To The Editor:

Reverse mortgages may be a necessary tool for many elderly homeowners and can be a way for people to remain in their homes longer, address health care and remedy insufficient savings for a longer than expected retirement. But they are also a very expensive way to tap equity that should probably only be used in cases of real necessity.

For that reason, and because the recent crash in the housing market has highlighted the need for better financial education around mortgage borrowing (and lending!), required counseling is a needed safeguard for reverse mortgage borrowing. This is particularly true for elders, some of whom may be dealing with pressure from family members, health issues and even cognitive decline.

Although the impending retirement of the baby boomers, many of whom have insufficient savings, represents a huge new potential market for Reverse Mortgage lenders, that to me is all the more reason to proceed slowly and cautiously into this new field. There is a high potential for fraud, abuse and manipulation to occur in this market.

Andrew Baker
Executive Director
Hilltown Community Development Corporation