American Advisors Group (AAG)

Aside from that, Jared was really good at answering all our questions. I tried to come up with as many of them as I could because I’ve heard both good and bad about reverse mortgages. In fact, I was talking to a friend the other day about it and I told her that we talked to our counselor like we were supposed to and he had no claim to any of this. He was just really good at walking me and my mom through the jargon and putting it into plain terms rather than just talking over us like some of them do so much. It felt like he was really on our side and that he was trying to do what was best for us and not just make money, which was a big selling point for my mom. We understand that they need to get something out of it, but the big sell was they wanted to help people to be able to stay in their homes.

I also liked that the rep gave us the three options for the fixed rate versus the variable interest rate. There are two types of variable interest rates and he was explaining the differences as well as what would be best for us. He didn’t try to push us into one or the other, and what he said would be best for us was the same thing that our counselor told us would be best for us. And that really made me feel good that he wasn’t trying to pull our leg. Other than that, our representative was very conscientious about what my mom’s going through. He was gonna call in one day and he called me first. Then, when I told him that she was having a really hard day, he was very understanding and just told me to let him know when he could call and talk to her.

I went online to AARP and asked them some questions about reverse mortgages and different companies. They gave a list of companies and they talked about the pros and cons of the reverse mortgage. AAG was one of the ones that they listed as being reputable. That, combined with the advertisement I saw on TV, made me think to call them and see. Then, I never went anywhere else simply because I was very pleased with them.

The appraiser is coming out next week and the appraisal makes a huge difference. I get tickled at Angelica because she keeps saying she thinks the house will appraise for a certain amount. I just laugh and say, "It won’t. You don’t know Bella Vista. Appraisers are notoriously lower than what most others would be.” And she'd laugh and say that we'd cross that bridge when we get to it, but we’d keep our hopes up and hope they give us the highest appraisal they can give.

Angelica's knowledge and her willingness to listen to my concerns and my questions impressed me. And if she wasn’t absolutely certain of an answer, she'd tell me that she would get back to me and she did. She’s also very personable, made me feel like I was an individual and listens very well, which is unusual nowadays. She was also able to allay my fears. If I do it, it's on me. I don’t ever want my children to be burdened financially with anything. I have no idea whether I’d use the money or not, but it gives me a feeling of comfort knowing that it’s there if I need it.

On top of that, Discover Bank decided that they had to pay off all of my creditors like my credit cards and my student loan. That was their choice, not mine, and so, I was gonna end up with $30,000 and that was it. I was gonna have to pay them $805 a month to pay them back. With AAG, after having talked to Antoinette, “I can pay if I want to, I don't have to” kind of a thing. And I've talked to my kids and decided that AAG is a much better way to go than the other one because with the other one, I'd be in the same boat I was in. How do I save up the money that I need to save up every month to pay the big bills like the taxes and the house insurance at the end of the year? I need to put so much away. If I'd be paying the Discover one, right now it's really great, but when it got down to the to the tax bill, I wouldn't have anything put away. This is why I'm hopefully finishing up with AAG.

AAG reps are awesome. If you call, they call you right back. I feel much better working with Antoinette, especially with the notary coming out for me to sign all of that stuff, and for an actual assessor to come out and actually look at the house and take pictures. And so, I told the Discover people I didn't wanna pursue it. AAG has gotten to the point where I've signed a bunch of documents in front of the notary and they've had the assessor come out. The assessor has to do their thing and get it back over to Antoinette and then we're into the closing. So, for less than a month, we've gone a long way.

George has been exemplar in what I ask him to pull off, and I give him what he needs almost immediately. I asked him what’s the best way to get this expedited and he said that since I have given everything they requested and filled out the application, it’s already on its way. The appraisal fees were also paid so, hopefully, we’re gonna have an appraisal made on October 1st. We also had the notary over here just the other day, and she was surprised that we had all our documentation ready for her.

I used to be a mortgage processor myself back in the day, and my wife worked 14 years at a title insurance company. And everything that we’re seeing with AAG is what should be done. I’ve seen companies drag their feet and they take their time so long. But ours is running as well as we can we expect. Also, George and I both agreed, how many times we’ve seen the final settlement go sideways, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid. Him and I go back and forth almost everyday, either by emails or by phone. I notice there’s a three-hour delay because he’s out in California and we’re here in the East Coast. But I deal with all kinds of hours, so that’s not a problem. He has been very attentive and he's just been good. He said we could go as fast or as slow, and I told him we're going full throttle.

The loan officer said, “We can really get the ball rolling then.” She worked with me. She would check on any questions I had and kept me well-informed of everything that was going on and what would be happening. When I come back from Tennessee, I’d have to get an appraiser out there to see how much this house would be appraised for, and then she can tell me what percentage I would get. And I pray I get enough, at least or close to 70,000, because I gotta have new windows, two central units, insulation, all the flooring in my house, and my kitchen has gotta be torn down. She was super, super and she has walked me through everything. I’d tell others to go with AAG too.