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When I sit down with a homeowner that is considering a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM - the FHA-sponsored version of the reverse mortgage loan), there are two questions I ask early. I don’t ask these questions as a formality or to simply 'check a box;' if anything, it's a reality check on important planning: 1. Do you have a Trust or Estate Plan? 2. What’s your plan for Long Term Care? If either answer is “I think so,” “not yet,” or “we’ll figure it out when we need to

Most conversations about reverse mortgage loans start with opinions.  They should start with facts. Below is a numbers-first breakdown of a HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) , the FHA-insured reverse mortgage loan, so homeowners, families, and advisors can evaluate it with clarity instead of assumptions. $0: Payments required for the life of the loan No principal or interest payments are required while the borrower lives in the home and meets loan responsibilities. The b

If you asked most homeowners to describe a reverse mortgage loan, you’d probably hear something like this: “It’s a last resort.” “It’s for people who ran out of money.” “It’s something you do when there are no other choices left.” That reputation didn’t come from nowhere. Early versions of the product were clunky, poorly explained, and often introduced far too late in the conversation. But that reputation has quietly stuck long after the product itself evolved. And today, tha

I get asked a fair question more often than you might think: “Why do you go so deep on this stuff?” Reverse mortgages are not simple products. They sit at the intersection of housing, taxes, healthcare, family dynamics, estate planning, and human emotion. If I’m going to help someone make a decision that could affect the rest of their life, their spouse, or their kids, “good enough” preparation doesn’t cut it. So here’s what my preparation actually looks like. I research how

I spend a lot of time teaching. I host workshops for homeowners age 62+, present continuing education sessions for financial advisors, and partner with professionals who serve the senior community. One of the best parts of that work is hearing the questions people ask when they slow down enough to ask poignant questions. At a CE session last week, an advisor posed what I think is a genuinely great question: “If a client owns a $1,000,000 home free and clear, has ample assets

When long-term care shows up, families either already have a plan in place or are forced to make one under pressure. Most families don’t avoid planning for long-term care because they don’t care. They avoid it because everything feels fine right now. The house is paid off, retirement income is working, and life has found a nice rhythm. This plan, this muted strategy, quietly defaults to one option: we’ll deal with it later ... if we have to. But long-term care rarely arrives

A better starting point for couples approaching or living in retirement. Most retirement conversations start in the same place. Returns. Rates. Projections. Charts that look great on paper. That makes sense; You have to start somewhere when you’re planning decades in advance. But as retirement gets closer, or officially begins, reality shows up - usually without an appointment or a heads up. We don’t live on spreadsheets. We live in real life. And real life has a way of expos

For decades, many homeowners were taught one financial rule on repeat: Pay off the house. Never touch the equity. Save it for later. Then retirement shows up…and “later”... is now. Reverse mortgage loans didn’t start as a sophisticated planning tool; they were designed to act as a backstop. But over time, they’ve quietly become a way to add flexibility, create options, and reduce pressure when retirement doesn’t unfold exactly as planned - or when your plans change in retirem

I had coffee with a mentor, Mike, last week. During our conversation, Mike said something that immediately caught my attention: “How do you say yes to something new when you’ve spent the last 60 or 70 years practicing no?” He said this as he and I were reminiscing about a cool, red Mercedes convertible he used to own. We chuckled at the memory of his 6’5” frame barely ducking behind the windshield, and eventually, to how much he missed the experience of driving that car. His

Metallica has a way of telling the truth without sugar-coating it. In the song ‘No Leaf Clover’, lead singer James Hetfield hollers: “Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel Was just a freight train comin’ your way.” Most of us have lived that line. You think you’re finally catching a break, a calm week, a solved problem, a season of life that feels lighter, and then life hits you with something loud, unexpected, and fully committed to running yo

Most people think they need more time. More time to get organized. More time before they start taking their health seriously. More time before they make a decision they already know is sitting in front of them. Seneca, a philosopher and statesman in Ancient Rome, didn’t buy it. He wrote, “Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day… The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day

I journal almost every morning; it’s my cadence to the row of life. At the end of each journaling session, I ask myself a simple question: ‘Can I live in the Green R today?’ What is the Green R? The Green R is to Respond, with equanimity, to anything and everything that will come my way. The Green R is the opposite of the Red R, for the Red R is to React, often with judgement and scarcity.   Most conversations about reverse mortgage loans don’t start with numbers.They start w

For many homeowners, the question isn’t whether to tap into home equity - it’s how to do it wisely. Two common options are a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), also known as the FHA-insured reverse mortgage loan, and a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). While they may sound similar, the way they function - and the role they play in retirement planning - is very different. 1. Repayment Obligations Reverse Mortgage Loan (HECM): With a reverse mortgage loan, no monthly pri

Retirement — or the years leading up to it — can feel like a tug-of-war between what you can control and what you can’t. Markets fluctuate. Health changes. Family needs evolve. But peace doesn’t come from controlling everything; it comes from knowing where your control truly lives — and living there intentionally. Here are ten things no algorithm, economy, or news cycle can take from you. Your Sense of Awe Pause when something beautiful interrupts you — morning light through

Financial advisors often face the same challenge with clients: they see the long-term benefits of a Roth IRA conversion but hesitate when it comes to paying the tax bill. Using retirement assets to cover conversion taxes can create ripple effects - from triggering higher taxable income to forcing sales during down markets. There is another way to create liquidity: the reverse mortgage loan. While often misunderstood, this tool can give clients age 62 and older more flexibilit

For a lot of retirees, a primary concern is about how much they can spend. But what often matters more is when they spend it. It’s the classic sequence-of-return problem: when markets fall early in retirement, withdrawals can lock in losses from which the portfolio never recovers. Here’s where the reverse mortgage loan enters the picture; not as a last resort, but as a strategic buffer that can protect investments when they’re most vulnerable. Same Returns, Different Results.

When people reach out to talk about a reverse mortgage, the conversation almost never starts with numbers. It starts with life; with stories, worries, and what-ifs. And that’s exactly where I like to begin. Every homeowner I meet has a unique story that deserves the time, attention, and honesty to be fully heard. The product is always secondary. Plus, I love a great story — learning what excites someone, what makes them nervous, and which moments they’ll cherish forever. This

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