Finance of America Reverse Reviews

We had to go through a couple of appraisals and fill up some paperwork. Then it had to be reappraised because it was over a certain value, but it all went fast. The whole thing took 10 weeks. I dealt with a girl named Jill, who was good, extremely professional and very on target. I’d deal with her again. When she was out of town for a week doing some training, she kept in touch with me during that period of time. Finance of America Reverse was extremely expensive but when I consider that versus the other options, it was tolerable.

Tim, the loan officer, was very helpful. He took my call and answered whatever questions I had. He explained everything to me and went over all the paperwork with me so I understood everything. He was excellent. The rate was a little higher than I thought but it was explained to me that the rate can vary between a certain percentage point. It was a range between four and nine.

Still, the reverse mortgage enabled me to make sure my taxes were paid and it made my life a little bit easier as far as giving me security and knowing that I still have money in an escrow account that if I needed, I can withdraw on it and have savings more or less, and also knowing that my taxes and my homeowners will always be paid for the next 15 years. I don’t have to worry trying to save for my taxes when my social security barely gets me. Also, everybody was saying, “Sell the house,” but if I sell the house, how long will that money last? I would have to move into a one bedroom apartment. I like my home. I’m comfortable here and at 72 years of age, I don’t wanna start looking for new places to live. I recommend Finance of America highly. They were very honest with me and straightforward. They helped me do what I needed to get done.

My wife and William are very friendly to each other, but I had a very disappointing experience with him. During the appraisal, the asking price on the house was $428,000, and we thought that was a little bit too much. But we wanted the house and we thought the appraisal would come in under that and then we would end up paying a fair price. So we stuck our necks out on the offer. But when the appraisal came in, it showed the house had double pane windows which adds about $9,000 to the value of the house. It didn't have double pane windows and so I emailed William asking him why he was accepting this proposal. He then very angrily asked me if I wanted the loan or not and we were intimidated into silence.

We had to continue and this has been a sore for me in this whole process. And we had someone come about three days ago and gave us an estimate on putting in double pane windows and sure enough it was about $9,500. We are not that happy paying $9,500 for our last house. We’re not gonna get that money back. And we actually are ambivalent about whether we’re gonna go forward with that or not. But in the meantime, it’s very hot in Scottsdale and we’re feeling a lot of heat coming in through these windows. And it’s a very unpleasant experience knowing that William would not lower the appraisal because it did not have double pane windows. If the appraisal had come in about $8,000 less, we could’ve taken that money and we could’ve had double pane windows put in right now but we’re kinda caught.

Other than that, we thought the whole process was so picky that it was like every I had to be dotted and every T had to be crossed. And yet, I don’t like the $9,000 extra for the appraisal because it falsely showed double pane windows. William overlooked that and I thought how can he be so picky about small stuff and he let a big $9,000 item go right through. Overall, the whole experience was disappointing because we overpaid for the house and if the agent had been honest and had integrity then the appraisal would’ve been lower and we would not have had to pay so much money. And it’s very upsetting because we made a high offer trusting that the appraisal would be lower. And it didn’t happen that way.

However, there was a little confusion over some of it and we have to re-sign a few things. But once the contract papers were signed, everything was processed within a few days. And I got confirmation from my mortgage company that everything had been paid on time and the the monies were deposited into my checking account which was what I requested. So, I’m satisfied with the services. The feds were the ones that messed everything up. They kept changing all their formulas. If I had done it six months before, I would’ve gotten $40,000 more out of the closing.

The loan answered some financial questions we had, and working with Finance of America went very smooth. And my wife and I felt comfortable with their people. If we wanted to back out, we could. They didn’t pressure us at all. And the loan officer we worked with was excellent. If she had a problem, she’d contact me and we'd solve it. She was very much involved in the process.

During the process, there was an inordinate amount of paperwork. FAR interviewed me and it was almost like a psychological interview to see if I understood what I was getting into. It was a little bit tedious and time consuming. Plus, the woman doing the interview was under time constraints and she had to get it to FedEx in the next hour and a half after she started the interview. I also had to duplicate 40 pages of paperwork, and I must have signed my name 120 times on all that paperwork which was a pain in the neck. That was a little bit harrowing , but we got through it.

I was a little taken aback by the speed in which things happened, but it worked out fine. Brent understood my anxiety about going that fast. I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing, and if I wanted to slow down and ask questions, there was no problem dealing with him that way. I placed several phone calls to him and he always responded within a couple of hours. Everything was covered by FAR perfectly. I just received a deposit in my account yesterday for the first time and it went smoothly. It was within five days of when I requested the money. I'm putting it to good use, putting a new paint job in the house and new windows.

My experience with Finance of America was very good. The rate that I got was fine and it was what I expected and what was discussed previously. Working with Finance of America Reverse has given me a sense of financial security that I didn’t have before. I’m 71 and I was starting to get a bit concerned if I was gonna have enough. It’s not something I’m planning to tap into for at least the first few years, but it is very nice to know it is there.

My funds were almost depleted and a reverse mortgage was the only choice I had because I had no income but my social security which is nearly $1,900 a month. I could not get a conventional loan because I could not pay for it and everything I had was paid for. I’m 80 years old, but I’m a young 80. I still go and drive and do what I want to. I called several places and then I called Finance of America Reverse and they were so nice to me.

They didn’t offer me the most money, but they were just so kind and I thought I may get in trouble but that’s what I’m gonna do and my house will go to whomever when I die, which it could be tomorrow or it could be 10 years. But I’ve got such a big house and I love the neighborhood and I didn’t want to move. With Finance of America I’m living just like I was. Nobody knows the difference. I live in the same house, drive the same car, wear the same clothes and go to the same places. They’ve done what they said they’d do so far.

The whole application took a while. We're 80 years old and retired and I just wasn't in a hurry. And then they want to get it done. It would have been better, faster and easier if I have gone in the office and dealt directly with them across the table, instead of working over the telephone and then having them send somebody out. But it worked out okay. We're in the boat and we're happy. The loan officers were friendly and more than accommodating too. They gave us numbers to call them directly so I didn't have to call the main switchboard and ask for so and so.

The rate came out about what I thought it would be. When the appraiser came out, he was $10,000 higher than what the mortgage company said although that didn't really change anything. We were pretty satisfied with the money we were getting, anyway, which we put in the bank and spent some. We put $5,000 down on a new car to help get our payments the way we wanted them to buy a new car. We're also looking at a couple of remodeling projects on the house. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my experience with Finance of America.

Also, we thought that the process would close in two or three weeks but it took several months. They kept having problems. There were a couple of times where I was to the point of backing out. They were saying they need to hold out $20,000 to pay property taxes and my insurance because my credit doesn’t approve. I told them that I pay that as an installment but they said that I can’t and they gotta pay that. So they held that back and held out the money for something else and I don’t know what it was. They eliminated the origination fee which was $2000. Of course to do that, I had to take $25,000 upfront but they said I could pay it back and I do have to talk to them. I don’t know how to pay the money back and they keep sending me plenty of information on how to ask them for money but not how to pay something back.

I also wish I should've known more upfront before I got into a reverse mortgage. I didn’t have a bad credit. I just didn’t have anything. I had a couple of old debts that they contacted and then contacted me. If they would have not contacted them, I could have worked out a much better deal with them. Also, this reverse mortgage is a little scary because even through it’s a money sitting there, I still feel like I sold my house. I’m having a hard time dealing with it right now but my brother-in-law is trying to explain it to me.

Nevertheless, the loan officer was very kind. We like him but he seemed like he didn’t know a lot of things and it sounded to us like he really wasn’t sure of what he was doing. He was checking on a lot of things but that’s all right. He might have been fairly new. Also, I was comfortable working with Finance of America Reverse. They did a lot more than the others.

I had to do a lot of paperwork and put everything together. I help my elderly mother do everything and I'm doing it for her. I'm her power of attorney and I was trying to get her a loan and I complained the fees are high, but they're still gonna do it. They worked with me, got somebody out to the house to get her to sign the papers, paid the money to get it done, and they got the appraisal done and everything ready to close. I had to do a lot of paperwork, get stuff copied and sent to them like a normal loan. The application and underwriting process took five weeks. Finance of America Reverse was waiting on me to get the papers to them because I live in Houston and my mother was in Birmingham and I had to do it when I went there.

When I called the loan officer, he returned my call and there was a lot of emailing back and forth. The rates were high but everything went smoothly. It was harder because I wasn’t in the same town and it stretched it out a bit since I couldn’t drive there every day. I would not recommend them but I would like to hear from them to find out about the loan and get a copy of the final papers.

I had to go through a conference deal. It wasn’t really necessary, but it was okay. The rates and terms were comparable with other firms that I had contact with and the prices I had. It was competitive. Working with Finance of America Reverse stabilized my income and I've taken care of a lot of things that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise.

However, I got a little disturbed about the almost microscopic evaluation of my finance. It's because there were a couple of bills I couldn’t pay and that kind of irritated me, but at the same time, I can see their reason. But I was very pleased with the rates. I had an overall pleasant experience, and Finance of America has made things much easier finance-wise for me. I have recommended it to a couple of people.

The application process was mostly them sending forms to me to fill out and then me sending them back. It was quite expensive. Also there was an awful lot of paperwork that had to be filled out and a lot of T’s to cross and I’s to dot. It took four months from the first time I contacted them to the time I got the money in my account. But after everything, we've been able to do a lot of repairs around the home. Because we're retired and living in it, we want it to look nice. Also, if they appraise the home now, it would be a lot more than what they appraised it for before.

In the end, however, I was surprised. The amount we got was based on the percentage of the appraised value of our home. This was the third time it was appraised in less than a year, and the particular appraiser that they used appraised it $40,000 less than the other two appraisers appraised for that, which we could not understand. It lowered the total value of our loan. Then they withheld $50,000 of the mortgage amount in order to guarantee payment of taxes and insurance for the balance of the loan.

And that was rather disappointing because we always paid our taxes and insurance. Why wouldn't we pay the taxes and the insurance on a home that we own outright? It's not like we're gonna abandon it and go down the street. We understand that’s a condition of a loan but that was my only really unhappy experience. So if I were to recommend them to somebody, I would tell them, “Well, they did a great job for me but you need to be aware of what might happen.”

Having a reverse mortgage was my assurance for when I need money and I decided that if I was gonna do a reverse mortgage, then I will do it with Finance of America because of the service I got from them. I got very good help with the loan manager I spoke with all the time. She was very thorough and specific, but not pushy about things. She gave me the time to think about the reverse mortgage and I dragged things out for a good year making up my mind and deciding what to do about things. I don’t have any immediate family left or somebody I need to be worried about leaving the house to. My other resources are covered and I take care of them quite a bit through the years. I'm very generous each year with them and I prefer to give things to them alive instead of worrying about leaving a ton, but they're not looking for anything.

When I did the application, Finance of America sent me information, so I knew what to expect and I really liked that. They also did preliminary credit checks, so that they knew what we were dealing with, and when the moment came, the process went very smoothly. I was prepared with all of the information and backup information needed. I also went through counseling, a much better term to what some of the companies call training, where they specifically went over everything. The company gave me a list of different ones that were available, and I checked with a few of them, but I could tell right away the one that felt more professional and more efficient, and I was not disappointed.

There was an excellent combination of interview and educational process, and the gentleman who did the counseling had the right tone. He didn't talk to me like I wasn’t capable of understanding things, and at the same time, he was very thorough to make sure I understood what I was signing onto. When he finished his explanation to me, he asked if I had questions and I had a couple. We discussed that and then he quizzed me and went back over the major point of everything. I told him that it wasn’t a hasty decision and it wasn’t something I was doing because I was under water and I needed help. If I died tomorrow, there would be enough in my liquid assets to pay off the mortgage, so my family could still take over the house that they want. If not, they have a home so that they could always liquidate that if they need to use resources to have a bridge loan to take over this house.

Getting a reverse mortgage is a smarter way to do things although some people don’t know they're desperate until they're in the problem. I looked at it and realized I was using up my cash assets because I was improving the house and other things, and I thought that maybe it's not a bad idea to use a reverse mortgage. I'm at the stage now where a lot of my friends are looking at their own assets, and they're downsizing and moving into a smaller place. And I've mentioned to a couple of people that I was very happy with Finance of America.

In terms of their rates, I thought it was a little excessive myself, but I'm not that knowledgeable and that financial savvy. But working with them made me feel much more secure and it improved my life. I have some money in the bank, and now, I’m no longer making a house payment. However, I am a little concerned that I hadn't received any paperwork from them over a month after it all went out, and I was told that I'd get it within two weeks. I was informed that I would be receiving paperwork from whomever the rep has been dealing with the money itself and I did not, so I texted him a couple times to let them know.

The rate I received from Finance of America Reverse was okay. The only problem I had was when they sent me the cash out part. I have a checking account without checks and when I gave the rep the routing number, he tried to put it through but the number wouldn’t go through. And then when they sent me the check, I was not home at the time. So, they came to the house and left the envelope sitting on my porch. It was $5,000 and anybody could’ve come up here and pick it up. That made me very uncomfortable as it should’ve been done that way. They should’ve made me sign for it. Other than that, I’m satisfied with Finance of America Reverse.

I knew that the interest rates could go up and Finance of America Reverse wanted to close it as fast as possible to get the rate fixed. But at the time of signing, it wasn’t really a fixed rate. It had a cap of eight and I was at six. The rate that they had said that they closed in at, they really never said anything about it being adjustable. But everything else looked great before that. I’d recommend Finance of America Reverse.

I attended the counseling and the rep that was there was very good at what she does. She covered everything that I possibly could think of. It was like there was a lot of questions that were up in the air and I didn’t know what to believe so basically, I went by the information. I talked to William there, the guy that helped me with this whole thing. Once I committed and I told them I wanna go with it, the process took almost four months. My loan officer was excellent. He did a good job and kept me abreast about everything. And he would call me back whenever there was any progress. He seemed like a very down-to-earth guy. I only heard his voice but I felt comfortable with him. Everything he said he was gonna do, he did and then closing was quick.

As far as the rates of the mortgage, we know they are on the increase. And the terms are something that if I look at the amount of paperwork that I signed, I don’t know if I or the attorney would really understand what they truly are. But I hope everything works out. I hope the reverse mortgage will do their part and I’ll do my part, maintaining the people in their house and that should be it. Certain companies will break you to the point where you can’t afford to fix the house and they foreclose it. That would never happen to me and I don’t care if they’re the most powerful company in this country. Everything from AIG to you-name-it, they’re horrible companies. When you really start looking into the terms and how much they would give you on your house, they beat you to death on the value of the house.

I’ve been thinking about reverse mortgage over the last seven years and I talked to a lot of different people and I wasn't really sure if I was gonna go this way. My wife passed away and I am by myself. That’s the only reason why I was thinking about staying in the house now. Finance of America Reverse has been a pretty good experience at this point. It’s a little too early, not even a year. But we’ll soon find out if this stays to be okay.

I started the process and then I had some things that I wanted to do on the property to improve it when they come in and do the proposal. I painted the place, put a new roof on it to help increase the value and get myself more money. So, it took a while before I actually completed it. They could have been done a lot faster. Finance of America called me the year before, coming up on October and HUD was changing some of their regulations and I had to start the process right then. I lost track of time and it had to be finished within six months and they bent over backwards to help me get through the process in a timely manner. They were fantastic about it.

The loan officer kept me informed about what was going on and helped me in any way he could to get the process completed in the time that I had to do it. They sent the notary right over to my home and she called and said she has 215 pieces of paper that I have to sign. Up until the time that I had to go and sit down with the notary, the application was pretty easy. And you have to do that twice. He got it set up the second time. They should get rid of the notary but that's part of what HUD requires. Also, you can't get much better than what they did as far as the rates. There are no companies that offer a better one.

Working with Finance of America Reverse has made my life much easier. I no longer have to find close to $1,300 to pay a mortgage plus another $900 to pay just for the pleasure of living in this building. However, the woman who came to sign off on everything with me was a total mess and I wondered how they could have sent her. She kept losing things and she couldn’t find things. She had to go through all the papers to find something else. She wasn’t organized. She kept messing up and I couldn’t wait for her to leave. She was terrible.

Nonetheless, I'd tell others that Finance of America Reverse is very good and I have had a really good experience with them so far. They’re very easy to work with. Once the whole thing has gone through, I had no issues apart from the day that the woman who would sign on everything came over. I was just wondering now when I’m gonna get the next payment. She never gave me any information as far as that’s concerned with all the paperwork. They should fire her and they shouldn’t use her. That is a really bad mark against Finance of America Reverse for using someone like her who is a total wreck.

Also, the whole process took about a month which was a little bit too long. When we finally had to sign the papers, there were 40-50 pages and it took at least half an hour for my wife and I to sign one page after the other. We couldn't even read anything and half of it, we wouldn't even understand if it was strictly in normal terms. So, all those rigmarole that they went through should be improved. Still, I'd tell my friends to call them and give them a try to find out how it'd work.

The application and underwriting took probably a month. They had an appraiser from HUD come in and they were thorough. I had most difficulty with the title company. There was a mix up for a few weeks and I'm still in the process of straightening that out. But both of the Finance of America officers I worked with have been very helpful. The initial person was Nicole and then the second person is Julie. They helped me with the steps, especially with the insurance company filing the left emails to them, and sending copies of that to me, and going back and forth with the title company. They backed up stuff with information and sent me documentation of different things and about literature. And it was really helpful in making our decision.

The rates and terms are reasonable. It’s a variable rate but it’s not on prime. And they have good caps on them so they can’t go crazy. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to pay all that off that ever would become like that. I just did home repairs, and that’s what I wanted the money for. And it’s been very good working with Finance of America. It enabled me to do some home improvements that I needed done. I would recommend them.

This was as opposed to another one I had talked to that I wasn’t particularly impressed with. That rep was just not as personable and was a little more formal. The whole application and underwriting process took 70 days. Finance of America Reverse also had a notary come out and do the forms and I had the consulting thing done with a company out of Tulsa. I’ve certainly been satisfied and I appreciate everything that Finance of America Reverse has done to help me so far.

I had to go through a lot of steps to get to the point where I was ready to do a reverse mortgage for different reasons, such as paying off the second mortgage and I got all that done. I knew some of the major mortgage companies and I called them. They don’t do reverse mortgage but they told me who I needed to contact. I heard Finance of America three times and then I found that they're one of the highest rated. Julie, the loan officer who I dealt with, was wonderful and she wasn't pushy. She was the reason that I kept where I was. She understood what my purposes were and more than explained anything. Everything went perfectly just as what was explained to me and it didn’t take very long. She helped my hand through the whole thing and it really evolved very nicely.

I would love to have Julie get accolades for it since she is apparently one of the top sellers at Finance of America. I'm not worried about what happens after. Their staff seemed very fair that they will treat me or treat my son right. And if there's anything due to him, after the fact that he can't sell the house, he's not gonna have a bank yelling at him every month towards my payment as this is a big house.

However, we all would love to have less paperwork and less waiting but there was a whole lot of waiting and the paperwork was outrageous. There aren’t any trees left down here right now to take care and take place of all the paperwork attack, and that was the good part. Last month was the first month that I didn’t make a payment and I'm actually waiting, which is the downside of it.

When I had my house assessed, Julie explained to me that if there's anything to do with heating, I have six months to get it done. So, the appraiser liked everything, except there was one little 6 x 10 place out here that had to be painted. I ended up painting the whole two back additions of my house which was quoted at $1600. However, when I was quoted $1600, why did they keep $2,600? One thing Julie was really good about was getting me more money back than the other guy was going to and she explained to me a couple of different ways how she could do that and a couple of plans as well since I wanted the money to be put in the bank and start saving.

It cost me $800 to get my house appraised which is high for this area. The appraiser had to come back and look at the 6 x 10 piece of wood that was painted now, and then told me there has to be $175 deducted. They didn’t tell me that there's extra charge whenever they have to come back. However, they took $200 out and I asked them how they took $200 instead of $175. They said that the $175 was just an estimate and they were not nice about it.

And then, I don't know if Celink, the reverse mortgage servicing department, is part of Finance of America. A lot of people shouldn’t use them because they are rude people and they do not tell like it is. They also don’t wanna give me my money back. There had been times that I haven't been really nice in my tone to the person who I was dealing with since it took him five to seven days to do something and then another five to seven days to do another thing after they got the approval. That was okay. But again, it was another five to seven days to get the check out and then now, they’ve mailed the check and they couldn’t mail it anything other than regular mail. Finance of America has such a great reputation and so they need to talk to Celink.

The check came from Lansing, Michigan. I'm getting $2,400 back and it was finally mailed last Thursday, but I still haven't got it. And so, I said to them, in a nice way at that time, to couldn't have they just charged me and mail it with UPS and I'd pay for it if they've done that. I need the check for the poor guy, who is my next-door neighbor and he's a paid contractor. I hate to even look him in the face. He called me again and said, “You mean, you haven't got that check yet?” And so, that to me is a poor ending to a lovely story. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

What makes me sad is that I wrote Julie this glowing letter since they sent me a thing by email to my work. I sat there and sent it all but it wouldn’t send for some reason. I was supposed to input this and input that and it got a little on the complicated side. I'm not the greatest IT person in the world but I should have been able to type it in and send it. But, it didn’t work that way and I had to do something else.

When I finally sent the letter to Julie for them to publish it, I had lost part of it and she could only read part of it. And so, I retyped it and emailed it to her separately. Julie puts me at ease and I feel better about my finances. I'm calmer until I get the check back and I'll be much calmer after that because I'm mad right now. I was happy until this happened and I've been fighting them for a month now. Also, I was on hold for 45 minutes and all of sudden, the thing comes over, it clicks off and it says, “We're not taking in more calls today. Time is up. Bye.” Finance of America needs to shorten their process and be able to be a bit more responsive and be a little sweeter about their process.

People worry because they don’t understand the process and they don’t understand what it can do for them. They should get an honest company to deal with, that is forthright in what they tell you and they keep their word, however, I've not found or heard a thing. I'd like to kick myself in the butt for not making myself do this reverse mortgage several years ago because I could have had all that money in the bank right now. Joint Social Security and the mortgage payment that I'm not making is going to the bank. So, that helps if I have a 401(k) but it's not enough.

Finance of America Reverse's application process was long since they're bound by government regulations and they're not going to arbitrarily give anybody that kind of money without an assurance that they're not doing the wrong thing. I really liked the rep I worked with. She was very friendly, understanding and informative. The entire process took about a month due to the things I had going on and I couldn't get to the counselling process right away.

My experience with Finance of America Reverse worked out very excellently and I feel so much better now. If I had done the reverse mortgage little bit sooner, the rate could have been a little bit less. I was doing my due diligence in finding out about everything and then the interest rates started to rise and then, I thought I'd better do it while I can. I have a daughter who will receive the house when I decide to go beyond. If the house was worth $300,000, she doesn't mind if she only gets $250,000 or if she decides to sell it. It's a loan at the end of the time and she has to pay it off. I looked upon that and it's like a balloon payment. It's a loan and it accrues interest up until the time it's paid off. So, if I have any extra money, I might stick it on there instead. Go with Finance of America Reverse.

However, I had a problem with two of the people they sent out. The initial notary that came in got all the information back. But my loan officer called me the next day and said that he only had the picture of my Social Security card and driver’s license she took while she was here. And for some reason, she hadn’t sent all the information in. That was supposed to be en route the minute she left my house. And my loan officer and I both got shaky about that.

Then when I was signing the closing, there was another person that came out and I had explained that I had just opened a second checking account to specifically have the money sent into. The routing number and the account number are on it, but my name isn’t printed there. And she was wondering whether that would be okay, though I told her several times that we could use my original checking account. She took two copies of the new account and all she went. The following day, she called me and said that the company wouldn’t accept the checking account. Then she instructed me to go to the bank and take care of stuff. But I’m disabled and it’s difficult for me to do that. And I told her I would’ve given her a copy of the other account and they could’ve chosen which one they wanted to wire the initial amount into. But she did come that day and got the other check, and they wired the initial amount there.

Other than that, the rate that I ended up with was fine and all things considered, I did very well. I’m in a situation where I don’t have anyone to leave the house to and I’m here. My middle sister lives with me and it’s one of those deals where we can use the equity in the house a lot more at this point. Working with Finance of America Reverse has made things a little easier. It has freed up a lot of my own money and got me out of debt. Finance of America Reverse is a good company to deal with. Beyond that point, I would tell them to look into all the legal ramifications of things. If anybody was gonna do it, I’d not only send them to Finance of America and I would definitely recommend them talking to him.

The application process went really fast. Eric and Chuck stayed on it and we got it done within 30 days. The secretary named Debbie was on top of things and she got through tons of paperwork and did all the refining. There was one document we forgot to sign and another one they forgot to give us, but it was flawless for the most part.

I built my house myself and I never had it appraised, and I told them it’s at least $275,000. They looked at my house and they said that I got at least $300,000 value in there. Then I ended up with $345,000 actual appraised value. They quoted me a rate that was over 4 and it went down to 3.91, which blew the other competition. I told them about the other two guys that kept calling me and they said that they would change the rate when I got to close. And when we signed the papers, the lower rate was there, so it was awesome. Overall, Finance of America Reverse did an excellent service. The people acted out like the company was employee-owned and I'd tell everyone to use Finance of America Reverse and nobody else. They're worth the shift.

When the adjuster filed his paperwork, she received a phone call telling her that they don't do reverse mortgages on manufactured homes. So I went on the Internet and I picked the first one I saw, which was Finance of America. As far as I understand, they had stopped doing reverse mortgages on manufactured homes and it just started back up on the rep. There had been a few glitches where he wasn't quite sure how to handle it and there had been a few setbacks. But through it all, he was excellent. I was impressed by his overall professionalism in handling customers and that if he didn't have an answer, he checked into it and got right back to me. Through this whole thing, my mom was getting very unraveled, but he was very assuring and calming. I'm glad that I had him to deal with.

The process stretched out because of the adjuster. We had the engineer out, who looked at the foundation. There were some cracks in the rough casting that's on the outside of the cinder blocks, but there were no cracks in the foundation. The engineer said that was fine. The adjuster picked up on it and said that we needed to get it fixed and put some new flooring in. Then he was unable to finish the appraisal because he's having a hard time finding proper comps in the area. It was dragging out. He came to two conclusions. He added an "Okay" rating where Finance of America could approve the loan, but in summation, he was indecisive. He added that things need to be done to get it up to par for the loan. But they worked it out and there was nothing else to be done.

The adjuster that was not making sense and he had to make a decision and this dragged things out. I hope they will no longer do business with that adjuster. I think he was looking for the revisit charge. He had to come back but looked at nothing. In the end, the mortgage was approved and the rates were okay. Mom can sleep better at night now and she’s not worrying if she's gonna have enough to pay her taxes. We're very happy with our experience with Finance of America Reverse and it was great. All in all, I would recommend Finance of America to anybody and they should look for the man I dealt with.

We were on our way back from the bank one day and we stopped at the lodge and I pulled up near the parking lot. I got a phone call and I had talked to Scott of Finance of America Reverse about a year or two ago. He had just called me back just to follow up with me and that’s how it all this got started. He was a very knowledgeable representative and I thought where I was standing and I was in sales for 30 years, he did a good job. He's an easy guy to talk to and he’s got a telephone voice. I followed through with it and it’s completed and I traded trucks.

The application process was a lot more than what I thought it was gonna be, but it all worked out. Scott walked me through step by step on what to expect so I was aware when I did a conference it was gonna be an hour and a half long. I had to charge my phone when I got through it. But I can understand the process and why they do what they do. It’s just as much protection of the person doing the reverse mortgage as it is for the government. I felt better about it now. They did a good thorough job and what they told was gonna happen happened and it made me feel very comfortable.

There’s a lot of people out there that are willing to do reverse mortgages and everywhere I’ve checked, they all started making these pieces. They couldn’t do more and Scott told me the reason behind it was what happened ten years ago when all of the banks got in trouble for mortgages and there wasn’t many laws regulating it. It got a lot of people in trouble. I can appreciate what they’re doing and everybody that I checked, they were within 3 or 4%. Some of them a little bit more, some of them a little bit less in certain areas. But it wasn’t big enough to make a big difference, as long as you felt good with who you’re working with.

I’ve already recommended Finance of America Reverse to some people. A lot of people told me to not get the reverse mortgage because it’s got a bad rap. If it was a married couple and they had two incomes coming in, that might be something different. But for me, being by myself, it was very helpful to me. I’m very glad I did it because about two weeks or a month after that was all finished, I lost my job and I was very fortunate that I did not have that house payment to make.

In the winter time, I don't work at all 'cause of the weather and I had time to do a little research on reverse mortgages. Under the circumstances, I thought it was the best way for us to go. I went on the internet and reached out to Finance of America Reverse. While there are a few lending providers out there, I've gotten three or four mailings from Finance of America and I thought that I ought to do the research myself. I put on a questionnaire to tell them about my situation and they got back to me pretty fast.

The gentleman whom I worked with sold himself. I believed in what he said. While there is plenty of competition and I was getting phone calls every day once I put out my request, I was very impressed with the gentleman I worked with and I stayed with him. I had to lay out who I was and what my assets were. I also had to state what my income was, which is social security and what my liabilities were. The whole deal was based on the value of the home and we had to get it appraised.

Finance of America has a pretty aggressive program. There is quite a process to go through, but with the way the managed it, it was an accelerated program. That was good for me because I was going to start fishing in the spring and I wanted to cut through all of their red tape and get the thing done. However, I was almost about to opt out 'cause I had a couple of questions that I wasn't happy with and there wasn't enough time for me to do it properly.

There were times when I wanted to reach out to Finance of America. We signed the papers on a Friday and they have three business days to do something. At that point, we were going into Saturday and Sunday. I couldn't talk to them on those days because they were closed. It was almost like it was designed where it didn't allow me a lot of time. In order to get things done the way I wanted to, I was gonna opt out and start all over again. I actually threatened to opt out to jog somebody's attention.

Still, my loan officer seemed like an honest man. There are a lot of people out there that you can read them immediately that they're con artists. He did not come across like that at all. He presented himself in a way that I felt like I knew him all my life. He was the type of guy that I wanted to go into business with. While I did get disappointed a few times, he corrected himself once I told him what the situation was. I think that if a person wasn't alert, they could be hoodwinked along the way. For example, tenure means that the reverse mortgage is gonna go on for my life. Conversely, term means I'm gonna get a check every month for a certain term. Then the salesman tells me that I could get a check for life.

Even though the salesman didn't tell me that was described as a tenure, he told me how it was going to work out and I wouldn't have found out that the actual word that is going to be on the paperwork is tenure. So, I went through the whole process, knowing the description of tenure was getting a check for life. And then, when the paperwork came to me, it said, "term in the spot". Prior to that, it was blank. There was a question mark there. It wasn't filled in because there are four or five different words that can be put in that place. That part of it is not explained to you. When you finally get to sign off on it, it says 'term'. Now I know what term is and I found out the hard way.

At that point I had to call them up but I couldn't reach them. I had no way of correcting that part of the paperwork that comes through. When I finally got a hold of them, I was furious. They said that it was easy and that we could change that part of the paperwork the next time around. But then, it would be almost like Finance of America recalculated the program. If I was senile or an older person, Finance of America could very easily mislead somebody and they could be in the wrong program. Moreover, that wouldn't have surfaced until 15, 20 years down the road. That was a big disappointment for me. I discussed that with the gentleman that I worked with and he knew how I felt. I don't think it ended on the happiest but we went with the reverse mortgage and that's where I'm at.

Also, I didn't get the right rate. My own bank that I had the mortgage with was upset with me because I left them. They had a mortgage with me and I had a very nice rate with them. They offered a reverse mortgage and I didn't give them the opportunity to bid on it. They would have given me their best shot going just because I live down the street and I've done a lot of business with them. So, I'm not happy with my reverse mortgage with finance of America Reverse.

I wouldn’t have gone to Finance of America from the get-go, but I talked to at least one person and they didn’t think that Finance of America did reverse mortgages on new purchases and that sent me away. I’ve gotten all the way with AAG. But through the end of the process, I was contacted by the representative from Finance of America just to say that, “If you’re not happy with the process you’re going through, we do new home purchases and we’re here to help. And we’ll be glad to give you a quote.” And it’s not unusual to change horses in mid-stream and so on. They gave me a better quote and I switched.

I was very concerned because it was such a late day. It’s only eight days away from our original closing date and I was concerned for the sellers that they had a lot of things lined up and switching companies near to the closing date. But they worked very hard and actually met the goal. I was very impressed with the speed and the professionalism. I was pleased that it was better than AAG had offered and it’s reasonable. You have to cough up a little bit more in half of the cost of the home. Half of the reverse mortgage is very good, less than half is not as good, but still better than AIG. I couldn’t recommend Finance of America any more highly.

The lending process with Finance of America was quite tedious and it took a lot of time. They were dealing with a third party, so we had to get a power of attorney for Gloria's niece and get all that straightened out. Then we had to get all the original paperwork. There were also a lot of papers to be signed and a lot of it was repetitious. So, the paperwork could be consolidated a little bit more. The rates were a little high as well but we were kind of between a rock and a hard place. Plus, the loan amount they gave Gloria was only a percentage of her property's value and I'm digging for a bit of a higher percentage. Finance of America could up that a little bit.

Other than that, everybody from Finance of America was great and things went pretty well. The process didn't go as fast as we'd like but we wanted to make sure everything was correct with it. Tim, our loan officer, was very attentive. Any questions we had, he answered them quickly and kept everything moving quickly. He tried to make the process as painless as possible, too.

I've gotten an advertisement about Finance of America Reverse and their guy Dane has been very nice and extremely helpful in getting the application process completed. He's just been pretty awesome in answering my questions and getting back to me when I have one. I didn’t miss a beat with him and he was attentive. He never stalled me. And if he did, he told me the truth and that was cool. Everything he did was just spot on and he needs to get a raise. The whole process took about two months. There were issues that held us up but it was partially my problem to get the title cleared of a second person. And so, I had to work on getting that done.

Working with Finance of America Reverse took a load of weight off of my shoulders, so I don’t have to constantly think about what the IRS is gonna charge me for the next month. The only problem I have is that I wish it would have been a whole lot more money. Also, the reverse mortgage was supposed to pay all the insurance on my house and I keep getting notifications that they're late. Other than that, I would refer people to Dane.

Everything went very well. We consulted the guy that does their IRA and talked with him about it. He was the person that actually put us in touch with this young man. Everybody was very considerate. The application and underwriting process went really fast, which took about five weeks. We were surprised that it actually went that fast 'cause we've been to a refinancing on the house that took months to do in the past. So, the people that handled this were very professional in everything they did.

We're happy with the rates that we received, which was something that was discussed. We've got some refunds and everything that's due to us back, but we haven't got everything like the escrow and the difference in what they have loaned the company. Nevertheless, they've probably done a very good job. We have to wait for the mortgage company to finish up closing us out on their books. It's the reason, they say, that it's taking as long as it is. But we feel assured that we will get that. The company was very quick to send theirs. As far as I can tell, it's going to be the right thing for us and the mortgage company that we're working with now seems to be very good.

We would recommend Finance of America Reverse to others. I would tell those people to research and make sure everything is in their best interest before they go into a mortgage. That was what we were told and we followed several people's advice for it. As far as that company doing everything for them, it's gonna be a good thing for us.

Working with Finance of America Reverse has accomplished what I needed to do. I got married and my wife needs to be on that mortgage because if I die, then she needs to be able to stay in my house. I had another company that I fired. I got hassled by those people. I had my reverse mortgage with Finance of America Reverse originally and went back to them. As far as the representative I had with Finance of America, they were great. But there were too many people putting their hands on what's going on and there was nobody that can make a decision.

Everybody was scared to death to make a decision for fear that it might be wrong. It's not very hard to understand. If I get a reverse mortgage, I have to pay the taxes and the insurance and I gotta keep the house up. And if I don't do that, they're gonna take my house away. And I signed a one-page document that tells me that. What else is there that they needed to know? Nonetheless, the results were great, although there was a little aggravation.

The application process through Finance of America Reverse was long and it took a whole bunch of time, although some of it was my fault. I had to go through all the legal stuff. The rate and the terms of the reverse mortgage were too high but working with them has gotten all my bills paid. And that took all a turn. I was able to sleep at night and not worry. And I had a go signal. I had one credit card that had $19,000 on it. I had a good relationship with Finance of America Reverse and I would definitely recommend them. I would tell others that I looked into reverse mortgages and they gotta know what they're getting into.

I came close to getting off a couple of times. And I understand that a lot of it is sometimes ridiculous federal regulations that the lenders are prisoners to. That may or may not help and it’s not gonna change anything. Had I known how much time it would have taken when I started, I probably wouldn’t have bothered. But I don’t think that’s the fault of the lender. I don't do residential real estate closings but I’ve done them in the past. It’s too difficult and it gets harder and harder because of the regulations Finance of America Reverse would impose on. And the lending officer had no discretion and it was frustrating.

The entire process took five months. The loan officer I dealt with was great and I can’t believe the amount of work he and his supervisor put in to try to help us. It was very good. But there were these incredible hurdles that I think were inconsequential issues and I purposely tried to forget about it. I understand what reverse mortgages are. And the actual amount that’s accruing is more than I expected, but that could have been my fault. Now that we have the reverse mortgage, it simplifies things for us for a few years. But it cost me a lot of time. I expect that any lender that lends reverse would have experienced the same mortgages difficulties and I can’t blame Finance of America for the things that were frustrating. And the volume of paperwork is absurd, but I don’t think it was their fault, too. It was more of whatever banking regulations apply.

We started the process in March and it took three months to get everything done. Their process has to follow a lot of rules of the FHA that I think could be changed but it’s not specifically with the company but with the government. Their rules are ridiculous. I got to paint a front door and put a coat of paint on upstairs with my barn. The reps had to come in and take pictures and they gave me $925 to do it. Then, you don't get anything that's left. Our loan office was William and he tried his best. We had to go with a program and for what we went through to only end up getting $15,000. I was between a rock and a hard place, I had no other choice.

The rate that was given to us was good but the rigamaroo was very stressful. Sometimes the rep would be calling two or three times a day and it's just for little stuff. But he was good to talk to and he pretty much got the gist of my feeling. I'm very dissatisfied with Finance of America Reverse and I wouldn't go with a Reverse Mortgage ever again.

FAR's team provided detailed explanations for all elements of my reverse mortgage. They were patient with my numerous questions, exhibited high intellectual integrity by researching issues when needed, they were prompt in their responses and were downright fun to engage. There is no doubt that FAR's team provided me with the best reverse mortgage in the marketplace. In doing so they have made my world and those who play in my world, a better place to be. Taylor, Lauren and Andrew, it was a pleasure working through the reverse mortgage with each of you. Finance of America Reverse should be proud that you are part of their team. I am looking forward to keeping up with Y'all.

My loan officer, Reggie, was considerate of my needs and the problems I was having with my titles. He was easy to work with and I was very comfortable working with them. I researched that Finance of America’s rate and terms were competitive with everybody. However, I would have liked better interest rates, but that was the way it is. Our experience was good. There were a lot of negative connotations around about reverse mortgages where it got a bad rep several years ago. I also had all kinds of family and friends telling me not to do it. So I had to do a lot of research. But most of the rumors are all just rumors.

I am a little peeved though because the appraiser was very nit-picky. We have six months but we have to re-stain all the fascia boards of my mother's house because she has stained wood and brick. And we don't see the necessity of it but we have to do it. The application and underwriting process took six weeks by the time we finally got the check.

Interestingly enough, we were few of the people that wanted to see, read and study the loan package. My husband, my sister and I just wanted to read it before signing it. It was a massive packet of paperwork and it has to be resent in three days. We're totally capable of reading and deciding but my mother's 99 and she barely could read and we had to read it to her. I am flabbergasted that the company thought they can just give us a packet of over a 100 pages and we were gonna read it and sign in there. Anybody that's in the business world will tell not to sign contracts right then and there. We have to read them carefully because there are a lot on the line there.

From what I gather, a lot of the rules and regulations that all these reverse mortgage companies have to do are all because of what FHA makes them do so I'm not going to hold Finance of America totally responsible for the ordeal we went through to get this done. The loan officer was very much aware that we were under the gun because my mom’s money was running out so she tried her best to move things along quickly. She's very personable and was very good about getting back to us in a timely manner.

FHA required us to see a financial counselor which we had to pay for, and I thought that it was a fee that was not necessary. I can understand where some people would find it necessary, but I feel that would be something that the loan officer would have a better feeling and she said that it would benefit us. But for us, I had to drag my mom, all the way across town because they usually do phone interviews. But my mom can't talk on the phone very well because she has a hearing problem so I had to find somebody local and found one near my home but that's an hour and a half from my mom. I had to bring her over to sit in their office and talk to the fellow. And it was a bloody waste of time. It cost us $125 and we could have saved it. We have four people managing my mom’s money, her doctors, and we didn't need the counselor.

In terms of the rate and terms of the reverse mortgage, it was a little high but they're covering themselves. I also found that the insurance for the upside-down loan that if mom outlives the loan, the value of the property goes upside down. I understand back in the 70's and 80's a lot of houses did that. But my mother lives in West LA and her house was evaluated at 1.3 million. There's no way that house is going upside down. She's only taking out $675,000 but we also had to give the loan insurance $16,000 which was totally unnecessary. We could have used the $16,000 for my mother's living expenses. But it was the only thing we had available to us, or she was gonna have to sell that house and move into a retirement home. And at 99, that would be such a shock that it would kill her.

Finance of America’s rate that I got was high but it was competitive. There was a certain amount of risk of people who are lowering the taken money. I suppose they expect to get paid for that risk. There's still one thing though that I never got straightened out and that was the estimate for the appraisal. I thought it was 400 but they added a 125 on my appraisal. I decided that it wasn't worth pursuing only 125. Working with Finance of America I was able get more money since and most of the things happened pretty well. It's the best thing out there right now.

They gave a certificate that said that it was okay, then we started the application process. We went through it on a computer with them, explained each step, verified and did the electronic signature. We paid $800 for the first appraisal and then Finance of America paid for a second one. They took the lower of the two appraisals. It took two hours to have my in-laws fill out the application on the computer and then after the appraisals, it went to underwriters. They accepted it and gave us an amount that they would loan. In this case, the property was worth 1.9 million dollars and we were able to get a jumbo loan of $900,000.

Our loan officer, Robert, was excellent and very helpful. He understood the trials and tribulations of working with 90-year-olds are slow and we needed to go through things several times. My wife has three brothers that also had to sign off on this process, so there was a waiting period. I explained to each of them why we were doing it and what the options were since we were financing it and they weren’t. And so, the loan officer was very non-pushy and other than checking on occasion to see how we were doing, there was no pressure to move this thing. We started the process around the beginning of November and we were going on vacation in the holidays so I told them nothing was going to happen again until the middle of January. He was fine with that and he was extraordinarily great.

I would tell my friends without reservation that Finance of America Reverse is an excellent company to work with. I would also look up the name of the loan officer and tell them to contact that person directly. The process of obtaining that mortgage was excellent and easy, except for the signing of final papers that took three and a half hours. It was 180 pages of papers and probably 40 signatures for each of my in-laws, so that was rather tedious.

At that time we didn't know that my uncle was prior in-charge of the trust. There was a trust or something that my father was able to use that he didn't have control over because my uncle had it right where he had none. So the application process could have been faster if it wasn't for my uncle. Our hands were tied behind our backs until we were able to get him to come through with my father's stuff. Other than that it didn't take too long. Finance of America was very efficient and had things moving along in a timely manner. Now, my father doesn't have to worry about paying property taxes until he dies. I'm very satisfied and I would refer my friends to Finance of America.

My loan officer, Nicole, was wonderful and I was very comfortable working with her. She called me when they needed information and to let me know where everything was. Plus, if I had a question, she was there. I asked for a fixed rate but unfortunately, I was told that that was not possible at the time and that I was getting a variable rate. The rates were okay though. I had a lot of debts when my husband passed away and there were things that I wasn't aware of. So there were things that I had going on and there were times I wasn't sure if it was gonna be even possible. But Finance of America Reverse worked through everything. They got through all the problems and straightened them all out.

I initially talked to my loan officer in the beginning of August and he told me what to do and all the rest of it. But I did not understand that there was a time limit regardless of what was happening to me and that this loan had to be closed within a certain amount of time. With the court filing, I contacted my attorney who handled it initiall and he started his proceedings, neither of us realizing that we had a time crunch going. These things take time and the credit card company was not in any hurry to get anything done as well.

In the beginning of November, the judgment would be enforced in spite of the fact that they had ruled the other way previously. It had to do with the fact that I hadn’t replied to the summons so my attorney started trying to negotiate with them. But I suddenly got a letter in the mail from Finance of America saying that I had 30 days to do this and seven other things, most of which had been mentioned to me. I realized that before it could happen, I had to do these things. I was concentrating on the court case but I complied with that.

I was directed to a person in New York and I got everything off to her and explained that my attorney was trying to propose a settlement through the credit card company. I did clear with her that if that settlement was accepted, that it would it be paid out of the proceeds of the reverse mortgage. It was not stated in the letter nor did she state it to me when I talked to her on the phone that I had 30 days to finish everything. So, I’m going happily on thinking that all I have to do is to get the credit card company to agree to a settlement. It was very difficult because once you have an attorney, the credit card company won’t talk to you.

I ended up calling this person in New York again towards the end of December and she told me that I hadn’t complied with the 30-day requirement. I got everything done except the settlement with the credit card company so, I didn’t understand. I called my attorney and told him we got to move on this and I only had 30 days. So all that started again.

Another thing is, they sent an appraiser out. I have an 1880 house and the primary reason why I sought this reverse mortgage was to do work on the house that was needed. It was an old house and if you don’t keep it up, it just goes downhill. The appraiser came up with certain repairs that had to be made and also within this timeframe. I got most of them done, but I had work that had to be done inside. They suggested I get a quote from a contractor and they could incorporate that into the settlement of the mortgage. I called her every day for almost a week and I got no callback. So finally, I called my loan officer and told him that I've been trying to contact Jasmine and if there was anything he could do to get her to talk to me and he said yes.

He got through to her the next day. When I talked to her, she said she extended the 30 days and it will be up on the 28th of February. This was the 23rd of February, it was a Tuesday and I had about 10 days. I had none of the repair work done and the settlement with the credit card company hadn’t been achieved. My lawyer was still trying to get in touch with them and they were not responding. But I managed to have the work done. It was so stressful for me because I had no idea that any of these things were in play and it also seemed to me that every time I talk to them, there was something else that had to be done.

I ended up calling the credit card company myself because my attorney couldn’t get through. I somehow got somebody who was marvelous to me. I got an operator and told her I got to get a settlement and if they don’t take this settlement, they’re not gonna get any money. I asked for a supervisor or anybody I can talk to because it’s now or never and we were within an hour of a close. So she got a supervisor for me and he was very nice. We both have Lyme disease and it was that little door opener, he kept me on the line, called and he got somebody to accept the settlement. Then I had to have a three-way call to get to my attorney because they have to settle with the attorney and that was done.

My drywaller got the flu and stopped right in the middle and I had exactly two days to finish. I got a painter and he found somebody and they put all the pieces. They came here and worked all day Sunday. It was so stressful for me but I made it. It didn’t have to be like that. There could have been a better communication or some kind of written document that they would send out at the beginning laying everything out in writing. I remember asking my loan officer somewhere along the line how long I had because I got to settle with the credit card company. He said he was working on it and it’s in process. He made some allusion to the fact that it wasn’t open-ended so I had the impression that I was doing fine.

In the end, I had to take a certain amount of money and I had no say to that. I ended up with $113,000 in the bank that I can’t buy an annuity with, while I try to put my pieces together to get work done on the house. The timing and the time of year and everything else was just off and I’m paying interest on that money to sit in my bank account. I don’t know if there were any other options there and I had no say at all about how the thing was paid out so that is something that I’m concerned with.

I’m very happy that I have the money because it makes a huge difference in my life. I can look forward to doing things that I need to do and that I want to do, and that will help me in my life. And I also have money for, for instance, dental bills that I need to have done. So the fact that I got the money overshadows everything. If I didn’t get the money, it would’ve been just an awful experience for me. But I’m not satisfied with the way it was handled and I would not recommend them. I had another company that I’m sorry that I didn’t pursue and in hindsight, I would’ve gone the other direction because this was not something that was a pleasant kind of thing for me. I’m glad it all worked out but I would not go back to Finance of America.

I was a little frustrated with them because they told me original copies would be sent back to me and they never sent them. I called them and they said, “It takes so many days and then we’ll get it back to you.” It’s been past that and I just haven't gotten on following up on that yet. It was the first time we’ve ever done anything like this. So, I know it was a lot different than buying a house as I've bought houses. I asked around on the reverse mortgage and the people said this is pretty much the standard process for all of it.

For the most part, our interaction with the loan officer has been okay. But some of the ways that the loan officer explained things to me were a little confusing at first. Now, I know how the payback is and all the closing costs that are put on the backend of the loan and discharge of interest. I don’t like it but it is what it is. Moreover, Finance of America doesn’t give you a decent fixed interest rate. You can go out and buy a house with a three-point-something for same interest on a fixed rate for 15 or 30 years. But the interest rate can go up as high as almost 10% on this particular loan, and that’s pretty standard with all of them. I think that was ridiculous and they take advantage of old people. But the old people will be dead and whoever the house was left to is who they’re taking advantage of.

And then the other loan was 60% of the value of the house. But if the loan goes on for a long time, the company will end up taking the whole house with that 60% of what they loaned. I’ve sat and looked at that and it’s as if they’ve lost it. Finance of America was as good as anybody I talked to because I spent a lot of time on the phone talking to different finance companies about the reverse mortgage. And I read every piece of information I could gather on it. They're all the same.

I filled out a one-page application form and they got back to me right away. And within a couple of weeks, I had my assessment of the house. Everything looked good until they found something wrong on my credit rating. I had never checked my credit rating and then I had a negative reply from Dillards but I didn’t have an account there. It was just a mistake, so that one got cleaned up quick.

I always pay my taxes for the whole year at once because there was no chance of forgetting that way. So I knew that I wasn't late and by any fault my own. But there was a year that Finance of America had trouble with their computer system and I had to call them and asked what happened and we got it fixed. And it moved really quickly from that day on. The whole process was smooth and it helped that it was all done in my home and I didn't have to go places. I especially appreciate the service because of the rep that I dealt with. He walked me through it and helped me understand that everything was fine. I also talked to a lady in New York and she was the only person I found that was rude. But everybody else was just above great. They gave me a lot of different options. But there was too much paperwork. They could change that a little bit to save paper, but other than that, everything was fine and I've recommended them.

I went through the whole nine yards and now, my property taxes are due. I was trying to find out how much money I will receive. They said it’s a two-year payout. And I never understood why because they told me I could get a lump sum. They never explained that and I'm trying to get specific answers. It's their business to tell me. The first payout was supposed to be current total loan balance. I got close to $20,000-some for first payout, which was supposed to be for one year. And then, I get this thing in the mail from this Celink who said they will be taking care of my taxes. I told them I wanna do my own taxes and insurance because I was told that as long as you pay your taxes and your insurance and the upkeep on your property, there's no problem and you're not defaulting.

I jumped through hoops for four months and meanwhile, my bills are coming in that I can’t pay. I kept telling them and asking them to explain but it never got explained. So, now, I'm looking at this statement because I want to pay my taxes. And I called this Celink. And it says that they are taking out the "second year payout." They're taking $28,545 out to pay my taxes and insurance. So I called them and they told me I’m delinquent on my taxes. I told them that I have never been delinquent on my taxes and in Illinois where I am now, you are given certain dates that you can pay and then if you don't pay by that, then, they add on $100 and I paid them. I have the information because I went through this with reverse mortgage. They had the information and they said there’s no problem. But when I called Celink, they said they will keep all of the money.

I have no idea where Celink came from but they obviously came from Finance of America because I never even heard of this place. Celink was thrown in at the last minute but they had the information on me. I was never notified by anyone about this. Finance of America Reverse did not refer me to Celink. I got a statement from them after I closed the reverse mortgage with Finance of America. I've been trying to call them, and nobody calls me back.

The loan officer at Finance of America Reverse was sweet as pie but when I asked questions, she said they were working on it. I also talked to John and they had the right moves and I understand it’s a business to them. But when this came through and I’ve been trying to call, nobody calls me back. I'm done as far as they're concerned. The girl from Celink said I have signed the papers. I signed a huge pile and obviously, I made a huge mistake by even going through this process. I could have gone through a bank and gotten the money. I thought it protects seniors but I couldn’t be more unhappy if I tried. I don't even know what the rate and terms are anymore. They kept changing. I was never even told what the final payout to me would be. Nobody gave me a number. Once those final papers were signed and they were notarized, that was it.

We went with Finance of America Reverse since we liked the guy who we talked to. He was really nice and knowledgeable and there was no pressure. He answered all of our questions. Everything that he said that was gonna happen, happened when it was supposed to happen and that meant a lot to us. I was really comfortable working with him. However, the counseling was a big joke. It was money wasted. The rep just read stuff off a piece of paper and didn't counsel us at all. We already knew what was required in this process. It would be good for someone who is 80 or 90 years old and didn't know what they were doing, but we sure didn't need it.

Other than that, the whole thing was really a good experience. The application was super easy. They sent a lady over for us to sign the papers. We did that a couple of times and took care of the appraisal and everything we needed. It was painless. The application and underwriting process took six weeks which wasn't very long. We were happy with the way it went. We as well as our kids understand that when we're gone, they would have to pay the loan back and what it will be, so everything's good. We would definitely recommend Finance of America Reverse. We looked at AIG before we did it with FAR and the rates at FAR were better. There were a few fees that AIG charged that Finance of America didn't. We felt like everything was fair and good and just like it should be.

The application process was onerous. It took a lot of time and energy to put everything together. But I understand that that’s a safety measure for both the company and for me. So it’s the price you pay for doing this. I’ve refinanced it essentially but the original process just took maybe six weeks or so. And then the second time took a bit longer because I wanted to refinance after I had done a pretty large project which is a home improvement project, with the idea that it would increase the value of my property.

I could also take a cash withdrawal, which would help me finish this project. But I had to get all of the original stuff in by a certain date in order to come in under the grandfather and to the old rules, which I understand were changing after around December. I went through all that and then I had to get the house inspected, but I had to keep putting that off because I wanted to wait till this project was done. It took months in this case but that was because of the circumstances.

I was also a little confused about the rate. I took a cash disbursement and did not realize that there was a set that I had available to me for the first year because I wanted to take out another one and discovered that I can’t. I have been disappointed about that, but it’s okay. But the other thing that I’m a little confused about is the actual disbursement amounts for monthly disbursements. I understand what it is for this year, but my understanding was that it was gonna be about $500 more after the first year. That wasn't stated on any of the documents. I’m not sure what was gonna happen after the first year. And at some point, I will get that straightened out.

Nevertheless, the process went smoothly. I’ve been dealing with Ryan and he’s been terrific. He’s always available when I ask him things. And he kept things moving along as well as he could and answers whenever I had questions. Altogether, he was a good connection for me. I would definitely refer Finance of America Reverse to a friend.

Finance of America Reverse called us last October. We compared them with another company. Finance of America gave us the best rates, the best numbers and they were the nicest. You know in your gut feeling, this is the people we wanna go with. And the other ones weren't that friendly because when they found out we were like just shopping around, they got mad and they started screaming at us. So, it made my choice easier.

The rate was great. They were the lowest compared to all the rest and they gave me the best service. They were right there. So, we were very happy. Gary, our point man was great and very patient. He went through everything with us. Even when they found out we were shopping around, there was no big deal. They didn’t come back and say we can do this. They just came back with lower numbers, that’s all. He made the experience very easy for us. It was very comfortable working with him. The application process was great. They sent a notary public out and we filled it all. The application and underwriting process took about 10 days, but right away they said we were pre-approve to go forward so they got into the meat and then everything was smooth right after that.

Finance of America Reverse made our life much better. We got that debt off our back, our expenses are down to nothing and we're just enjoying retirement now. We already recommended them to a few people who haven't turned 62 yet, but they're very interested. We gave them the number, we gave them Gary as the salesman and there's a few other people that were thinking about getting a reverse mortgage.

When we started out, the rate was great and very competitive. Finance of America Reverse could have given me a fixed rate on the loan portion, but that probably would’ve cost me a lot more. The only question about the whole process was what would my house appraise at and if I would qualify. And I had to use their appraiser so the deal all hung on there. Working with Finance of America allowed me to stay in my existing house that I did all the work on in the next 23 years as opposed to finding a condo. I would tell my friends to take a look at reverse mortgage if they’re my age. A buddy of mine, in fact, did that.

Tim was straight with me and he was like a dog with a bone and wouldn’t give it up and eventually, we got it done. And that was right when there was a change in the federal law and we were eligible. We were assigned a federal case number and was able to transfer that information to Finance of America Reverse and that worked. I was impressed by the tenacity of the loan officer. I’m a salesman and I didn’t believe 90% of what he said, but he sure kept it up. He even made some mistakes but he stuck to it and he was willing to listen and he remembered what my name was.

Then when we were locked in with Tim, a bunch of charges came in the background, so I told Tim that if there were hidden charges and I find them, that he’s going down the road. Then he had a fit. He wrote me a nasty letter and had to apologize. I found the hidden charges and it was just too far. My lady had some medical problems and we were in bankruptcy. That’s why we had to do the reverse mortgage but it just came to a point where it wasn’t worth the battle and we got the most we could without actually winning. It’s a tough deal and I know Tim had to make money to stay in business but doing that upfront instead of hiding that in places is different.

When they first started, they didn’t realize that this was a manufactured home. Upon realizing that, there were more things that had to be done because some manufactured homes were not very well put together. We were surprised that we had to do so much and that there were so many problems with getting a reverse mortgage on a manufactured home, which didn’t make any sense. Our insurance was replacement value and it wasn’t enough. So we had to go through all the things that we’ve done to the home. We put a new cover on the patio and a new furnace in so that they could increase the insurance, which took time and a while. There could have been better information there as far as Finance of America was concerned. It also took too many phone calls until we figured what had to be done.

Also, the woman who was trying to take care of it didn’t know what she was doing. Her name was Debbie and she contacted me through email and through text but they didn’t realize that the phone is so much better for people our age. Then finally, a gentleman called. His name was Reggie and he did a wonderful job. Things started getting done because he did his homework and he was very good at explaining things.

While we're way over-insured right now, we didn’t get as much money as we thought we'd get because there were so many things that we had to pay for since it’s a manufactured home. Plus, we had to pay for an engineer and for the tie-downs. So, there were a lot of costs that deducted away from the fund. But overall, I had a good experience with Finance of America Reverse and I would recommend them. While it took way too long for things to get done, the end result is that we’re getting a metal roof. The snow would come down off of it and nobody would have to get up on the roof. We can’t do that anymore.

The rep who I worked with was excellent through the whole process. He called me too much, which is a good thing and I felt very comfortable working with him. He called and made sure the paperwork was ready and he had pretty much everything all ready before we even signed anything. With reverse mortgage, we do not pay it back right off and the terms we got was high because the money upfront. But the rate we were given wasn't that high. I got an income coming in so that I have money in the bank. Finance of America Reverse has helped us out at about the right time. Check them out if it fits your situation.

I started with one gentleman, Steve, from Finance of America Reverse and he was there for me. I talked to him on a Friday and he overnighted me the information. By Monday, he called me and explained to me what was happening. Then, he left the company and they gave me another lady and she took over my file. Everything that was discussed with the prior representatives was taken in effect and she was great. If I had a question, I could call. If they didn’t have the answers, then they would go find them. I have a trust and they needed to get data from the trust. They contacted the underwriter and we did a three-way to explain to me how to proceed with that. They were there during all the steps of the way and they didn’t drop the ball once.

We opened the loan at the end of September and closed at the end of February since my birthday was February 24th. I was waiting ‘till I hit 62 in order for me to be a co-borrower on the loan instead of coming in and having to re-qualify later down the line. Also, a new law came into effect that changed the rates, which would save $30,000 at closing. At first, my husband was going to do a loan with me coming in later in order to save that $30,000 too. But we didn’t have to because the counselor came in and said that the FHA case number, which I had gotten at the end of September, was good for six months. Plus, finance of America was willing to wait for me to turn to 62, which most companies were not able to. And so, everything fell into place.

A couple of other people were trying to get me away from Finance of America. I had one lady say that she could beat Finance of America's rates. I presented that to them and they came back and beat her rates. She was gonna give me a $600 credit and Steve says that he'll run it by his manager. They came back and gave me a $1,000 credit at closing. Then, she offered a different margin but Finance of America beat that margin. I have family members telling me I’m making a big mistake and that I’m gonna lose my house but I didn’t listen to any of them because they didn’t know the truth. They don’t know what a reverse is. Getting a reverse mortgage was the best option that I could have chosen. Finance of America Reverse was wonderful and I couldn’t have a better experience.

The application process has been so far, so good. However, it got dragged out because I was not sure of this and that. It went on for a good five months. It was not really their fault. I was a truck driver. I was going through different things at that time, and I was not sure of what I wanted, but then once I made up my mind, it went very fast after that. The loan officer really went above and beyond. She is an asset to their company. She was right there when I needed her. If I really got upset about something because there were several times that I did not like the way things were going, she got right back to me, and she took care of it. I was very comfortable working with her because someone tried to steal me away from her, and I would not do it. Right at the last minute, this girl came in, and she wanted to give me a better deal, but I just would not do it to my Finance of America loan officer because she was there for me.

I knew what I was going to do before I talked to anybody. They gave you counseling and that, to me, was kind of a waste. But it's part of the process you have to go through. I thought it was stupid because you pretty much know what you are going to do when you get to that point. You had to get a counselor and when you got the counselor, they couldn’t have that interview with you at a certain time, so you had to change it, and you have it at a different time. I went to more rigmarole with that than anything else, and then you had to pay for it. The mortgage terms and rates could have been better, but at the point I was at, I just did not have much choice. Other than that, I would recommend my Finance of America loan officer because I like her and she worked hard. She was at my beck and call almost from the beginning of the whole process.

I started out on the process and ended up with the same officer, which was helpful. I worked with Toby and interacted with him over the phone. They were out of country for a short period, but the other person was also knowledgeable such that he didn’t have any real difficulties. I could get a hold of him on a moment’s notice and did more than once actually. The closing officer, I had a question on a Sunday afternoon at 4:00. We made a call long distance to them, and they got back to us in 20 minutes. That’s on a weekend. And that’s impressive. They were very direct, friendly, professional, knowledgeable, courteous, knew what they were doing and did it. I'd recommend them easily.

Finance of America Reverse worked exceedingly well with me to close the loan and the rate of the mortgage was good. Having a reverse mortgage made it easier for us to make our budget each month. As a senior citizen, I mistrust a lot of people because of a lot of scams and situations. And when things are spelled out for me, it means a lot. Finance of America Reverse made our lives easier and I would recommend it to anybody.

Tim from Finance of America Reverse was very good and completely upfront about everything. He was very professional and any time he told me he would get back with me the next day or if he had to get information, he would get back to me. He always did exactly what he said he was going to do. He was also completely honest which is something that’s hard to come by these days. Somebody would say they’ll do a thing for you and then halfway through the process, they change the rules or do something different. He was very efficient, knowledgeable, on top of his game and he took care of business. There was never any kind of pressure and it was all very casual and laidback.

During the application process, there was a huge stack of papers and it’s about five inches high of the process itself but it was all necessary. It’s like buying a house and this is another complete mortgage process. From the time we talked until the time we closed the loan, it was a good three weeks or so. The fact that it took as long as it did is part of the process. It was a lot of things to do and it takes time. I don’t have any kind of second thoughts or regrets or whatever about taking out the loan and I’m very happy with everything. As the value of my house goes up, the value of my money goes up. I just retired in January and I didn’t know exactly how the budget was going to look. But up to this point, it’s been a really good experience. I've already taken some money out to pay off some credit card debt which has allowed me to put more money into my budget so, it’s been a win-win so far with that.

The application process seemed fine considering when I've gone through other closings and other financial requests. When I paid off a home equity loan from Wells Fargo, that took a lot longer than this seem to take. The process with Finance of America Reverse was mostly a bunch of questions done over the phone, filling out some paperwork and then I sending them back. From start to finish, the process took 25 days at the most and it went very well. They reviewed the process with me upfront, gave me suggestions on who to call to get the certification so that I was aware of all the ins and outs of it, and explained how it would work and how much money I could get based on it.

They worked with me on the appraisal and worked that into the deal also so I didn’t have to pay anything upfront. Then they sent out the lady that did the closing at the house so it was easy. Their rates and terms were pretty much across the board. Each lender has to follow federal guidelines so there was not much difference between anybody. With Finance of America Reverse, I don’t have to worry about paying the home equity loan anymore to Wells Fargo and that was paid off immediately. I was also given a cash settlement of about $6000, and I have a $2000 addition that I have to wait till next year to use. It gave me some money to pay off some other bills, spend my kids and on other things. I’ve also recommended it to a couple of people already.

I had to fill out papers and the rep did a lot of the work. The application process was fairly easy once I understood it, which took me a while, and Melvin had to help me understand it. Finance of America did most of the work. The application and underwriting process took about two months which was longer than I thought it would be. That was mostly because Melvin wanted to know everything but that was good because then he could explain it to me in English. At first, it was a little frustrating but then I thought we would know everything before I sign anything.

The loan officer, Chuck, was great too. He was one of the easiest people I've ever worked with. He explained things in as simple a term as he could for a non-financial person. And although it may have taken him two or three days to get back to me sometimes, he always got back to me. He was as accommodating and nice as he could be too. I was impressed with his friendliness and his willingness to do whatever it was I needed to do to get this taken care of. I can't drive and I don't have a vehicle, and when it came to signing papers, he sent a lawyer to my house to do it. Finance of America paid to send the lawyer over to my house and not many places will do that. It is a good company to work with.

They also appraised my house for a whole lot more than I thought it would be worth and it was more than twice what I paid for this house, seven and a half years ago. But when I looked at appraisers of other real estate in the area, it has gone up. I've got a son who is a senior in college and he starts law school in the fall. The first couple of years, it was scholarships and in-state tuition and it was not very much. But he went out of state for these last two years and I have no idea what law school is going to cost. But I'm not spending the extra income and that's giving me peace of mind, knowing I've got a stash of cash if it's needed.

The loan officer was friendly and knowledgeable. However, we thought we had to pay the closing cost so we were holding out some money. That was included in the process and they held out the money. We had to go back and say, “Fix this,” because they took out the money twice. They were fine. We'd just get the end result, and we'd say, “No. That’s not what we were signing up.” So, they had to sign the paperwork back through. The person who came out to get our signatures tried to explain some things but she didn’t explain them too well. Nonetheless, we're done. I would tell friends to shop around, talk to people and get with whomever they feel comfortable with.

I talked to Jill and she worked her ass off and spent time to make sure that I got in there. She was faxing me stuff and I was signing things and faxing them back. She went out of her way. I didn’t think anybody would have ever done something like that. The process started in June and everything got finalized in December. Their rates were a bit higher than what I was paying but I would expect that. They also sent me a sheet that showed me what value would be in the house based on certain periods of time. My experience has been really good.

When it comes to the rates, compared to others, FAR seemed to be almost non-competitive in the sense that everybody was doing the same thing except with this one fee that they could literally just completely remove. I didn’t feel like I was getting a terribly good deal but I got a competitive deal in the sense that the agent was able to match anything that I had because I was there the same time I was being pestered by these other folks. The only thing that I found disconcerting was when he told me that they don't sell my loan like the others, and the first thing I got was some other company I'd never even heard of. I was disappointed that I didn’t get a complete heads up on that.

I got caught between federal housing regulations and Massachusetts’s regulations because they’re not exactly the same. My septic system wasn’t 50 feet away from my well and in Massachusetts, it only has to be 40 feet away. The same problem didn’t happen during the first reverse mortgage where everything went right through. Joe told me that there was a way, though. We simply put in a request and he told me exactly how to do it and almost exactly what to write. I had to go through a lengthy process. I had to ask hard for a waiver, put it in writing and explain why. But it worked out great in the end.

The rates were great and I was very excited to hear that I was making so much every month on the money I willed to just sit in the plan. It was about 5.5 percent, which was very nice. It’s also nice to stay in your own house and have quite a few thousands in the bank with nothing to do unless you have an emergency. I'd tell friends to do it as well.

The whole process took about six weeks at most. The rates were also very fair. It’s an FHA reverse mortgage and it was thoroughly explained to me what I would have to do if I sold the house or when I died and how the money was to be paid back. It was very well explained that I understood it. I would tell my friends exactly what I tell my children who were freaked out that I was doing it. The process has changed and it's no longer something to be afraid of. It is now an FHA mortgage and my children wouldn't lose the house the minute I die. They have a year to sell it and it isn't going to be snatched away from them. They could either pay the mortgage back themselves or they could sell the house and pay it back. I was counseled well enough and I have enough literature from the contract and from the counselors. It was well-developed and wasn’t something where seniors were going to lose their homes like what happened in the past.

He kept in contact with us and he was the only one that I allowed to keep calling us because he wasn’t pushy. He was also able to answer my questions. He was honest, forthright, and when he said, "I’m not sure about that. Let me check it out and I’ll call you back,” he did it. Then, if ever he was not there, ill or something, rather than waiting until he got back, his manager Eric would call us and let us know things that we needed to know. The team was really good. Finance of America has always been very good and when there was a problem they were right there to answer it and take care of it.

I had to get a counseling service and get everything in order. I had a lawyer who got the deed put in my name because when my father passed away he didn't have a will, and it went to my mother. Then when she passed away it was probated in both their names. The application process with Finance of America Reverse was very good, fast and very efficient. I had a very good interaction with the loan officer, Matt. He was very good in answering my questions and in calling me back when I needed something. He did a good job. He was very nice, very helpful, very efficient and fast.

The rate of the reverse mortgage was very good and it was also a very good closing cost. Working with Finance of America Reverse took the burden off of me so I could pay my bills and I have a lease just set up with them and they're going to pay my homeowner's insurance and my taxes every year out of my reverse mortgage. It used to keep me up a night worrying about my bills, but now, I can pay my bills, and so, it's a very good deal. If anybody needed Finance of America Reverse, I would surely recommend them as they treat their clients fair and do a very good job.

Randy was the guy that I spoke to most of the time about the reverse mortgage and he had people come out to look at the house. He was very patient with me and he tried to help me to get the stuff done in a timely fashion. He was very helpful, knowledgeable and understanding. I felt very comfortable working with him because I had his work number and he also gave me his personal number after I tried to reach him but couldn’t.

I had to get some things done first before I got approved and those things took me about a month and a half. The crawl space door needed to be painted and my vinyl siding needed to be repaired. I also had to do pressure washing to the house because of the green scum on it. Then I had to have somebody come out and determine how long the roof could last without the need for major repairs. But Finance of America Reverse took me step by step on what was needed and they gave me time to get it done, which was very nice on their part because it was so long and hard for me to get it done.

Another reverse mortgage called me while I was doing that process and they told me that I was too old to get this and I was too that. But I didn’t care what they were saying. That was the first time I was doing a reverse mortgage and up to that point, Randy had not lied to me. I also felt really good about the experience with Finance of America Reverse because a lot of people were saying that it wasn’t good but I went to see for myself and it’s a great program. The little bit that I received from them made me comfortable.

I'm Swiss and when I sold my house in Switzerland, we had two signatures and the whole deal was done. But here, I have to sign off here and there while applying. We remodeled our kitchen and they came to make an estimate. We exchanged for new cabinets but everything else were new. We also have running water, hot and cold, and my wife has a stove to work with. It just didn’t look as nicely. But it seemed to bother them more than me. Then, because the kitchen was not finished, they kept bugging me when it would be done and said that they would need pictures of the finished kitchen. I told them that I wasn't gonna rush any contractor and that I'd do it my way. I'm still waiting for proposals for the countertop and samples for the backsplash.

Getting everything in place took a week. The loan officer was very knowledgeable and she tried to explain as good as she could. She stayed on top of things and didn’t bug me too often. We knew all the options we had right from the beginning because I looked into reverse mortgage a long time ago. And this time, I still have a mortgage on my house and I talked already to the loan officer who said, "Okay. If you have a reverse mortgage, then some of the proceeds you get, some of the credit we will use to pay off your mortgage." I asked at what percentage and then she came up with the interest. And I said that I would pay off the mortgage myself and I would give them a call.

I came back with them a year ahead, but because I was in no rush, I didn’t look too much into a reverse mortgage because it was just a backup for us should ever something serious happened to us. But then, Washington changed the time frame. We paid off our mortgage September 15 to get the old conditions so that put me then in a rush. But it wasn't the reverse mortgage's fault because we waited till we have already paid off our mortgage, and then I came back to them again.

I saw different proposals and I saw something I liked better. But I was already much further along with the reverse mortgage and the experience and the service they've provided were good. I would tell my friends that Finance of America Reverse Mortgage is definitely worth to give time to. However, Finance of America Reverse should simplify the lending process. I said, "Can you not create a cover sheet referring to all the documents? Then you sign this cover sheet and the signature is valid for whatever is listed on this cover sheet." We don't have time to read all these things. We only start reading it if we have issues unless one would take their time. They also should have a website where I could log in and sign in all my information. Plus, they wouldn't need to send me my monthly statement in paper then.

The loan officer was very helpful and apologetic but she had to go back to some supervisor who would request more information. Every time she was told by her supervisor to get more documentation, she was sympathetic and understanding. She got me as much information as I could and explained why they wanted it. When I wanted to give up, she encouraged me to keep on going, which I did. I felt very comfortable with her but felt uncomfortable with the supervisor. However, the rate and terms of the reverse mortgage I received were very high. I would tell a friend to get some competitive bids so that they can make an intelligent choice.

Obtaining the mortgage was just a slow process with all the different components. We live out in the country so everything had to be notarized. It made it a lot more complicated because of our location. But if we were in the city, it would have been a lot simpler. You have to go meet people 30, 40 miles away. But it wasn't that difficult. You just have to go step-by-step. We didn't have to have a mass amount of material or anything to do it. Plus the loan officer was real friendly, prompt and accurate. She did a real good job returning phone calls and so was her boss. He also was very helpful.

Every time I turned around, they wanted another letter of explanation or another signature that had to be notarized and we have to send somebody to your house. It was horrible. They should get knowledgeable people that tell the truth and listen to what you're saying. They said I'm going to close on Friday and then the following Monday I'm still waiting. They said, "You'll have your money on Tuesday." And the following Friday you're still, "Where's my money?" They have to be honest. And then they said, "Oh, you said you didn’t want your money." "What? Why the hell would I be taking a reverse mortgage if I didn’t need the money? All along, I've been telling you I need the money." They listen but they don't hear.

I don't know that they worked with me. I think that they were working against me. But the receptionist at the main office was the most cooperative person I talked to at Reverse Mortgage. The receptionist was wonderful. She stayed on the line with me. She found me people who supposedly were going to help. She got me answers right away, even the questions she didn’t know the answers to.

I should have gone with the TV personality. And the longer they held it up, the more the rate was going up because, of course, supposedly the economy is improving. So what you're quoted in the beginning by the time they close it's something totally different. My blood pressure was up almost on a daily basis. I told the branch manager exactly what I thought. And he, even in the end after it was finally all said and done, had the nerve to call me and asked me how my experience was. "Please return my call." I wouldn’t do it again and I’d never recommend them. Go to somebody else.

The process of obtaining the mortgage wasn't that complicated. The main part is to get our head around wrapping how that mortgage works. I have a finance background, but even for I found it challenging to follow how that instrument is structured. But once I understood it, that made it simple to move forward. The biggest impediment for their industry was to communicate how the instrument works and people have a lot of confusion about it.

This last one that we executed with Finance of America Reverse was a long time. We’ve processed it and we fell short a year ago on being able to get it through. We had an appraisal for the property which came in low and we battled that. Olivia, the loan officer, was terrific and she was very helpful with that. We got that reversed and they up the assessment by quite a bit, which was great. We weren’t able to execute the completion of that loan due to other problems on our side, but she never gave up on us. She was very knowledgeable, and I don’t know what she could have done better.

What Finance offers to the community is a very viable product for a good part of the population, and helping seniors stay in their homes, which was our goal for our father. We wanted him to afford the care that he would need so this has helped us and I couldn't afford it in our current situation. My father is pretty old and he has just been in the hospice care recently. There’s a year holding period before he can access the bulk of the funds and the loan, and he’s coming out of that. In this particular instance, it would be helpful if they would not require full year delay and if there was some flexibility depending on the age or the health of the client.

His initial withdrawal was very helpful, but the bulk of the funds is unavailable until December and he may not make it till then and we could really use the funds now. I know Finance is trying to do this to protect seniors and that’s the intent. But they can, in particular cases especially like my father’s, do harm by those kinds of regulations. He would much benefit by having the funds now as opposed to after he’s gone but I think that was the Housing and Urban Development's regulation.

The rate and terms were good as well. And for me, it was a no-brainer because I have four kids who are all doing very well financially so, they don’t need the money. And I’ve been in the house for 40 years and had worked on it and just got it the way I wanted it. I had to have my children be counseled because I didn’t realize that they were on an inheritance type D thing. So, if anything happens to me, they would receive the house. We should’ve just resented that and we could have done something better later on. I thought it was just a record D but the rep set things up for me. I would recommend getting a reverse mortgage and I would recommend Finance of America Reverse.

We worked with a few of their reps. They all seemed polite, cordial and well-informed. I would have preferred dealing with one but that may not be how the system works like when you go buy a car. You talk to a salesman and he gets pushed off to his boss and pushed off to the person that finally puts all the paperwork together and gives you the key. Also, I looked most of the things on my own and read as much as I could instead of asking them very specific questions but when I had questions, they answer them the best of their ability. As for the rate, everybody thinks it could have been better but to me, they were fair to what the market dictated at the time.

Finance of America changed a lot of things. We were rotten status quo kind of a situation and now I'm getting work done on the house that's badly needed. And there's been quite a few changes in the process before we started the reverse mortgage aspect of but it certainly couldn't have been without it. I would tell my friends that in my situation, a reverse mortgage worked out great and it would be better if they find out if that's something that they could use. At this point, I have zero complaints about doing it. I was apprehensive before but as we sit here today I'm happy we did it.

Getting a reverse mortgage involved a lot of paperwork, bank statements, and proof of income. Since I paid cash for my house, I spent so much time showing that I already had the money. I got the money from selling my previous house and taking some out of savings. That was a big stumbling block and the underwriters did not like that.

The address on my driver’s license was also another issue for them. When I moved, I registered my new address with the state, but they didn't issue a new license. So the address on the driver’s license did not match the address on the house. And even though I had established that I had bought the house six months earlier, the underwriters went nuts on that one. I had to send a letter of explanation why the address on my driver’s license was different than my current address. I also had to show copies of utility bills proving they came to me at this address and that was weird. Also, I lived in the country before where you didn’t get mail at your physical address, you got it at the post office, and I had to write a letter explaining that.

The application and underwriting process took only took six weeks but that was because my guy was right on top of it. His name was John and he was fantastic. He would ask for stuff, I would get it to him, and he immediately turned everything over. John really worked hard and he knew what he was doing. I also appreciated that right from day one, he sent me a list of the most common things the underwriters ask for that hold up loans and told me to start working on them. That helped because I was able to get everything ahead of time.

If I had a question or if I didn’t know something, John always got back to me that day or first thing the next morning, so there were no delays. The longest he ever took to get back to me was 24 hours, and that was because he was out with a flu. With the other company I was also working with, when I had a question for their rep, it took her five days to return my phone call.

Finance of America Reverse was efficient and I was very happy with them. I don’t think it was the best bargain on the market, but you get what you pay for in the sense that they knew what they were doing and they were able to get the loan. Plus, John never lied to me and was always straightforward about what was going on while some of the other companies were offering the moon. The speed was also important because I had all of these repairs and I needed to get them done. I would tell my friends to go with no other company and that Finance of America Reverse is the only company to go with.

I looked at a list of reverse mortgage companies and I got the ones that had the highest ratings, and Finance of America Reverse was in the top 5. Then out of those top 5 companies, I wound up picking them. I also liked the interest rate of Finance of America Reverse. They charged a little more, but they gave more interest on the balance. On top of this, they had the least pressure. They didn’t try to do the hard close on me, whereas other people kept trying to call, bother, and hard close. I’ve been in sales all my life and nothing is more annoying than some guy trying to throw down the criteria of overcoming objections and I know what he’s doing, but he doesn’t know that I know what he's doing, and it’s insulting to my intelligence.

Josh, the rep of Finance of America Reverse that worked with me, was wonderful. He's a really nice guy and he seemed to be most honest. All the other reverse mortgage guys tried to negotiate on pricing, although I thought they would offer it upfront. Josh was very sincere and most helpful through the whole process, and he worked hard. He followed up on stuff and made things easy for me because I’m not really tech-oriented on a lot of little stuff such as how to send stuff via computer. So, he sent stuff to me through FedEx, which made it easy for me to get documents back and forth, and I was able to scrutinize them at my leisure. He didn’t pressure me, unlike the other reverse mortgage guys who were bothering me. Moreover, Josh was great in communications.

In the beginning, I was trying to be conservative. I only took a couple of thousand out to pay a couple of bills. But the process didn’t work that quickly and when the things were fixed, the money was credited back in a couple of days. Josh was able to speed up some of my paperwork to get the request forms sent to me and I went ahead and requested for more money. Josh was very personable and he knew how to get the bureaucratic process working, and he ironed out all the problems. I'd tell people that they should talk to Josh.