Finance of America Reverse Reviews

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

To get the mortgage, I had to give them my taxes, ID and all my banking information. Then they sent out a notary with the documents. The loan was closed at my house, so we didn't have to go anywhere to close it. The process was overall a very pleasant experience, except that they screwed around and took longer to close than I wanted. It took around two months but that was okay. Then the underwriting agent who approved the loan was new, so she was covering herself real good and there was a lot of redundancy in answering and sending in information about the same things. And although the rates for the actual mortgage were good, the rate for the mortgage protection insurance was a little high at 2%. That didn't matter to me though as that just digs out of equity faster, and I didn't care about the equity because I'm going to live here in my house for the rest of my life. Nevertheless, I would recommend Finance of America Reverse to everybody.

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.

Also, on the day that we were signing papers, I got a checklist of everything we needed to have ready. And I was really miffed thinking he knew about all these things well in advance. We should have gotten the checklist 30 days in advance. My mom was very stressed out and I tried to keep her calm. In dealing with the elderly, it never should come down to a last-minute deadline to get something. My mom has a couple of her elderly friends who are also looking into this, and I told them that I would use the company but I would not use that gentleman.

Other than that, I liked the results and the money. I did a lot of research on 10 different companies, and with Finance of America Reverse, everything was great with the ratings and the comments. They came out as the number one which is why I suggested to my mother to go with them. There was so much paperwork and jokingly, I had taken a picture of the approximate inch over inch of paper. I told my mother that it was the same thing as buying a house all over again. But I felt everything that was done was necessary and it was done extremely well. I was also really impressed by their sending the notary to my mom’s house instead of us finding a notary.

The notary was very informed on everything, except for one. There was one paper that we decided not to sign and he didn’t understand why. It was the one to relinquish the rights to have a copy of the evaluation of the home price before closing. I understood why they all would do it. I should not hold up the closing, but my mom was very concerned and I told her that we didn’t have to sign anything. I told her that we could walk away from the deal. But overall, the process was fantastic.

Our goal was for our mom to have a quality life until she passes away. So what we focused on was the most amount of money. What mattered was the first disbursement and the second disbursement and how that would affect my mother’s quality of life. And the only way she could lose her house was if she didn’t pay her taxes or keep up with her homeowner’s insurance.

My mother was living social security check to social security check. It was too tight and she was going behind on the amount of money coming in compared to what she was using. I know my mom’s finances better than she does and she was overspending to the tune of about $600 a month. I sat down with her and I showed her where she was at. We evaluated everything that was available and we looked at a regular refinance of the house but it would not free as much money as the reverse mortgage did. She had no other choice but to do the mortgage.

Now, she’s increased her allotment for food per week from $50 a week to $75 a week. Her entertainment dollars went from $15 a week to $45 a week, plus she’s putting $50 a month into savings. The people who she owed money to, I also got them to agree to a $100 a month paying them off. By the next disbursement in January, she will owe nothing to anybody and she’ll be able to put $200 more a month into savings, which will allow her to go on trips. I’m teaching her basic financial fundamentals and I’m her auditor. She was in tears of joy saying that without me working with her, she wouldn’t be able to be where she’s at today and she doesn’t even need a credit card. So, the tool was the reverse mortgage and we were able to use that to give her this quality of life that she needed.

Compared to other companies, Finance of America Reverse responded sooner, better and a little more aggressive. But my wife was having a tough time health-wise and the biggest stumbling block was the power of attorney and whether it was acceptable. I had to get a doctor to make a statement that my wife knew she had given me the power of attorney and we were dealing with MD Anderson which is a bureaucratic institution. But our loan officer was very good and tenacious. I was ready to dance out but she was persistent. She didn't let things drop and I felt very comfortable working with her. The closing cost was $15,000 and that was a little troubling. It's not the type of financial transaction that you wanna have short-term. You gotta amortize those closing costs. But the rate seems reasonable, at least, right now.

The loan officer was very good. She explained everything to me. It was also explained to me that my taxes would be paid off and some of my debts. It helped me out because I was in such a bind that time. The whole process took a little over than three months. Now at once a month for five years, they'd give me $3,000. I was satisfied with everything. I don't believe anyone would go wrong if they will use Finance of America.

The process started with us telling them what we were interested in, whether it was a cash-out or a long-term investment. Then they went through to find out what my obligations were against the house and what we could wind up getting from the house. I sent stuff back and forth and they had somebody come to the house and fill out an application. Then we went through the appraisal and other necessary hoops that the government decided was necessary. There were a few glitches that we had to work through but we did it in under 90 days. People came to the house to sign the papers in a timely manner, and they were really good.

They handled everything in an absolutely professional, first-class way. When they said what they needed, as long as I got that to them, they were delightful to work with. Plus, their communication was very professional. If I asked a question, they answered it. And if they asked a question, I answered. They knew how to handle the painful process of questioning and the process of dealing with incredibly impatient people like myself.

We got a fair deal in a fair period of time with a fair interest rate and with a fair return. Finance of America removed an incredible amount of pressure from my life, and probably from my wife’s also. I don’t understand why more people aren’t doing a reverse mortgage. It’s an absolute no-brainer, especially for a retired person. Why leave the equity tied up? And if they work with Finance of America Reverse, it would be an experience of professionalism unlike they probably would ever have again.

I’m a young retired person and if anything happens to me in the next ten years, there’s going to be plenty of equity there anyhow. Also, I have the privilege of having a substantially younger wife who will be able to stay here as long as she wants to and she won't have to worry about it until she either decides to sell the home or when something happens to her and she passes on. And if a woman is happy, the man is also happy. The reverse mortgage was to secure things more for my wife than for me. When something happens to me, that’s one less thing she has to deal with in a time of real crisis in the family.

The application process, however, was long. Somebody screwed up somewhere. They didn’t know about the California law where it read that you have to do a certain thing before you could do the next thing and that there is a guideline which they have to go through. They came out and they did an appraisal on my house before they were supposed to and that set everything back a month since we had to go through the whole thing again. They got some of the money to me that I wanted but I just took what I actually wanted. Everything went really well and I'm really happy with Finance of America Reverse. I get a statement once a month telling me the interest that they charge out.

She wouldn't tell me anything that led me in the wrong way. She still contacts me, letting me know what's going on. If I need to know or have a question, all I have to do is call her and she gets right back to me if I couldn’t get her. The reverse mortgage helped my life a lot. I don't have to worry about certain things anymore. And as far as the company goes, they're friendly. They're doing a good job for people. I've told several friends because most of them are my age and older so they're thinking about doing the same thing.

We were trying to get in before an October deadline, but we didn’t make it. The process was kinda weird in the fall, but it all fell into place. I also had trouble finding someone from HUD to do the counseling. I also had hoped my house would worth more at first, but that was okay because it didn't put me in that much debt. Now, I don’t have to pay a mortgage anymore, which has freed me up immensely. It’s a lot easier now and I don’t have to worry. I would recommend Finance of America Reverse.

Then, I had to do counseling. When you're late for it, they want to know why. If you went to the doctor, you have to get a note from the doctor. They didn't tell me about how much I would have to pay for the closing, and that was very expensive. They also didn't tell me that I couldn't touch the money for a year because they come out it'll grow but it ain't growing that much. I also have to pay interest on the money, but they didn't tell me that either. When closing came I was so sad. I felt like I did the wrong thing. Do not do a reverse mortgage. Sell your house or rent it out.

In fact, I even called Julie when we had something come in the mail that was talking about the reverse mortgage. It was someone else trying to redo the reverse mortgage and making my stepdad think that he was from the reverse mortgage company that my stepdad had been dealing with. Julie was able to find out who the guy was, and we called him and told him that my stepfather didn't need a reverse mortgage as he had just done one. The overall process took a week or two and the reason it took that long was due to time restraints since my stepfather and I had to get together and do things together, so we had to coordinate our schedules. Everything went great with Finance of America Reverse and it was a smooth process.

We used F of A software to give them direct access to our account. It could not get past the bank's security system. We moved to Florida and rented for a year while house hunting. Our landlord was a person with zero business ability. With my wife at 800 FICO and me currently at 790 and flawless credit the underwriters demanded a letter from our landlord verifying timely payments. That was exasperating with Debbie and me calling her daily begging her to sign the document and return it.

Fortunately we were successful. Debbie called, we were going to close the next day. Hurray! Debbie calls back an hour later and indicated that the underwriters wanted an additional 12 months from our Cincinnati residence. Closing delayed. Underwriters then indicated that we were not on the deed in our Cincinnati residence and wanted proof of residency and more bank statements showing payments for an additional c.f. 12 months. We purchased the home directly from the owners. They held the paper and we filed notice with the recorder.

Had the underwriters simply looked at the recorder's web page they would have found our name. Now we had to produce the original purchase document that was recorded. Good enough? No no no. We had to produce the HUD 1 and sales documents when we sold the house with everyone's name. Finance of America has a great product. Cody and Debbie are outstanding. We were one more demand from the underwriters away from canceling the application.

One of the things I feared in starting the inquiry into reverse mortgage was that I would be, or feel to be, pressured to move forward even if I didn't feel ready. I felt no pressure from Robert in any way. He answered my questions and explained things as many times as I needed him to for me to feel comfortable with my decision. Robert was easily accessible to me at all times. If I left him a message, he promptly returned my call. He almost literally held my hand every step of the way, explaining every new form or process as we went along. I thoroughly enjoyed each interaction with Robert. He was easy to talk to. I never felt intimidated or like he was talking down to me, no matter how crazy my questions might have appeared. I always felt that he not only heard my concerns, but also had my best interest at heart. That is very rare in most business transactions, in my experience.

All of the folks I met as a result of applying for this loan were friendly, helpful and considerate. That includes Julie, the loan processor, Darryl **, who did my loan application and closing, and even the man who did the home appraisal. I would recommend Finance of America, and Robert ** in particular, to anyone needing your services. You all made everything easy and comfortable. Thank you.

The process, however, can be very tedious. Because it's going to be a reverse mortgage, there were an awful lot of paperwork and an awful lot of things that were hidden that I did not even know about. So, it was something that was a little bit more cumbersome than I thought, but I should have expected it. I had a catastrophe I was dealing with down in Florida, and if indeed I'd ever need something to tap into, it would be them.

I don't see it too much different than doing any other company other than the fact that they are not a diversified company. I had done research on some several companies, and the rates are relatively the same. There's a few minor difference on policy, but pretty much everybody is the same in that area. Finance of America Reverse only concentrates on reverse mortgages, and I found that more appealing. And, also, they have offices here in South Florida.

The only thing that I wasn’t crazy about was that everything was a go, and then, at the last minute, the underwriter came back and said that I had to show a proof of employment for the last six months. I said that I just changed my job, and hadn’t been working for six months. They replied that if that was the case, I would have to give them my social security because that will be my proof of income, and I told them that I did have proof of income. So, the good thing was that I did give them my social security, and I was able to treat my job as a part time thing. So, it worked out better. However, Finance of America’s rates were a little higher. When I talked with AAG, they gave me an interest rate that was a percent and a half lower, but they had a higher closing cost. Finance of America, on the other hand, didn’t give me a closing cost.

However, they messed up our insurance. Somehow, our insurance got dropped because they wanted it changed into their name. I don't know if it was the insurance company's issue or the explanation of the mortgage officer, but we ended up with our house insurance being canceled because of a call that was made by someone at FAR. Other than that, everything was great. The reverse mortgage is going to help us, though I don't understand why it says our loan is $225,000.

I liked how they explained everything to me, and how everything would come down to what I needed to know about having a reverse mortgage. They didn't leave out anything and they made sure I understood everything. They had papers that I needed to sign and they gave me days to read through it. And if there were any questions that I wanted to ask them, they were very much available for me to ask them and get the answers that I needed. The loan officer would get back in touch with me not even in 12 hours. Plus obtaining the mortgage was very easy. Working with FAR has impacted my life for the betterment of it. I'm very satisfied with everything.

Looking around I realized that they all have to basically stick to the same guides and got rules. The only difference is going to be how much closing cost type stuff they've got. And from what Finance of America indicated it was going to be about as low as you can get. The biggest problem for me during the application was we had to carve out five acres. I wished I could have done the whole thing with all 60 acres. But nobody wants to do that. That means I had to go in and get the surveyor to carve it out. And then, that added change things with the county as far as our land parcel was concerned. That part of it was a pain. But as far as Finance of America is concerned it really wasn't a problem. If I've been a normal homeowner with just a lot and a house it would have been a snap.

I actually applied with him twice. The first time around, to my rude surprise, they did not value the home as much as I wanted. The place that we live is unbelievable but the person who did the real estate assessment, in my opinion, didn't take into account the uniqueness of our place with the changes that we made. And we didn't get as much as we wanted. And so I said, "Well, based on that, I'm going to hold off for a year and go ahead and make the improvements to my home that I was going to make with the reverse mortgage. And see if that could up things and so forth."

People warned me about that specifically that I'm not going to get my money out of it and all those kinds. But since I'm going to use the money to upgrade anyway, I might as well go ahead and do it and hope for the best. So the first time we expired the six months thing so we had to reapply. And fortunately we were able to get it in before the changes to the program. And all along, the same guy, Scott, is keeping up with me, calling me and giving me advice about stuff. And he just did a real nice job. He was just very thoughtful and gave you the impression like you're next-door neighbors. He would check back with me and answered all my questions. He kind of greased the tracks all the way along. And especially since in my case, it was a pain to have to get all to arrange the five acres and all that kind of thing so he stayed in touch with me.

The application and underwriting process took a few weeks and it went very fast. However, the rates are quite high for the initial services. I don't even have an expensive house, but it didn't make a difference. It was over $8,000 just to take off the loan, and I thought that was really high for a loan of less than $80,000. FAR was quite good in the process and I'm very happy with the service that I got, but I would warn people about the cost of the initial process. Also, I don't understand why they're sending me insurance on my loan and calling it a mortgage. It doesn't make any sense why they should be contacting me to take out mortgage insurance on a mortgage that they don't even have the right numbers on.

I would highly recommend the last notary that came out here. She was very professional and she understood everything. She was able to explain stuff to us while we were going to the signing procedures. The other guy that FAR sent out didn’t know anything. He was just a post man doing this for a second job. He didn’t answer any questions for me and couldn’t explain any of the paperwork for me. He didn’t want to take the time to let me read it all. The last lady that came out did the planning for us and she was on the mark with everything. Any question we had, she had the answer. She didn’t miss any signature lines, exactly what everything was, where it was and how it was supposed to be signed. She was on her game. She was very pleasant to do business with. Another girl that I worked with was really professional too. She was very nice and easy to work with. I highly recommend that others use FAR.

The loan officer followed up on everything and made sure that we were made aware of everything that was going to happen and everything came through. He was topnotch. The biggest problem we had was with the original attorney that came out. He didn't have the patience that was needed. He wanted to start going through the paperwork by skipping and signing instead of explaining everything as my mother was signing, and then he made the comment that if he did that, he'd be here all day. We stopped the process right there and told the loan officer to send us somebody else. But the FAR team was excellent and the rate was fair. The process was laid out so I'm happy.

My loan officer was Stacy and I loved her familiarity. We talked business and she was a very intelligent young woman, had a great sense of humor and was more than willing to answer any questions that I had to make me understand the process. David was my guidance director that I had to go see, and he was great as well. He explained things down to my level and not at an upper level where they're talking legalities. He brought it down to a human level where you can understand the who, what and where.

In the beginning, I was a little nervous but that was expected. But now I can go and do what I want. I can do a little traveling and get a few extra things to upgrade my house. Or if I decide I want to go buy a new car, I got the money. I can sit back and live on my social security and retirement, and I got all my bills paid off. I'm also able to get my teeth done, which is another another reason why I got a reverse mortgage. I would tell my friends to go to Finance of America Reverse and I'd go the extra mile to give them all the information I could give.

I’ve also talked to AIG, and their representative didn’t give me as much information, faxed me, or mailed me anything. They didn’t do anything for me. Finance of America, on the other hand, mailed me a whole bunch of information, and really gave me all that I needed. The process took a couple of months, which was pretty quick, considering that it was during the Christmas holidays. Ellen was just great, and she helped me a lot. However, there were a lot of paperwork, and my mother in law had to sign about 20 pages twice. It was first preliminary, and when everything got finalized, there was a change, and she had to go back and sign again after the evaluation. It was a lot of paperwork, but I understood that. Finance of America’s terms were pretty well. I’m not paying anything back yet. I had a couple of payments, and that has worked pretty well.

My loan officer took care of all the questions. I also worked with the manager when he stepped in because the loan officer had a family emergency. They worked together and it was a seamless transfer. The application process was really simple and including the underwriting, it took about three months. Now, I don’t have any payments anymore and I’m going to retire in another year.

But I don't understand Celink paying me. I include interest of $400 and they charged me $200 and some for the interest and the mortgage insurance. And Celink has been taking that out of the untouched equity. They took it from my portion of my interest that I earned that was supposed to go into my line of credit. I found that very strange. Because I've got a huge chunk of equity build up in my house that I can't touch it's not doing me any good. And I'm wondering what they're going to do when their line of credit is less than my interest if they try to get into my line of credit then we're going to have problems. But as far the rates I know they were good. The maximum amount that they could charge me is 8% and they can only charge 2% at a time until they reach that maximum. Finance of America is a very good company but they are a mortgage broker, not a finance company.

The application process was convoluted and not very pleasant, though. Even though the people at Finance of America walked me through it, the FHA imposes a lot of overkill in terms of what they're asking for documentation. I understood it because there is some abuse of these mortgages, but it seemed a bit too much to me. I also found the questions asked to be very invasive. It was also difficult to prove that I live in this house and that I didn’t still live in my old house. It was again a lot of hard requirements and I don’t know how they're involved in it.

It was a long distance thing working with the loan officer, who was in Tulsa while I'm in New York. A couple of times I was wondering why such a long distance. I was thinking do they really have any people in New York and have they made me loans there, but I was assured that they did. I got many calls from the loan officer and at first I thought it was a little on the high pressure side, but after the initial application it sort of calmed down a little bit. It was helpful in having someone explain to me why they needed each piece of information, but it just was a lot of hassle. Some days it seems like there were several phone calls, then after the closing when I had some questions, I got no answers at all. I guess they turned it over to a servicing company, who finally sent me a packet of information that I got several weeks later.

It was certainly very expensive to get the mortgage, starting out with quite a high balance because of the closing costs. Closing was in December, and there was a bit of a thing at the end where they wanted to pre-pay some local taxes due January 31st. In fact, I hadn’t even received my tax bill and I didn’t until January 2nd or 3rd. They said they were required to pay anything that was due within 90 days before the closing and so that was added to my balance and they said, “After it's over you can pay us back for that and reduce the balance.” I found that strange, and then when I got my tax bill from the town, I looked it up on the website and it said this has not been paid.

I tried to contact Finance of America. I said, “What was this $2,000 that was taken out? It said it was for taxes.” I went and paid them, then I found out later on that it had been paid, but it hadn’t been recorded as such by the town. I had to get it all back from the town. It was sloppy, and what they claimed was paid was not the same amount as the tax bill, which was $1,600. I don’t know where the other money went. I wrote emails to the person I dealt with in Tulsa and I got no answer whatsoever.

I doubt anybody else would have done a better job than Finance of America, though. They were certainly straightforward and thorough. Every single T was crossed and every I dotted. They also provided me with tons of documentation. I have confidence in them as being honest. The whole recent changes in reverse mortgages to tighten it up and reduce the amount you get a little bit, I don’t think the reverse mortgage company has any control over that. A couple of times during the whole thing I said, "Why don’t we just forget it?" A lot of the parts of the procedure that seemed burdensome were probably not their fault.