Reverse Mortgages Are An Egregious Scam. Seniors Were Set Up By GOP Policies For Decades.

[TheMastersNemesis]

All the GOP has done for seniors is fuck them economically over time. By replacing pensions and diminishing Social Security and Medicare with their schemes seniors have been set up for economic distress that ends up making the victims of scams. The reverse mortgage is really a shit program that takes advantage of economical distrusted seniors and robs their progeny. I see little value in what these products are selling. It depletes estates and enrich the rich and banks and shady lenders.

Many seniors would not be in the financial state they ware in had pension systems not been raided by corporations and big businesses. And they would not be in trouble had not the 401K been allowed to replace pension systems.

The late Senator Thompson and now Tom Select (who is a gun loving prick) are pushing this fraudulent crap. It just make you want to puke.

[area51]

1. And another reason why seniors get in a bad financial state,

is because of our for-profit healthcare system.

[proglib217]

28. All aspects of health care should be not-for-profit

This is the one sector of the economy that should be operated on a not-for-profit basis.

When you see advertisements for hospitals... HOSPITALS... in every MLB ball park, you know something is very, very wrong with the manner in which health care is delivered in the United States.

I could go on and on. This is a don't-get-me-started subject for me.

[True Blue American]

2. I never watched many

Of Tom Sellicks shows, but when I see him pushing reverse mortgages I despise him.

Funny, I never liked Fred Thompson,either. Hind sight or instinct? I can usually tell in a few minutes whether I will like a person,or not.

[airmid]

3. Those reverse mortgage commercials he is in freak me out. He's trying to be so sincere and he just

comes off as jackass trying to sell me bullshit wrapped up in a gold wrapper. "I trust them. And I think you should too," Yuck

[True Blue American]

8. As if Sellick would ever need one.

That is what bothers me the most.

Isn’t Alex from Jeopardy making them,too?

[airmid]

13. Yes....makes me sick. I used to love Jeopardy and Magnum P.I. when I was growing up.

Now these two just make me ill.

[True Blue American]

14. Pure greed

You think they are Republicans?

[True Dough]

15. Did you know about this?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11728356/How-Tom-Selleck-got-into-hot-water-over-avocados.html

[True Dough]

16. Ever read this story?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11728356/How-Tom-Selleck-got-into-hot-water-over-avocados.html

[airmid]

18. Ridiculous....Republicans values...smh

[True Blue American]

19. Yes, thank you

Last edited Mon Aug 27, 2018, 09:23 AM - Edit history (1)

But that would not bankrupt Tom of his millions. Just makes the fact more clear that Tom cheats.

Is Tom a Republican. And, doesn’t he still have a show on the air,plus his big dividends from his old shows.

[True Dough]

23. I posted it not as any defense for Selleck

Just as something further to consider in regards to his decision-making and ethical compass.

[True Blue American]

29. I know you did

And appreciate your post.. i am just so upset with Celebrities many admire.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

35. Selleck is a Republican AFAIK

which seems sort of surprising but there are some fairly well-regarded actors whom are nevertheless Republican. Go figure. Wealth maybe?

[joshcryer]

4. They're sold as retirement plans where you live out the rest of your life.

Instead they're fast tracks to the nursing home where once fully capable adults wind up invalid, when every single piece of academic research has shown elders fare better in their own home environment and cost less for health care. It's theft of the highest order, preying on the weakest individuals in society.

[dembotoz]

5. Home care tends to include family involved care

Instead we tend to just stick grandmother in a home.
It is easier

[joshcryer]

7. People hate facing death.

So they throw their parents or grandparents in a home and visit them once a week or a month. Outta sight, outta mind. Most elderly people can live quite happily with only a minimum of assistance well until their late stages of life. And most children can spend the tiny bit of time it is required every day to drive by and take out their garbage and wash the dishes and do small things for them an hour or so a day, maybe do meal prep, buying groceries, etc. Oh, and they wouldn't mind having their assets, selling them off in auction, etc, for their "care."

The hatred for the elderly in our society sickens me. And we see it even in our elder politicians who have everything as far as health care is concerned, talking about the elders needing help. Hey, 80 y/o politician, you'd need help too if your health care wasn't 100% covered and you weren't getting $200k a year.

[Merlot]

62. No, "most children" can't, and it is much more than a "tiny bit" of time

My pet sitter spends about that much time with the animals. You really think someone can take care of human in 1 hour a day? That's not realistic when people are older. If they are to old to take out the trash for themselves, there is a lot more they can't do. Most home care people spend about 4 hours or more.

As for adults who have their own family, a full time job, and kids, yes an hour a day is hard to find.

I don't see it as hatred for the elderly so much people who don't have enough time or money to take care of their family the way they would like to. It's part of the bigger picture of stagnant wages, rising expenses, insurance premiums and more all going up.

[joshcryer]

63. I'm talking about able minded adults capable of moving around.

Obviously there are many cases where what I am saying doesn't apply.

It's actually cheaper, in the long run, to be there for the ailing and elderly. It's just inconvenient. That opportunity cost of that hour a day with the family member is far cheaper than paying a home to do far more (and thereby causing the ailing elder to be more and more in decline, if they're not getting up, opening the blinds, feeding their pets, watering their plants, etc, they're just wasting away).

[DeminPennswoods]

21. It's harder than you think

It's going to get harder as many people have far less family today than 80-100 years ago. Families don't stay in the same area as before either.

[Adrahil]

25. Yeah....

My parents are dead, but my wife's parents live half way across the country.

[Major Nikon]

34. ...and housewives are a thing of the past

[dembotoz]

41. i know how hard it is. cared for my mom a goodly number of years

she was in good shape until close to the end.
i just did the shopping, doctor visits, most the housework etc.
never had to bathe her or dress her.....

so i had it good

[shanti]

45. You were lucky

My brother does all of the things you mentioned, except bathe and dress my mother, 86. She was a former RN, but now has dementia and refuses to bathe, shampoo, or wear clean clothes, so we had to bring in a female home health aide. Some things, a guy just can't do for his mother. Mother insists on aging in place, so there will be no nursing home for her (and we couldn't afford it anyway).

[dembotoz]

61. My heart goes out to you

[shanti]

66. Thank you

[True Blue American]

10. Many Seniors prefer to live in their own homes, function very well.

I have had remodeling done on my house this year. New second story sun deck to replace the old sun room. Shutters and trim replaced. Waiting to get flower beds refurbished. Lawn care.

Several times I have been asked if I am getting ready to sell. My answer? “No, I am still enjoying keeping my house up.”

It is cheaper than a Retirement home and everything I need is in a 2 mile circle. Small town with caring people. Y is close for my water exercise.

I hate retirement Centers.

[BigmanPigman]

6. The GOP's goal is to bankrupt and kill us,

when you are ill and can't afford healthcare they get to do both at once...oh goodie.

[True Blue American]

11. If you have to go into a Nursing home

Your money is soon gone, no matter how comfortable you are.

[BigmanPigman]

44. Yep, I tried to explain that to my grandmother

but she refused to believe me and then she got dementia and she lost everything. My cousin expected to inherit money, even after I explained how it works. My dad took care of his parents so that is how I knew what happens.

[True Blue American]

48. I have watched it happen to many..

None in my family so far, but who knows the future?

[Sherman A1]

9. Precisely

They are nothing but a plan to squeeze more money out of folks that simply don't have anymore.

I simply turn the channel or walk out of the room when they come on (not that I watch a lot of TV anymore). If it isn't an ad for a drug I never knew I needed or some BS like Reverse Mortgages, it's one for a Wheelchair lift or Medicare enrollment.

I prefer my time to be filled with something more productive.

[True Blue American]

12. Amen!

Funny for you.

At Church yesterday I was talking with a young woman who handles Church business. We were talking about being on the call list where they let you know if there is a change. She offered to put me on the list. I changed Churches about a year ago because of the political rhetoric.

I then asked if they had a Prayer Chain. She said yes, but that is on email. I said fine,put me on.! I know she meant well, but she thought older people do not use the computer!

[Vinca]

17. The way they're pimped on television made them immediately suspect.

If I get to the point of needing the money, I'll just sell the house. I'm also suspicious of the insurance companies that target veterans. You can't trust anything anymore.

[True Blue American]

20. I do know

People have been scammed into losing their houses when the Companies change hands.

Same with retirement Centers. You give them the proceeds of your house. When that runs out they move you upinto a smaller place,put you on Medicaid.

This has happened to a few I know.

[DeminPennswoods]

22. Never fail to notice the irony of

rightwinger Tom Sellek promoting this product.

[whistler162]

65. Took over for Fred Thompson

[NCTraveler]

24. They are a tool that is extremely beneficial to a small segment of society.

They are advertised and sold to a much larger segment of society. They are harmful to every segments outside of a select few.

[tonyt53]

26. As a senior citizen myself, I see those commercials and it makes me cringe.

Sell the damned house yourself and move into a smaller place. Take the profit from the larger house and use that cash if you need it.

On a related, but separate theme, children should always be somewhat aware of the financial situations of their elderly parents. Check out what they are eating. Listen to their words for hints of being financially strained. Open their cabinets, refrigerator and freezer to see what kind of food they have. Sneak a peak at their mail. Ask about their life insurance - they are advertising buyers of life insurance just as much as those reverse mortgages. These are small things but when taken care off before they become an issue will make their lives, and most likely yours, easier.

[True Blue American]

30. My family lives about 40 miles away.

They know I can run my own railroad so far, but they also have my permission to act if they need to.

Keep a close eye, do some things they do not think I should be doing.

I did the same for my parents.

[RhodeIslandOne]

27. James Garner did them too

Which was disappointing.

[MaryMagdaline]

31. Question to real estate people and financial planners

If the reverse mortgages keep you in your home, what is the downside, other than family doesnt inherit? If you happen to live long, you have a roof over your head. It’s a gamble because we don’t know when we will die. If I know I’m going to die in 10 years I know I can live on what cash I have and even pay for home health aids. If I live 20 years or more, I’m going to be in a tight spot.

[ScratchCat]

33. There is no other downside

Most people call these "scams" because they are the family member who stands to inherit a home with a lien. The only part many don't understand is that you don't get that much money in most cases. If your house is worth $200K, you might get $75,000 best case.

If you are over 65, own a home outright - don't want to move and don't have heirs you care about - they are fine. If your mother takes out a reverse mortgage on a home you thought you were going to inherit, then it probably doesn't sound like a good deal to you because you will have to satisfy the lien.

[MaryMagdaline]

38. Thank you

Seems there is a conflict between the parent’s needs and the adult child’s needs.

[Johnny2X2X]

40. Inherited wealth is a luxury for the rich

The terms of reverse mortgages are often awful and it's a way to snag the last bit of acquired wealth a working person might have accrued in their lives. And that's the best case, the worst case is that they take your home from you. The lender can foreclose on your home if you miss tax payments.

And you're allowed to tap into 40% of your home value and pay up to 2% in origination fees and then you pay interest. So if your home is worth $200K, you can take out $80K, but that will be more like $75K after fees. And what people miss is that the supposed equity they think they still have, $120K right, is not there. You owe the balance of the life of the loan, here's the math:

Home Value: $200,000
Reverse Mortgage: $80,000 (lump sum)
Interest Rate: 5.7%
Age at Time of Loan: 62
Term: 25 years
Total Interest Accumulated: $119,000
Total Owed at Death: $319,863

When you die, you still owe all of the interest on your 25 year reverse mortgage, you just lost 100% of your house.

Stay away from reverse mortgages, period.

[Kaleva]

42. How does any of that hurt the senior homeowner?

[Johnny2X2X]

43. They lose their home much easier

Miss taxes and they foreclose. Need repair? No equity to fix anything. People are literally losing their homes due to Reverse Mortgages and being forced into assisted living. You're basically giving away your net worth and the security it provides you with a reverse mortgage.

[True Blue American]

49. What gets me

Is,they make it look like found money, as if you are not spending your own equity in your house.

[Johnny2X2X]

53. Yes.

A reverse mortgage is just another way of saying refinancing your paid for home. It’s a disaster for too many people.

[Yupster]

58. Does it lock in the value of the home?

That could be a downside as it might be sold five years later for 30 % more.

On the other hand, it is cash in someone's hand if they need it to stay in their home. It's cash to pay a homecare worker to come in a few hours a day so you don't have to go into an assisted living place.

I'm not against them. They have their place. Most of the people against them are worried about their inheritance going to a bank.

[shanti]

46. I know of someone

who got a reverse mortgage, but he was an only child, and has no children or family himself. I guess it makes sense for some people.

[MiniMe]

32. Between reverse mortgages and 401K's, they are bleeding the seniors dry

Thanks a lot Ray-gun, I was never covered by a pension plan because of 401K's. And almost no company does pensions any more

[Yupster]

36. Because pensions don't make any sense for companies

Why would a company want to have a department to send checks to people it hasn't seen in 20 years?

They need people to handle marriages, divorces, address changes, estates. Why should they? The person leaves, they shake their hand and give them their 401k money and it's over.

That's just a better deal for the company and the company picks the retirement plan that's best for them, not their workers.

[ProfessorGAC]

37. Those Were Almost All Outsourced Anyway

My dad was a teamster. He didn't get his pension checks from the company, nor the teamsters.

When the dairy closed he worked for a car dealer, and eventually directly for Buick. That small pension didn't come from GM.

Both came from a pension fund managment company.

Don't know that this is universal, just that it's NOT universal that companies took care of paying out their own pension plans.

[True Blue American]

50. Large companies

Used to have Pension funds set up, and reported every year.

But many companies went bankrupt. Mitt Romney made his fortune by buying companies that were hurting, draining the pension funds and then closing the plant.

He did that to DELPHI, paying pennies on the dollar, refusing to deal in the bankruptcy. Those White Collar workers lost. They were still fighting to get their pensions last I heard. Union members had a contract.

Romney was and is a Corporate Raider.

[True Blue American]

51. But the company

Had to pay into that fund. Was he in the Teamsters Union?

[ProfessorGAC]

60. Yes, But...

...not sure you understood what I was saying.
He worked for Beatrice Foods Corp. Was in the union. His pension came from neither entity
As to the GM piece, the checks came from Chase.
I am getting a pension beginning in January. Hartford is the fund manager
I know the company paid in, but the post to which I replied referenced a company cutting a check to someone they haven't seen in 20 years
I was challenging that companies needed a department to address pension payouts
As to funding, there is only way to view that. The company pays in.

[Adrahil]

39. The days of pensions are really gone...

Very few people work for the same company for 30 years now.

Most people will work for 4-5 companies. Company-provided pensions just don;t make sense anymore. Not to mention, most pension schemes are based of a fairly rapidly expanding workforce where retired workers are supported by a LOT of younger workers, and only for a few years, really. Retired folks are living a lot longer, and the workforce isn't expanding like it did. If a defined benefit-style pension is desired, we really need to coordinate that through a revamped social security.

I know I am very happy with my 401K plan. Meanwhile, all my buddies that went to work for companies with pension plans are getting pennies on the dollar buy-outs as their companies go through bankruptcies.

[shanti]

47. It's still possible to get a pension

Government work (fed, state, county, etc.) will still provide one.

[Adrahil]

52. Yes, but....

I was a Federal employee for 20 years. I will get a Federal pension when I retire. I also have my Thrift Savings Plan (similar to a 401K). BUT, the Federal government doesn't have to make a profit. Also, Federal work is more stable in general.

But I wouldn't take a defined benefit plan on a bet these days. No way it survives until retirement.

Give me a defined contribution and do the best I can with it myself, please.

[shanti]

54. Respectfully disagree

I was a state employee for 21 years, retired at 55, and have a good pension. I have no 401k, but since I paid SS taxes all those years on my income, I also get a SS check, so it balances out for me. SS doesn't give me all of what I am entitled to (windfall offset), but it provides a livable income for just me, in an expensive state. I encouraged all of my sons to work for the government. My oldest is with the DOD, and my youngest is planning to apply with the State next year. This is California, though, and I wouldn't say it's a blanket statement for all of the states. Choosing the state as my employer was the best financial decision I ever made, bar none.

But a corporate pension? No freaking way.

[Yupster]

57. There will be a day though

when the taxpayers who don't get pensions will ask why they are paying taxes so public servants can get a benefit that they themselves don't get.

[shanti]

67. They already do

and have been for awhile. Trolls abound when talking about crushing unions, the only ones sticking up for pensions now.

[Adrahil]

59. We actually DO agree.

I love that I am getting a Fedeal pension when I retire. I know it is secure. But in the private sector? No way. Give me an account I own that they cannot raid. That is assuming we don't do the right thing and implement a real national pension (better than SS).

[Lobo27]

55. Almost got my dad, til we stepped in, my brothers and I

the it's still your house part is very intoxicating.

[liberal N proud]

56. They are just another method to squeeze every dollar from peoples pockets.

[milestogo]

64. Its Tom Selleck

and yes, he is a gun loving Republican asshole.