How reverse mortgages can hurt, rather than help, aging Philly homeowners

In a commercial hawking reverse mortgages, the TV actor doesn't tell people how they could get into trouble with the product, a special kind of loan that allows borrowers aged 62 and older to convert a portion of their home's equity into cash.

News Story (Pennsylvania)

Alfred Lubrano
Philadelphia Inquirer
August 20, 2018
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Tags: Housing: Mortgage

Organizations mentioned/involved: Community Legal Services (CLS) of Philadelphia


DETAILS

While some say reverse mortgages are useful because they allow the elderly to age in place, many others have recounted harrowing experiences  — including foreclosures — in Philadelphia, which until recently was the city with the highest rate of reverse mortgage originations in America. (Origination refers to the application and processing of a reverse mortgage.)

Some believe that reverse mortgage lenders have targeted minority homeowners in low-income neighborhoods with the zeal of predators.