Mid-February, I posted about a 91-year old widow who was losing her home to foreclosure simply because her husband died. What happened is that the loan officer who did their reverse mortgage (a program that enables seniors to take cash out of their home equity) wrote the loan in the husband’s name only. Mr. and Mrs. Ogle didn’t understand what was happening, because there was paperwork for each of them to sign. They didn’t understand the consequences. When a reverse mortgage is written in only one spouse’s name, if that spouse dies, the survivor no longer owns the home.
Why would anyone do that? Some loan officers set up the loan for the oldest person so they can get more cash out. In the case of the Ogles, Jeanette didn’t understand that she was signing away the home she had and her husband had paid for and lived in together…
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Oregon Real Estate Round Table 
Thank you, Fred. People need to read the fine print in their mortgage documents. Too many “sign and date here” without understanding what they’re signing. Even still, there is no excuse to take advantage of the elderly. Loan officers need to explain the options and the consequences of the options.
It is important that people work with highly qualified Mortgage Brokers and lenders when they are obtaining a reverse mortgage. There are more brokers getting into this area of lending every week and most are not qualified to offer this product.