The reverse mortgage program really needs to remain strong and robust. It must include condos and co-ops and as many older Americans as possible. This means that the spot condo approval needs to remain in effect indefinitely. It also means that the co-op procedure must be comprehensible. Many fear that it will not be. This inscrutability will act as a de facto elimination of co-ops. The program must be void of further haircuts. Congress must provide any needed subsidies as long as the program remains in the MMIF.
The implementation of the HVCC must be indefinitely delayed. Failure to do so will result in misplaced incentives. Since the appraisal management companies will be focusing on the income side of the balance sheet, they will hire appraisers that will work for the least amount of money. This will result in appraisers doing appraisals on properties in unfamiliar areas. Appraised values will come in much lower. Is it not as gross a miscarriage of justice to use a low ball appraisal as it is to use a high ball appraisal? Using an appraisal for less than market value is the same as giving the senior another haircut. Wouldn’t you agree?
I am constrained to suggest that the atmosphere impugning aging issues is once again being influenced by the genre of prejudicial groups that see older Americans as the cause of a bloated federal budget. It is easy to point to the amount of uncertainty attached to retirement planning. One does not know exactly when one will pass away; one generally is not cognizant of future retirement needs; one does not know what the future state of one’s health will be; one does not know whether one will have adequately planned for the future, etc. The reverse mortgage is the answer to many of these questions. It allows seniors to remain in their homes. It allows folks to receive care in their homes. It puts money into the system. A reverse mortgage allows bills to be paid and things to be purchased. It also means that older Americans will not have to be institutionalized. This results in a great savings for both Medicaid and Medicare. And the loan does get paid back.
Requiring that all HUD decisions be imbued with a risk-management hue, will certainly adversely color the HUD/FHA decision making process against reverse mortgage borrowers. Accordingly, this new viewpoint will be pernicious to seniors all across America.
Whenever a change of focus is implemented, one forthrightly begins to see what one is looking for. Soon confirmation comes as one magically discovers the thing one is seeking. As a “risk –management” focus takes hold within the chain of command of the department, the enduring and abiding fundamentals of the program give way to a host of more appealing considerations. Bean counting becomes more important than the miracles produced by the program.
I wonder whether risk- management is just a euphemistic expression that significantly changes the way government sees and views older Americans? Those that have obtained reverse mortgages are indeed answering those voices that refer to older Americans as “Greedy Geezers” or “Greedy Grandparents”. Many in this country are attempting to stir the flames of internecine warfare between the older and younger generations.
I am reminded of the African Proverb that says: “The death of an old person is like the loss of a library.” The challenges of living longer are tremendous. Yet the scriptures provide more than a modicum of guidance. The Ten Commandments, Torah and New Testaments teach us to honor our parents, to treat our elders with deference and to care for them. Some in Washington on the other hand, see the caring for older Americans as a line item on some program’s budget. When bailing out corporate America, Washington conveniently forgot about a budget.
Thank you, Dennis. I hope the battle has not already been lost. I will try my best to continue to strike back at those who advocate even more regulation and those who paint us all as crooks and predators.
Posted by: Bob Irving | December 07, 2009 at 08:36 AM