles does not resemble the actual program.
The continuing assault has become hardened, unprincipled and impertinent. It has been joined by feckless politicians who conveniently wish to ignore the real differences between a reverse mortgage and other types of loans. They want to give the impression that they are protecting those who are unable to protect themselves. The attack by such a diverse amalgam would appear to give gives credence that the program is flawed.
The articles, for example, tell partial stories that distort the facts and lead readers to believe that reverse mortgages are no different than sub-prime loans; the politicians are complicit and have jumped on this band wagon. No article has included the indispensible point that the program has an approval rating between 93% and 97%.
Peter Bell, President of NRMLA, has been a steady voice who has maintained that NRMLA has polled many state enforcement officials and not one could point to incidence to wide spread malfeasance specifically in reverse mortgage cases. The problem started when John Duggan, the Comptroller of the Currency, compared subprime mortgages to reverse mortgages. His comments first appeared in the WSJ. It then spread like wild fire throughout the media. As reported, the comments suggested that “reverse mortgages posed substantial risks that appear to mirror those already seen in the subprime arena”. Mr. Duggan has stated that his comments were taken out of context and has lauded the program. Yet his original comments keep appearing in articles.
While the disingenuous articles and reports are indeed troublesome, I do not expect them to stop anytime soon. There is a grave danger in misrepresenting the facts. An individual, who could benefit from the program, may decide not to move forward. They may have said “good-bye” to the one thing that could make a real difference in their life.
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true I agree to this discussion and the fact is we need to know the pros and cons of the matter before making a decision.
Posted by: mortgage loan San Antonio | November 25, 2009 at 08:20 AM