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Finance of America Reverse Reviews

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About Finance of America Reverse

Finance of America Companies helps retirees by offering a range of home financing options, including reverse mortgages and home improvement loans as well as home-sharing services. As of April 2023, Finance of America acquired American Advisors Group (AAG).

Visit www.financeofamerica.com
Pros
  • Refinancing options
  • Loans up to $4 million
  • No origination fees
Cons
  • Proprietary product only in 28 states

Finance of America Reverse Reviews

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    Page 8 Reviews 825 - 975
    Verified purchase
    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Oct. 22, 2020

    Finance of America provided a reverse mortgage for us and the process took about 8 to 12 weeks, which was longer than I thought. But it was all right. My loan officer was Dane and he was so good. He was very personable and I liked his responsiveness. I never had to wait on him and he was always on the mark and ready to give me answers. He was very approachable and he called me back when he said he was gonna call me back. I really appreciated Dane’s help.

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    Customer ServiceTechStaffRates

    Reviewed Oct. 21, 2020

    I went online and looked at the ratings and reviews of different companies. I decided on Finance of America Reverse and another company so I contacted both of them. I reached out to Finance of America Reverse and they hooked me up with an advisor, Julie. She was very informative and very nice. We got along well and she explained everything to me. Also, I asked both companies what they could do for me and Finance of America had a better deal so I went with them.

    The process took about two months, from when I started talking to Julie until we went to closing. The process was an over-the-phone kinda thing and I didn't have any problems. She wanted some material and I scanned everything and sent those to her. I felt comfortable working with them. The appraisal came back kinda low and the appraiser used houses that were 15 miles away from me when there were houses being sold around me within three or four miles and I really questioned that. Julie looked into it and they did it again. I sent the appraiser about three or four comps and they upped the appraisal to 40 grand. They stood behind me. A friend asked me about reverse mortgage and I told him about my experience. I told him to look into Finance of America Reverse and that they worked with me. I gave him Julie's name.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaffRates

    Reviewed Oct. 20, 2020

    I was happy with the application process and Finance of America Reverse worked out okay for us. The rep was excellent. He was good on follow-up and I felt very comfortable working with him after we got over a couple of bumps and a little more communication. I was sent an email inviting me to set up an online account using the account number. The account number didn't arrive for another four days in a mailing and the only account number I had was from the escrow papers. One of their people eventually called me but I had already figured it out. It was irksome but it got resolved.

    I've been looking at line of credits and compared to a line of credit, the reverse mortgage was very straightforward. The rates and terms were competitive though I'm still curious to see what happens after a year and how they adjust it. The mortgage is for my mom and it enabled us to keep her at home longer. It's an important tool, sometimes, for families who are considering things like that. We were able to get it done in a fairly expedient manner and it eliminated problems from my life.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 19, 2020

    Deciding you need to mortgage your house to keep it is difficult. I got the same quote from AAG Mutual of Omaha and Finance America. This was by far the best deal. The agent Katie is the stuff old peoples dreams are made of! She got me a hard copy package immediately and everything I needed was not only in the package but in the order that was requested by the counsellor. The others sent emails i had to print to compare. She thought of everything and completely eliminated my anxiety. This is a good company and Katie ** is in no small part responsible for my opinion. She's in San Diego. Call her. Good luck to you all!

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaffHonesty & Transparency

    Reviewed Oct. 19, 2020

    I contacted Finance of America back in the later part of 2018 to start learning and understanding about the possibility of a reverse mortgage would work for us. I was given Julie ** as our contact representative. Julie worked with us throughout the process. It was very big, important decision that would have a big impact on our lives.

    We had many questions for over a year, we were very undecided but she was patient, professional and provided us with the information that helped us make the decision to move forward a reverse mortgage and choose Finance of America. It has changed our life for the better for us so we can stay in our home. We feel both Julie and the company are honest to deal with.

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    CoverageTechStaffRates

    Reviewed Oct. 19, 2020

    Finance of America Reverse was the first people I found that were willing to finance my reverse mortgage and they did a good job. The application and underwriting process was long because they had to do two different property values. The appraiser had to come out twice. So, they came out once and it appraised high. They said they didn’t have any control over it. When they put it into the computer, the computer was gonna tell them whether they have to appraise it a second time. So, it popped up as requesting a second appraisal, which was what took the longest because the second people that went to appraise were busy and they couldn't get to me.

    Miranda, the rep that I was dealing with, was helpful and she explained everything to me. She provided me with the answers and it worked out perfectly. Everything she told me she was going to do or what was going to happen was right on time so I was happy with that. She was great and she couldn't have been better. I felt like I knew her forever when I was talking with her the very first time. The terms are okay although the rate for reverse mortgages are a little bit higher than what the going rate is. If I had to redo the reverse mortgage again today, Finance of America Reverse are the people that I would go to right now. I had a good experience with them. I got the perfect people and people need to go here. Finance of America will take care of them.

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    Verified purchase
    CoveragePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Oct. 18, 2020

    I have no children and I'm a senior citizen. I thought the money I would receive would help me retire better so I went with a reverse mortgage. This is the second reverse mortgage I’m taking out with Finance of America Reverse. My counselor there was very helpful. She did a good job and I’m happy with her services. But the application and underwriting process was lengthy and repetitive. It has to be speeded up. There was way too much of my personal finances. I was going on the equity of my house but I had to produce my bank statements for the last year, my monthly statements from my bank, all kinds of stuff that I didn’t know I was gonna have to do. Then, they asked for the same things again three months later. I was really upset about the process. It’s supposed to be on the equity of my home, not my personal finances. It should have taken me only a month but it took almost six months for me to get my loan.

    Also, all I have is my Social Security income. They knew that when they started the process, yet halfway through, after paying the $500 appraisal of my house and the $350 counseling certificate, it was almost like they were investigating me as well as my income. Other than that, they did a good job. I didn’t expect it to go the way it did but I would highly recommend them.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaffFollow-Through

    Reviewed Oct. 17, 2020

    I filled out a document and sent it to Finance of America Reverse. I got a call back within a day from a young lady who was very calm, knowledgeable, and polite. Then, she said she would have someone get in touch with me and it only got better after that. The gentleman that called me was really good. He was there to show me what would be done, the procedure that would be followed, and that's exactly what happened.

    They did exactly what they said they were gonna do and they did it in the timeframe that they said they were gonna do. Also, they stayed in touch with me. If there was any lag time, I kinda figured that the lag time makes sense. It's not something that's done in two or three days. There are different entities that come in and you got an appraisal and other little steps that you take. It takes a while. It's an amazing mortgage and the terms were fine. Working with them increased the investment opportunities that I would have over the next relatively short period of time because of the cash flow and the way the market was set up.

    I'm an attorney and I've been in the real estate development business my whole adult life. I was totally impressed with this. They have it down. If it fits one's situation, I would recommend Finance of America Reverse because they did everything they said they were gonna do and that's about all you can hope for. Whether you're face to face or hundreds of miles away, if somebody comes through and does what they say they're gonna do, then that speaks for it.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 16, 2020

    I was talking with a friend and they had concluded a reverse mortgage. I asked who they worked with and he gave me a name and told me to call that guy, which was how we came across Finance of America Reverse and went with them. The reverse process wasn't too bad. We’re essentially a rural property and FHA is involved in all of this. And they have a more urban outlook. Consequently, we had to stain and seal or paint all of the exposed wood on two of our buildings. And we had a few other minor things to take care of. Finance of America Reverse did pretty good. I'm pleased when I work with someone who gets the job done.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageRefunds & PayoutsStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Oct. 15, 2020

    I filled out stuff online for Finance of America Reverse. They're with Celink which is my parent company and they were available when I contacted them to give me information on my interest rate being lower than what I was currently paying. Customer service there was superb. I worked with their representative Adam who had charisma. He cared and had integrity. He was very knowledgeable and worked with me through the whole process. He never left me hanging and kept telling me the status of things. He also walked me through the final closing process. After the deal was closed, I got two things in the mail regarding insurance. I called him up about it and he followed up.

    It took almost a month but Adam pushed for me. I needed the money for emergency surgery, anesthesia, co-payments of drugs afterwards and other stuff. He worked with me and was able to assist in pushing the closing a little sooner. The fact that one agent becomes my go-to person at Finance of America as opposed to several different agents taking the calls builds rapport. One thing I did not know though was that Celink was gonna continue owning my mortgage until the beginning of November. They paid Celink off but according to the letter from Celink, my mortgage is still theirs until the end of October.

    Still, I was able to get the loan from Finance of America plus the credit and my house is now reverse mortgaged with them. I was able to take some money out based on the appraisal of my home. The appraisal of Finance of America was wonderful and it was 50,000 more than the appraisal from Celink. FoA is the best. I told Adam that I would definitely spread the word. A lot of the seniors where I live in North Fort Myers don't have reverse mortgages and they're struggling. It would be nice for them to know that there is something available to help.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaffRatesTransparency

    Reviewed Oct. 14, 2020

    I went online, did some searching and Finance of America's closing costs were less. AAG's rate was a little less, but their closing costs were high. I applied with Finance of America and it was easy even though the process was longer than they said it would be. It was also hard to understand the documentation. Sometimes they would send me tables with different columns in them, and there wasn't a good explanation of what the tables were or what the different columns meant. Other than that problem, my experience was good. Nicole and I would email and sometimes, I would call her.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaffRates

    Reviewed Oct. 13, 2020

    We're up in age and all our kids are on their own. As far as leaving the house to any of them, they don't really need it so we decided to go with a reverse mortgage. The rate is fair but the process took a long time. We’re probably working on it close to a year. Toby is our rep and there were a few times that it was a long time hearing from him. But he kept up with us. He was thorough.

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    Verified purchase
    Punctuality & SpeedStaffLoan ProcessRatesHonesty & Transparency

    Reviewed Oct. 12, 2020

    I went to three companies and I compared all of the numbers and questions, and everybody gave good answers. It came through pretty well. The numbers were good and I chose Finance of America Reverse. In the beginning, everything was fine. I'm happy with the rates and terms I received and they seemed to be willing to work with me in the first month. And then, it just got so hard. I don't know if it was COVID or everybody’s just going crazy and I'm not sure if this was unusual. The process was very, very long.

    I understand that the process is slow. I've had many mortgages, but this was a lot worse than I've ever done before. At first, I was very frustrated with how long it was taking, because when I initially asked, they gave a timeframe and we were a month beyond that timeframe when the rep said it's still gonna be another month. I hope that some of these things can be fixed so that there are no surprises, and that everybody's just pretty upfront and honest about the timeframe that it will take. I started the process in what I understood to be a reasonable timeframe to get what I needed, and then it ended up being months passed.

    Also, there were two of us on the deed for our house. Two days before I'm supposed to sign the paperwork, the rep threw something at me that was totally unexpected, and said, “Well, all companies would make you do this.” And he accused me of withholding information. I said that nobody asked me and I told them there was somebody else. We’re not married, but we are domestic partners. And so, at the very last minute, they said, “Well, it can’t be a split between you. It has to be this.” I was ready to back out of the whole thing. I felt like they were just taking advantage at that point. So I will never do another loan ever. This is it. That was the most frustrating, horrible feeling that I've had maybe since my son died.

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    StaffRates

    Reviewed Oct. 11, 2020

    I had two mortgages and I wanted to combine them. I wanted to pull some money out. When I looked at everything overall, I felt like the best thing for me at that moment was to do a reverse mortgage. I spoke with a number of reverse mortgage people. I spoke to brokers as well as direct ones. Finally, I chose Finance of America Reverse. They sent me papers to make sure that I had them and I filled them out. They sent a notary public to have me sign stuff twice. I had to dig up a couple of things because my former husband was still on the title and he wasn't supposed to be. We had to take care of that. It all happened in about 30 days and it was all done.

    The terms I got are fine. It is what it is. But the rates are a little high. That doesn't mean though that in the near future, I can't switch out of a reverse mortgage and go back to a 30-year one. On the whole, I had a terrific experience. Working with Finance of America Reverse made my life a lot easier. They were really a delight to work with. And the guy that was out of Indianapolis was very attentive. He got everything done when he said he would. Their office staff was excellent too.

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    CoverageTechRefunds & PayoutsStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Oct. 10, 2020

    Obtaining my mortgage with Finance of America Reverse was rather easy although it was a lot of paperwork. My rep was a good guy and he answered all our questions. We started around the first week of July and finished it just into September. It didn't take long. I had to go through an appraisal and it was the worst thing. I don't think the guy that did our appraisal was very professional and knew what he was doing. But that was Finance of America's appraisal contractor, so I couldn't do anything about that. I was a little disappointed in that but it didn't affect the loan other than the cash we could get out. We paid a mortgage also. That worked out fine. According to what I was told, I got the rate that was ongoing. With the terms and everything, it worked out fine. I didn't have to pay a lot out of pocket. The only thing is that FHA got half percent private mortgage insurance. That’s not fun to pay, but that's part of it.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceTechStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Oct. 9, 2020

    I got a phone call solicitation from Finance of America's loan officer. I had gone online looking at some lending providers and Finance of America goes to everybody when you do that. I availed of their service and there were a few hang-ups, but we got them all worked out. All in all, the process took about a month. The process was all right. I didn't have any problem with it, except that at the end of it. I had asked for a settlement statement showing where all the money went when the thing was settled. I think I'm entitled to have that but nobody ever sent me one. That aside, the loan officer that I worked with was pretty good.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer Service

    Reviewed Oct. 8, 2020

    I was talking to an AAG person then I received a lot of different calls from different agencies doing reverse mortgages. I settled on the ones that I felt were gonna be best for us. I went with Finance of America Reverse over the rest as I liked their policy better than the other ones that I was looking into. The process went a lot smoother than things were gonna go and it took maybe two months total after everything. Everything has gone smoothly. I'm really glad that we chose to go this direction. It's very beneficial for us.

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    Verified purchase
    PriceStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Oct. 7, 2020

    I wanted to reduce my monthly expenses and have cash to do home improvements. I sought a reverse mortgage and the process at Finance of America was horrible due to the requirements in New York. We started the process and it was put on hold because New York instituted rules and regulations that reverse mortgage companies had to adjust to. Finance of America adjusted and I met the new requirements. All in all, the process took about five months. The loan officer who worked with me was great. I've never come across somebody so patient. I could imagine what she was putting with. While the closing costs were ridiculous, the interest rate I got was great.

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    Verified purchase
    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 6, 2020

    I'm getting on in years and I was looking for a way to get some equity out of my home. The numbers presented by Finance of America Reverse were ahead of the other two companies that I looked at. I spent a lot of time looking at their options and their rep Francesca helped me all the way. She was friendly and knowledgeable. There was a lot more paperwork involved in the process than I would have ever imagined but it all went through quickly and smoothly. I got a fair amount of equity out through them. I'm very pleased with my experience with Finance of America.

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    StaffRates

    Reviewed Oct. 5, 2020

    Finance of America offers the best rate and terms. But the application process for our refinance took four months and I was really unhappy with the long timeframe. That wasn't FoA's fault and why the underwriter from the government demanded two appraisals is beyond me. The rep we got was great. The terms we got are so much better than the terms I had before and what any other company offered me.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 4, 2020

    We were very happy with our experience. But especially we enjoyed our interaction with Tim **. TIM made the experience so much better and I there were stressful times, but Tim got us through it. I think he called us everyday and we got addicted to his calls and we miss him. Overall Finance of America Reverse was a excellent experience!

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    Verified purchase
    StaffRates

    Reviewed Oct. 4, 2020

    I looked at four different mortgage companies and Finance of America Reverse was the best. Their application process was very simple. When I first went into it, I knew nothing about reverse mortgages. Nicole handled my account and she was easy to understand. She was always available anytime I had a question. I feel very good about the rate and terms that I got.

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    Customer ServiceCoverage

    Reviewed Oct. 3, 2020

    We travel and getting the reverse mortgage gives me a little extra money. I talked to Autumn at Finance of America, then I contacted AIG because I'd forgotten all about Autumn. But she contacted me and I figured I'd give her the go ahead on it. The application and underwriting took three months to complete and the process wasn't so bad. But every time I turned around, there was something else that they needed and it never ever ended. There were a couple of times where I was rather disappointed, then a lot of what they asked for was redundant and the underwriters were really ticking me off. Other than that, I've told a couple of my friends about them and I've given them the phone number. A reverse mortgage is not for everybody but I told them to try out Finance of America if that's what they want to do.

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    Customer ServiceRates

    Reviewed Oct. 2, 2020

    We’d chosen to do the consulting even though we had done it before. We wanted to feel more comfortable. But the guy who called us to do that was awful. He spoke very slowly. He was the most annoying person in the entire world. We finally said it was not gonna work for us and decided we didn't need to do it. We were not gonna sit there for two hours and listen to him. It was really bad. Other than that, everything was great. The rates were good.

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    CoveragePriceStaffRates

    Reviewed Oct. 2, 2020

    I did a reverse mortgage as part of my retirement plan to assure that if our new politician who's elected doesn’t leave us social security, I would have some guaranteed income. If I need some money, it's there. I talked to two other agents with Finance of America and I didn't appreciate them as much as I did David, the agent with whom I finally chose. He was very good and very helpful in explaining a few things that I did not know. The reverse mortgage proposal is somewhat complicated and they put things in the disclosure that go in places that you normally wouldn't find these things. So, you have to do a little digging. David was very upfront on getting answers.

    I've been a business owner for many years and I understand finance. So, this was very simple for me although I understand there are a lot of people out there that are quite confused with reverse mortgages. Once I completed the application, the underwriting process took around a month. I checked six places and their rates were the best I found. But I objected to their notary fees being so expensive so they took them off.

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    Finance of America Reverse
    Response from Finance of America Reverse

    Bill, thank you for choosing to work with Finance of America Reverse LLC. We're glad to hear you found the right fit and were able to get answers to your questions.

    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceCoverageTechPunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan ProcessRatesTransparency

    Reviewed Oct. 1, 2020

    The representative was very kind. She did what she did and represented Finance of America Reverse well. She spoke very politely. She's very patient though very slow. She’s very informative to a certain point but she's got to be a little more transparent. Whoever the company has representing them has to be a little more transparent. She didn't tell us that the only way for the reverse mortgage to go through was that they had to pay the home insurance for my mother and the taxes. Those were the two reasons that the reverse mortgage would not go through. We had no choice. We were at that point where everything had been signed. We could have said no but she needed the money and now she's deeper in debt. But she got the money and she did what she wanted to do with it to help her family through this crisis.

    That representative should have told us that from the get go. She said, “Didn’t you read the contract?” I said, “Brandy, you sent us over 300 pieces of paper. Did you actually think we were going to read everything? We're trusting in you to guide us through this whole thing and it wasn't done.” She guided us to get the loan, to make it go through and to get it approved. But that part was never mentioned at all until the end and it shouldn't have been that way. Everything should have been upfront to give the consumer a better way to make a better decision for themselves. Also, she said the rate which is at the lowest right now at under 3% won't change. Then she said what the rate’s gonna be depends on the stock market. That’s not cool at all.

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    Verified purchase
    TechStaffRates

    Reviewed Oct. 1, 2020

    I did not want to have my children burdened by a situation where I might go into a nursing home. I decided to to a reverse mortgage and I went with Finance of America Reverse. Their process was horrible and the most disgusting part of it was finding an appraiser who could not go into the house because of COVID. So, the appraisal was basically fake and the appraiser found a spot in the garage to complain about. That was a waste of some money. Then, the notary who came out really didn't have any interest in the product that she was doing. She just wanted to have 1,000 pages signed by me and wanted to hustle the process up so I could not understand at all what was on each page, which would have taken a considerable amount of time.

    So, I really have no idea what I signed up for. But I'm fairly cognizant, even though I'm old and grumpy. I see that large stack of paper sitting on one of my desks and I'm thinking that I got to get through that sometime. So, I would have loved to redesign that part of their process to make somebody really pleased with what they were doing. Other than that, the lady that I dealt with, Cindy from Kansas City, was absolutely terrific. If I was ever in Kansas City, I would look her up and make her buy a cup of coffee.

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    StaffBillingRates

    Reviewed Sept. 30, 2020

    Finance of America gave me a better deal. The process took me longer than I was expecting, like six, seven months, but I was not in a rush. The rates were reasonable. The reverse mortgage helps me to release mortgage payment situation on a monthly basis. When you're retired, you're looking for income and that's helpful. It’s cutting the expenses. The rep was very helpful to work with a client to achieve what client needs to achieve. She did everything the best in her capacity. She was very good. She's a very nice lady. However, the process should be shorter than six, seven months because it doesn’t take that long to process the mortgage. I had to do a second appraisal. That was very surprising to me because I had one appraisal then FHA required a second one.

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    Finance of America Reverse
    Response from Finance of America Reverse

    Alex, thank you for your review. We're sorry to hear the process took so long, and we agree that it normally does not take so long. The FHA's requirement for a second appraisal delays the process for many customers, but the process was especially delayed for applicants around the time you applied because there is a shortage of appraisers due to the high demand for mortgage refinances. Thank you for choosing to stay the course with us. We're glad to have helped you achieve your goals and to secure your finances in retirement.

    Verified purchase
    Refunds & PayoutsStaffBillingRates

    Reviewed Sept. 30, 2020

    I was struggling to pay my bills and I thought if I did a reverse mortgage, it would help me out financially. I went with Finance of America Reverse and the application process was not very long at all. It was done in probably a week. I had a wonderful lady helping me. She was very intelligent, very efficient and very pleasant to talk to. She explained everything to me and was very kind and patient. I appreciated that very much. She told me step by step what had to be done and what I had to collect to send her. The rate was fair. I was surprised how much my house appraised for but it's all good. I want to live here the rest of my life so I'm thrilled. I'm very happy with the outcome and I would recommend Finance of America Reverse.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaffBillingRates

    Reviewed Sept. 29, 2020

    I have a ton of equity in the house and I wanted to continue to live in it and not have to sell it and move so I did a reverse mortgage. My experience with FAR was great. The application process was really relatively easy except it took forever to go from point A to point Z. The interest rates were okay but the fees associated with it were a little too high. But I don't have a mortgage payment to worry about and that would be the most important thing. The only thing that I objected to was that the other companies that I spoke to required 10 years of LESA and they collected 12. I got a bill from my taxes so I need to email my rep and find out who to send that to.

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    PricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 29, 2020

    The experience with Finance of America Reverse was wild. It was late at night and I had to go far away. But there was a reason for that because I had a deadline on another thing that I owed. I was late on that as a result. They were going to charge me a penalty of $11,000. I finally got out of it after two months. It was terrible. I couldn't borrow under my old mortgage because it was in-between. They actually did me a favor doing it at night but they neglected to tell me that I needed to bring a voided check which caused all kinds of problems because they wouldn't deposit the money that I needed directly into my account. But it's almost not their fault because we were rushed. In the conflict of everything, you just try to get an amount. Although it was delayed terribly, the process was good. I had a good person helping me, Julie, and I was very pleased.

    I was not pleased with the appraisal as I wasn't before but there's not much I could do about it. I knew it was going to be a low appraisal and it was. But that's not Finance of America Reverse, that's the independent appraisal. I was satisfied with the terms and I was also satisfied that the person doing this for me was trying to help me out.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Sept. 28, 2020

    I went online inquiring about Finance of America Reverse and then somebody called me. The rep has been conversing with me over the past couple of years on this. Once we started everything, the application and underwriting process took just about two months. Kevin was the loan officer and everything went fine with him. He kept me informed with everything that was going on. He kept calling and letting me know where we're at and what to expect.

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    Finance of America Reverse
    Response from Finance of America Reverse

    Wayne, thank you for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear you were well-informed throughout the process.

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    CoveragePriceStaffRates

    Reviewed Sept. 27, 2020

    Everything went really well with Finance of America Reverse. Our agent, Scott, was very good at explaining the whole thing. Plus, he pointed out that I wasn't getting the best deal from this first company that I had contacted. He gave me a much better deal. I was really happy to do it because I've just been put out of business by COVID so it really helped me. I will be back in business when Hawaii opens the tourism, but it made me see that it was just the right time to do it. The rates are very good and low. It's just that initial insurance you'd have to buy that makes it costly but I'm happy with the whole thing. I will come out at least even if not ahead in the end. I already did recommend them and the other person has already applied.

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    StaffRates

    Reviewed Sept. 27, 2020

    Everything went smooth with Finance of America Reverse. I've had the reverse mortgage for about five years and we changed the interest rate on it. We did a refinance and the rate was considerably lower than the one I had. The rep did pretty good and I’m trying to get my sister-in-law to do it.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Sept. 26, 2020

    I got on the phone and I thought I was going back to the people that we had worked with our first reverse mortgage loan. But the Finance of America rep, Matt, intercepted my call and I got in touch with him. From then on, Matt was so personable and effective. He was a downright good person and he stayed with us all the way through. He was very prompt and articulate. He’s a good representative. He was knowledgeable and he was able to help us with any questions. Matt is really the key that has brought our part together. My experience with Finance of America was very favorable to me and it was accomplished by professionals on their end. There were a few bumps, but they were just normal things that you’d expect if you were doing business today. But I had help all the way on whatever the problems were and I felt very kindly towards Matt and whoever else that was there that participated in our adventure.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaffBilling

    Reviewed Sept. 26, 2020

    Finance of America Reverse responded more promptly to me than other companies. We went with them for a mortgage and I felt good about it. The application process took three to four weeks and I was quite satisfied with the timeframe. The rep we got was responsible and responsive. He was right on the bat. Things worked well and we've had no more issues with payments.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 25, 2020

    Our first application with Finance of America of Reverse took a long time. We had one girl who would do one thing and then another. Those women wouldn't get back with me. I would have to call them. This last time when I decided to refinance with them, things went really smoothly because everything was already done. The rep I had, David, kept telling me what was going on.

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    CoverageTechPunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Sept. 25, 2020

    I thought the loan officer who solicited the information would have a guideline of what was required by Finance of America Reverse to qualify someone for the program. She gave me documentation that she required and I submitted it so that she could add it to qualify me. But I had a lot of complications for as per the documents that they were asking for in the middle of the process. By this time I sold my house and moved out. I had a real back and forth situation in many cases to get the approval.

    The whole process took an extremely long time. It was difficult for me to make decision when I've been told I was qualified but later on they came back and said the ratio changed. But I didn't buy anything. I have the same income that I submitted to them. But apart from that, the person who was doing the document collections and who gave me the initial information was very nice. It was mostly the underwriting part of it that was challenging because I didn't know if the processor coordinated with the initial person that did the application.

    If I were training someone for what the requirements are, they should know exactly what it is and then have it reviewed and then say to the applicant, “Okay, you're qualified.” When that is said, you can rely on that word. I sold my house and I was trying to coordinate the closing date simultaneously. I’ve had to put my things in storage and I had nowhere to go to because they did not approach it all initially. I was doing a reverse purchase and it was incumbent on the house that I was living in to be sold for the funds to become available. But whatever I indicated to the loan officer that my house was in contract for did not change. I did close at the same amount. So that initial information didn't ever change. I don't know exactly how they line up their approvals system, but in that case, I was not very pleased.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageSales & MarketingPriceStaffBillingRatesHonesty & Transparency

    Reviewed Sept. 24, 2020

    It was convenient and relatively easy to do a reverse mortgage with Finance of America Reverse. I had a few more years left on the house payment and they got rid of that. So, it was useful. But there was a couple of issues in the process that really didn't have anything to do with them. It was more on the underwriting. They were having a little problem with one of my incomes and they wanted to know about that, which was natural. And it took a little bit of doing to get that straightened out.

    There was also a little funny issue with the closing officer. During this time of the virus, you can't go to a building per se and he had to come physically out to the house. We had to do the whole socially distancing rigmarole and it was a little awkward, but it worked out. Other than that, the process was fairly straightforward. I dealt with Matt and he was very helpful. He called all the time and made sure everything was going well. Anything I needed, I could send to him and he would either forward it on or send me back information that they needed. So he was really good with that.

    I looked at a lot of companies, too and from the different ones I looked at, even though some of the ones I looked at were more nationally recognized and did a whole lot more advertising, Finance of America had the best rates. Plus, their closing costs were just about zero because of the incentives they have, so it worked out well. All in all, the service has been as they advertised and I don't have any issues. If anyone is looking to do a reverse mortgage, I'd tell them to check multiple sources because there are lots of them out there. But Finance of America was easy to work with, very cooperative, and everything was above board. There wasn't any hidden fee and I got good documentation, almost too much.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Sept. 24, 2020

    The loan officer was very aggressive on completing the loan so it went very quickly. The process took about a matter of weeks and the rates and terms were good.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 23, 2020

    I was on the internet and I was told to put my number down and they'd call me. And Finance of America called me. Then, the person I talked to referred me to Nicole and she was the person that helped me. It was the rapport that I had with Nicole that made me stay with her and I was so impressed with how knowledgeable she was. In fact, there were others that were calling me when I was talking with Nicole and they tried to get me to go with them. But I already made my decision. It was the relationship I had with her and the service that she gave me that made me stay with her.

    Whenever I needed her, I didn't get a recording as Nicole would answer the phone a lot of times. And I like that direct service which is like old school. Nicole was also very patient, prompt, and efficient. She was always available, answered all my questions, and really held my hand through everything. So I had a pleasant experience. I usually hate to go through these kind of things but she made it a pleasant experience to deal with her.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePriceRefunds & PayoutsStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Sept. 23, 2020

    Their marketing material is good. But the application process was a complicated transaction. There was a lot of pieces to the puzzle. There were some delays that were frustrating and it would’ve been far more convenient if we were dealing with a physical office in our community rather than everything by mail or fax or text. But our loan officer was outstanding. My wife was quite hesitant to move forward but she answered her concerns and objections well. She did not provide any feeling that she was trying to pressure us either way. I looked at three different companies and she was the only one that offered to eliminate some of the closing costs, which was definitely for anyone that was trying to watch their budget. I know there are some cost that cannot be addressed such as the FHA insurance. But other than that, I was very pleased with her professionalism and her attention to detail.

    We've received one monthly statement and it was very forthright in its content and easy to understand. I'm still struggling to make sure that I understand the line of credit in terms of a prepayment. I'd like to put money back into that line of credit so that we can access the interest rate that is paid for that money while it sits there and grows.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaffRates

    Reviewed Sept. 22, 2020

    I wanted the flexibility that I could have if I got a reverse mortgage and I went with Finance of America because their quote was better than others. I filled up the application, followed up with whatever was needed, and went through the closing. It was a long process and there were a lot of delays along the way, but I understood that. The reps also explained things very well and the rates and terms of the mortgage were very good.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsCoveragePriceRefunds & PayoutsStaffLoan ProcessRatesHonesty & Transparency

    Reviewed Sept. 22, 2020

    I wanted to maintain my finances and I didn't wanna use them up. Finance of America Reverse was the first one to respond and I was happy with the person that contacted me. My application went okay. Finance of America was fine but I got a little annoyed with the FHA. They thought I should hook up to town water but I have a well. That cost me more money to send that in. Also, the amount that they charge for insurance is absurd.

    I inquired six months before I actually started because I don't take out loans easily, especially when your house is paid for. My Finance of America rep, Joe, was very helpful with everything I needed to do. He was nice, friendly, and very honest. We exchanged personal stories and I was very comfortable working with him. He was easy to talk to and he explained everything fully. But the process took longer than I thought and the amount of information that they need was quite a bit. But that was understandable.

    My rate is very low right now. Joe told me that if I was gonna do it, I had to do it now which I did. And it was 3%. I closed at the end of June. So far, I haven't taken any more money than I originally did but I probably will. I just wanted a cushion. If my roof or my well goes, I don't wanna have to pull the money from my personal retirement. I will use the loan to do it.

    The only thing is I'm a little upset with the title company that Finance of America used with me. I always paid my house taxes. It was in 60 days of when the quarter of the house taxes was due and they took and put on the loan the taxes. They took $600 more than they should have and I had been trying to go through Finance of America. I even called the title company and I can't seem to get my $600 back. That's upsetting to me.

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    Customer ServiceMaintenanceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 21, 2020

    At first, everything was fine, until it took almost two years. It was a nightmare. A lot of issues was they had doubts on my part. They got a credit report and then I had to find the person that had my name. They found somebody in California and that person is exactly in my name. Her social security is only two numbers away from mine. She had a lot of damage in her credit, so it was popping up on me. We had the same address but in California. It was really weird. I had to prove that it wasn’t me. It was a lot of stuff that I had to come up and said it wasn’t me and then they wanted more proof of other things. It caused about nine months of delay. They kept calling and then when the Corona hit, nobody was in the office. So that was another six months there. After two years, they finally closed in the beginning of August.

    Finance of America Reverse should have found the information that they needed instead of putting me through that torture. Because a lot of times you don't know who to call and who to talk to. They have more connections with stuff like that. It was supposed to be an easy type of thing. But they were great. They just took long in getting back to you. Sometimes I would call every day and nobody would answer, or I would get voicemail. But when they took care of me, they were very nice about it. They have good customer service. I had to send them a hard letter because they weren't doing the job. But they got back to me faster than what they did. They were very nice and very apologetic. They had one of the girls that was assigned to me, and she sent emails. But I’d call her and we became good friends over the phone. I never seen her, but she was very nice. Towards the end, she finally said, “I got good news.” And that was it.

    Right now, the people doing the appraisal are holding the money that I'm supposed to pay the guys that did the work on the repairs. They still haven’t send it because they said I need all these other information now. I sent it to them already but they said I have to resend it again. They even sent the inspector after two years to come and inspect the stuff that was done. I will never recommend that company.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePricePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Sept. 21, 2020

    We didn't have any savings and all our money was tied up in the house. I was looking at companies that had more of the business and kind of sorted out some things on the internet. I also checked with AAG and it seemed like Finance of America Reverse was gonna do it faster. I got a call from Finance of America that they would waive the origination fee and I had to stay with them on account of that. Other people couldn't waive that.

    The process wasn't too bad although it seemed like there was some misinformation along the line. I had done a refinance on my line of credit and I found out I had to wait a year. I went through a lot of trouble doing that. We went through and got the appraisal. But they didn't apparently know that they couldn't run it through. I wasn't holding any information back. I had to wait a year after we had it approved the first time it had the appraisal. It was going to go through underwriting because of that so we waited out the six months and then did it with Finance of America. I started it in October last year and our time was gonna be up in early July so we started the program nine days before that. It pretty well went the end of July before we got it done. But it was a little slow. I was pretty trapped because I had to get the appraisal.

    Autumn was my loan officer. She couldn't get responses from the people that made the decisions. Finding out anything about the status of things and getting answers seemed to take too much time. But it wasn't her fault. It was just that maybe they had so much business they were slow to get back to her. But it would be nice if Finance of America was more responsive to their loan officer.

    There were also a couple of other things that seemed like nonsense with the underwriter like needing information that didn't make sense. One of them was our income or Social Security and we needed to get an award letter. The first page has all the data on it. The second page tells you what to do if you have a problem. They just had to have the second page which we didn't have. I was forced to go online. You can't get another copy of the award letter. They'll give you a printout of what you're getting and that's all you could get. It seemed like the underwriter should have been able to take the page with "award letter" on it. It was the one that had all the data on it. After all, why should I keep it? There's nothing on there that was of any value on that second page.

    It was the same thing with the bank statements. If you had a blank page, they wanted to get the blank page. Nobody cares about what the fine print was. But the underwriter had to have that. I had to redo some things for that and give them all the fine print of what the conditions were on the bank statements. It seemed like they were new at this in underwriting.

    We had trouble with the appraisal too. Last year when I had the appraisal done, it came in at 370,000. But the appraisal I did this time came in at 408,000 and that seemed to bother them so they had the appraisal done again and it came in at 369,500 which was what they went with. We had a lot of improvements on the house. We probably put nearly 100,000 into improvements. We had to get the insurance raised. We had to get it approved with the insurance company that we had all this done so I had to send pictures so that they could legally raise the insurance policy which they did.

    Otherwise, the terms and rates I got were good. When you can waive the origination fee, it's worth all the aggravation. That saved over $4000 or $5,000 on the finance charges on the closing cost. If it wasn't for waive in the origination fee, I would have probably gone with AAG, which wouldn't have had as many troubles.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageTechPricePunctuality & SpeedStaffBillingLoan Process

    Reviewed Sept. 20, 2020

    The application process was irritating. It was a lot of repetitive information I kept having to send in. There was a lot of information they require because I was in a trust and I really focused on getting it done. The way it was explained to me was they couldn't use the same information for the second set of questions they were asking me. The processors would ask for something and then they would ask for dual documents that I had sent in before.

    When I started the process, it was right at the beginning of this COVID thing and people started working from home. So it was right during the initial part of the shutdown and it was like a two-week delay because something was closed. But it wasn't anything that had to do with Finance of America Reverse. One gal had gone on vacation and they assigned all the work to her so they had to go back. But they were trying to gear up for the process so I didn't blame them intentionally. The process took six weeks and it should’ve taken four.

    I liked my loan officer as a person, but I am a very strong-willed person. We got along well and we got the process done, but she was pretty rude. But we always got over the hurdle. I had a thing with my name and it created a little bit of an issue. My legal name is Rancie and that was not what it was supposed to be, so they started calling me Rance. So when I went to school, I was always Rance. When I first titled this house, it was titled in the name of Rance because that's the way all the paperwork was done.

    We got into kind of a hassle over that because I kept sending in the information, saying this is an alias that I use. But my loan officer got real objectionable saying, “Well, they can't cut you a check unless they send it to Rancie.” But I didn't have a checking account with Rancie on. All my checking accounts had Rance on them. So I said, “Fine, send me a check.” When they sent me the check, they sent the check to Rance. So I was frustrated because of the argumentation that I went through, and the things that I had to do to get my name changed on a different account just in case they wanted to send the check.

    The Navy Federal issued the title and everything else in Rance and she kept saying that they couldn't do that. She made more of an issue out of that than it was, and it irritated me. I'm 67 years old. Don't give me a hard time, and because I sold reverse mortgages, I know they could do it. It was not the fact that they couldn't issue me a check, she was just being hardheaded and stubborn because the underwriters were being hardheaded and stubborn, or that was what she was telling me. It really ticked me off. We got to where we were raising our voices to each other over that one.

    The whole process was great. They do the process and then I get all this information from Celink. Now, they're sending it back to Finance of America Reverse. None of that makes sense to me. But the funding was done through Celink, which was a mortgage company. They had lost because I live in a townhome. I insure the inside of the building and the association insures the outside of the building. That was the thing that kept tying us up because they couldn't get in touch with the one gal at the insurance company that did the paperwork. That was my two-week delay. It wasn't Finance of America Reverse. It was my insurance company because only one gal did all that work and I had to wait for her to get back from vacation. I had to do all the legwork calling my managers, but it all got done.

    I don't have any bills, which is nice. I'm totally debt-free. My FICO score is like 811. So, there was nothing that was objectionable. They under appraised my house by about 10 grand, which I didn't care because it didn’t make that much difference in the cash out. So the things that most people might say frustrating, I didn't care. My house was worth 275,000 to 285,000, and they came back at 265,000. I was fine with that because I'm gonna live here till I die anyway, so I don't care. I would refer Finance of America Reverse. I'm more into doing business with smaller companies instead of the big name ones that are floating around all the time.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageStaffRatesCommunication

    Reviewed Sept. 20, 2020

    I got referred to Finance of America Reverse from NewRetirement. I reached out to them and they contacted me. The application was fine and the process was very easy. Due to COVID, we did it all over the phone and by email with the documents. Including the underwriting, the process took three days. It was pretty smooth. Randy was my rep and she was great. She kept me in the loop on everything which I really appreciated. We texted back and forth and that went really well. She was really thorough and right on top of everything. Working with her was very comfortable. Also, the rates were good although they could have been just a little bit lower.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 19, 2020

    I went online to use one of the calculators. Then Finance of America Reverse contacted me and I was curious to see how far I could go and they treated me very well. So I stayed with them. I did more research and found that the deal they were offering me was better than any deal I could get in Santa Cruz. I worked with Ed and the process took about three months but it was partly because when it was my turn to move the ball, I didn't because I had other things on my mind. It was a partnership. They weren't just doing it to me. The deal that I got was good and they moved me along when I slowed things down. I had to deal with an ex-husband in South Carolina. So that slowed things way down because he was on the title and he had to sign off. He didn't want to sign off until he understood what a reverse mortgage was. So there were a lot of complications that slowed it down.

    I give Ed a lot of the credit. I have bought and sold houses before and Ed was very attentive. He helped me along and gave me good advice. He was very helpful. I have a small, modest, three-bedroom, residential family house. Here in West Coast, it goes for 1.4 million. But I talked to somebody who made some kind of insulting comment about how wealthy I was. He had no idea what he was talking about. I'm living on Social Security and that's what houses go for in the West Coast. This is why people are moving out of California. But Ed was experienced and intelligent. He understood enough about the West Coast housing market.

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    Customer ServiceStaffRates

    Reviewed Sept. 19, 2020

    We didn’t have anybody to leave our house to and we figured if we had a few extra dollars to spend a month, it would be helpful. We did a reverse mortgage and had a pretty good rep. But I changed my mind once then we were going back and forth. I hadn't quite made up my mind once I called them. The process took a couple of months but once we finally made up our mind, everything was smooth and didn’t take really long. Our rep was very informative and she was also calling almost every week to stay in touch as far as the interest rate was going because it was changing from week to week. She let us know where we stood on that end. I appreciated that.

    The only thing I was unhappy with was the appraisal. I got lowballed on the appraisal and I didn't get as much money out as I thought. I know that with the way rates are going now, my house should have been appraised for at least another $20,000 from what the man appraised it for. That was my biggest concern. Other than that, everybody was okay. My wife and I had pretty good interaction with everything from the agent to the counselor and the lady that came by the house for us to sign the papers on the closing.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePricePunctuality & SpeedStaffBillingLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Sept. 18, 2020

    In my circumstances, I had investigated reverse mortgages and they're certainly not for everybody. But the two limitations, which would be passing your property along to any heirs was not a problem for me and not a requirement nor was the requirement to stay in the house over a long period of time. I'm happy with the residence and I intend and want to stay here. At the end, it was as if I had a paid-off house with no more obligations or cost than if I did own the house free and clear. So, that gave me enhanced cash flow and a more comfortable retirement.

    I was contacted by a representative from Finance of America Reverse and she was awesome. I owe her a complimentary letter that she can share with her supervisors. She was extremely good through the entire process. I had already done research on my own. She reviewed, asked me initially why I was interested in this and what I was trying to achieve. I explained to her and she said that would be a good fit as a profile for someone that should look at a reverse mortgage. She sent me initial information and then very quickly sent me a quotation for how she would expect the funding to go, the cost and what I would have in terms of resources after the mortgage was completed. Then we made the application. She kept in great communication all the way through the process.

    I checked with another top-rated reverse mortgage company for a competitive quote and found that they were more money than what I had been initially quoted from Finance of America. But upon informing my agent, which I did out of fairness to her, she was able to reduce the anticipated closing cost of my loan by a couple of thousand dollars. So, they started off being highly competitive and became even more so. She followed it completely and was informative. I never once had to call and ask what's going on. The process moved very quickly considering that any kind of mortgage or financing is not a fast process. Everything happened exactly as she described it and there were no hitches or problems along the way. So far, I've had no issues with the organization themselves.

    The rates were competitive and we'll see if I made the right choice. I went with the variable rate based on their projections of what that rate would be over time and if you expect it to be. It's certainly the better rate for now. Anyone that's looking to go for a reverse mortgage needs to clearly understand that by the unique nature of it and the type of mortgage insurance policy that is required so that you're never upside down in the note or in the loan, it's not something that you wanna do as a short-term solution to financial problem. You would wanna stay in the house and keep this mortgage in place for a number of years to be able to come out because it's a more expensive financing package, initially. But other than that, from previous experiences, it was a comparable cost as far as the other services and fees.

    My agent was superb and my entire assessment of their organization up to this point is based on my experience with her. I haven’t needed to draw any money from them. I’ve not had any other needs. Because by the nature of it, you sit back and I get a monthly statement that shows the activity on the account because since you don’t make payments, your account balance increases each month, but that’s the point. If she is typical of their agents and the attitude of the company, I am extremely impressed and I would recommend her to anybody that I know in a heartbeat.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 18, 2020

    I looked up online and Finance of America Reverse was one of the companies that had a telephone number. Then I looked on Better Business Bureau and got some good things from that too. So I decided to give them a try. The first person I talked to was really helpful. His name was Kevin and he was also helpful throughout the whole process. The whole process could’ve been quicker, but I had some problems getting the paperwork together and all the information. But it went as quickly as it could.

    Kevin was in touch with me as much as I needed him to be. So that part was great. He told me to call him whenever I had any little question, which I did and he was right on it every time. He was constantly asking if there was anything else he could do for us. If we needed anything, it didn't matter how small or large, we could call him any time of day. We always had access to him and that was the best part. He talked about a lot of choices on how we could do it. I told him a lot about my parents and what they needed. So he kind of made a plan and then called me and asked me how that sounded. It really sounded perfect for us. He worked on it really hard.

    The reverse mortgage has been really a godsend to my parents. Because now, they can afford help around the house. Kevin tried to make it pretty painless for them too. I did most of the paperwork so they didn't have to. We made sure they understood that they didn't have to look for all the information. The reverse mortgage made a big difference in their life. It's taken a lot of worry. I was very satisfied. I trusted Finance of America Reverse to take care of exactly what my parents needed and they did.

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    CoveragePriceStaffRates

    Reviewed Sept. 18, 2020

    I am retired. Even though I have a part-time job and my wife is full time, our combined incomes would not pay off the house by the time she retired and we would still have that balance that we would be obligated to pay. In addition, if she were to lose her job, we still have the obligation of the mortgage. So, we decided that the reverse would eliminate that particular issue and allow us to just maintain the taxes and insurance. That we could do easily, so we thought it would be a good option.

    Obtaining the mortgage from Finance of America went pretty smoothly. I talked with my rep and he was very knowledgeable. He had a lot of answers and I had a lot of questions. But I compared them to other companies and they offered a credit that made a difference in the total cost and settlement cost. I didn't see a reason not to go that way, so we used Finance of America. I also don't think we could have gotten any better rates elsewhere. I looked around enough and we seemed to lock it in at a time when they were low. It's not a real equal comparison but the interest rate on the reverse mortgage is lower than what my regular mortgage rate was. In the end, obtaining the reverse eliminated a certain amount of financial burden, so that was good. Plus, it opened up a line of credit if we happen to need it in the future and allows equity in the home to continue to grow and be available for our heirs.

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Sept. 17, 2020

    I refinanced my loan & thought that if I stayed with the original company/agent all would be smooth. NOT! Everything took forever. Documents that were sent in were requested over & over. It took forever...a lot longer than quoted. The worst part is that when I received the final papers I saw that I ended up with less money than I had going in! I called the agent & as usual, he gave me bunch of false info. When they say you are safe with Allstate, remember you are NOT safe with Finance of America! I was charged thousands of dollars...more than I was quoted.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Sept. 17, 2020

    I believe what made the difference in this being a pleasant experience, was the party representing the reverse mortgage company. His name is Brent **. He was very helpful, knowledgeable and patient. Always available to answer any of our concerns.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 17, 2020

    Very helpful and professional. Nicole ** is a very knowledgeable person and helped us to understand the process and took care of any concerns we may had. I would tell anyone thinking about a reverse mortgage to call you. We are very happy with the outcome.

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    Sales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 17, 2020

    We had a lot of equity in the house and wanted to reward ourselves so we got a reverse mortgage. The application process with Finance of America Reverse was super. It took six weeks but it could’ve been shortened. Other than that, I was completely happy with it. The rep, Glenda, was dynamite. I was impressed with her efficiency and promptness, plus product knowledge. She let us know about a discount we weren’t getting from another lender.

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    Sales & MarketingPriceStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Sept. 17, 2020

    When I applied with Finance of America, it went as efficiently for them and their loan officer was perfect. But it was a complicated process for me because of the government rules and regulations. It took over a year the complete and due to our government constraints and the instructions to appraisals, the whole process is forcing me into a sale of my property, which is not the intention of a reverse mortgage.

    I'm sitting here today on a property that's worth over $4 million and I have one of the best properties in the area. But because there is nothing can compare to an incomparable piece of property, the appraiser is forced by the government regulations to really put a low value on it. This $4 million piece of property was valued at at about a million dollars and that's the flaw in the reverse mortgage process. It all begins with the rules and regulations forcing an appraiser to turn in a false appraised value. The appraiser knows that and is very sorry about it. And whenever you have that discrepancy between true value and a government imposed false appraisal value, it turns into a mess for everybody involved, except the government.

    All in all, I was totally dissatisfied with my experience. But it was not the fault of Finance or the agent since they have to follow the regulations. I give the company the highest marks and the whole process the lowest marks. What has happened here is bad for everybody involved including the entire company. When you're talking about these reverse mortgages, they've had many go underwater and it became a big problem. Therefore, they tightened up the regulations more. But here is a prime example of a reverse mortgage property that could not fail. It could not backfire and the property could never be devalued. So, how come the government approves all of these sorry properties that do not have good collateral, then the taxpayers have to pick up the losses for these bad loans? And despite being one of the best loans on their books, they forced me into selling my property. This doesn't make any sense for me and for the country.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaffBillingRates

    Reviewed Sept. 17, 2020

    The reverse mortgage allowed me to monetize the significant investment that we have in our house for retirement purposes, as opposed to some other form of asset utilization. So it augments our savings and investments and it still leaves us with the security of the house that we have without having to concern ourselves with monthly mortgage payments. AIG inspired me to pursue it. They have a very positive and upbeat marketing campaign on television that kinda alerted me to the benefits of reverse mortgage. I had communication with AIG and followed that pathway. Once I had decided that I was primarily interested in a reverse mortgage, I began to look for other competitors, such as Finance of America Reverse to see if their rates and terms were more advantageous than AIG. And I found that they were.

    So despite being drawn into this by AIG and Tom Selleck and all the advertising, which I really enjoyed, I found that the competitive rates that they offered were not as attractive as reverse mortgage. So I went through Finance of America Reverse. I talked with a particular person named Tim, who was the agent. He was very helpful and very communicative. He had good business sense, which I appreciated. We worked our program out over the course of the next 60 days and getting an appraisal and etcetera. He was on the spot all the time. He was a very, very, very good communicator and very knowledgeable, which really helped me understand the process.

    Tim was much more aware of the values, the upsides and the downsides than the agent that I spoke with at AIG. I didn't feel the AIG person was a mature business person and it was more like a person that was kind of an administrator. Whereas Tim really had a good sense of value in business, and he understood my situation. We were able to consummate a deal with the amount that I needed to borrow up front, the rate that I would get, the ongoing program, and the increase in the mortgage amount opportunity over AIG. So when it came down in the tranche comparison, Finance of America Reverse was much more favorable to me than AIG would have been.

    The opportunity to have funds available to a mid six-figure level or a low middle six-figure level is quite advantageous, because now, I'm working off of my equity, having monetized the value of the house without creating any particular financial hardships. It removes some pressure on us to use only assets. The fluctuations in stock market and bond market values can drastically alter your sense of stability. Whereas, I have a backstop of several hundred thousand dollars to the reverse mortgage that I can use. So I'm not dependent on timing my market investments or withdrawals. Finance of America Reverse exceeded my expectations because they had been set at a lower bar having had an experience with AIG. There were a few bumps, but that was expected. It was a very positive experience.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageSales & MarketingBillingRates

    Reviewed Sept. 16, 2020

    The mortgage insurance was a higher percentage and you gotta have it because it's guaranteed by FHA. When we got the monthly statements, it showed how much equity we were to lose and my wife had a fit. So her thought was to go back to a regular mortgage. I'm essentially retired and she's still working. I contacted Finance of American Reverse and we talked to the guy back in Indiana. I love that guy. He told us, "Why do you wanna do that? Because if for some reason you can't make your payment, you're gonna lose your house." So we decided to refi it with them rather than go with somebody else. We already had a track record with them.

    The process took longer than the first time we did it three years ago because we have solar on the house and they needed to have evidence. It bounced back and forth between him and their underwriter. It was back in New York and the first time around, they didn't ask for proof of purchase. We've had the solar for about seven years and trying to find a sales document was like I resisted. The solar company I bought it through, Paramount, got bought by SolarCity and that got bought by Tesla. So on a lark, I decided to call Tesla and they were able to electronically send me the original sales document which I forwarded to Finance of American Reverse and that consummated the deal, and then I went through the closing. Our total interest now is 3.5% and I'm happy with it.

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    Customer ServiceTechPunctuality & SpeedStaffBillingLoan ProcessCommunication

    Reviewed Sept. 16, 2020

    To pay off some bills and make some improvements on my home, I applied for a reverse mortgage with Finance of America. But it was lengthy and cumbersome. They kept wanting more and more stuff, then I had to figure it out and it took forever. To complete the loan, it took about six months and the time period could be improved. I was waiting to do some things with that money and it took forever to get it. It seemed like the people that were handling the paperwork were very slow and had too much going on. But the loan officer I worked with was okay. He called or emailed periodically to keep me posted and if I had a question, he was available answer it. His name was Aaron and the problems were not on his end. All in all, I feel good about the outcome of having gotten a reverse mortgage loan. But the outcome with another provider might have been better.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Sept. 15, 2020

    Finance of America responded immediately with a call. They asked me what I wanted, and sent me a package of exactly what they would do and it was very thorough. There were some unforeseen delays with the process but they were just human error on different people for different reasons. It was not a big deal. The reverse mortgage got done. The loan officer was very helpful. That man and his supervisor were quick to respond from anything that came up.

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    Customer ServiceStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Sept. 15, 2020

    I had other financial problems that I had to take care of. I applied for a reverse mortgage with Finance of America and it was lengthy but great. At the time, they were the only ones that could do it and they were the ones with the money. And I found out that the other companies were going to them in the first place. The whole process took three and a half months. We started in about March and we ended June. I'm sure it could have been different for other people but for me, that was the way it had to work. The loan officer I worked with was wonderful and he did everything he had to do. His name was Robert and he communicated with me by phone and paperwork. In the end, the interest rate was kind of high, but that was the going rate.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPunctuality & SpeedRefunds & PayoutsStaffBillingLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Sept. 14, 2020

    I was very successful with another reverse mortgage company. Then when I moved, I wanted to do a reverse mortgage again and I couldn't get anybody to answer. I had to pay for the appraisal with a credit card but the process was dragging and taking forever. Then somebody from California turned out to have scammed my card. I went to another company and again, it was dragging forever. Then, I called Finance of America Reverse and I got ahold of their rep. She was very efficient and everything was done really quickly. The loan officer was on everything and she was not slow about anything. There's a lot of paperwork and there's a psychological review that you have to go through first. But the rate is on the money. I'd recommend it.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Sept. 13, 2020

    The Finance of America representative responded to my calls and the reverse mortgage process with them was awesome. Everybody did a fine job, but it did take a while because of the circumstances. I was doing a rent-to-own on the house. It was the first time they had done it and it took six months to get it done. I figured it'd take a long time to get it processed and I was not too worried about that. But the loan officer answered all my questions. He's excellent. I like the rates and terms. The only thing that I didn't quite understand was when I asked for an advance, I could only get so much. I didn't realize that I would have to wait a year to get the rest. But that was my fault.

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    Customer ServiceTechPriceRefunds & PayoutsStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Sept. 13, 2020

    Somebody called me over the phone about a reverse mortgage and I responded to them, but I found out that they weren't so legit. According to the loan officer, if my house was appraised for $220,000, I wasn't going to get anything back. But I told him not send an appraiser over here and he went ahead and sent an appraiser. Then, I told him that I didn't want to have anything to do with them anymore, so they shouldn't call me back. But then, one of his supervisors called me back. But I told them that I didn't want to anything to do with them.

    I also knew my house was worth quite a bit more and I wanted to see if I could go ahead and get a few more bucks in my pocket. I called Celink and they recommended me to Finance of America. I talked to Carol and she was fantastic. She went through hell and back to help me out and I couldn't have done it without her. When I applied for the reverse mortgage with Finance of America, she took my information over the phone, I e-signatured everything, and we went from there.

    The process took a while because we ran into some problems with my old loan. They applied that mortgage back into my loan even though it was paid for, so Carol had to work extra hard to get that removed. She asked if I had a release of lien and when I said yes, she told me to fax it to her. Once I did, she put a lot of footwork into it and from then on, we proceeded with a new loan. So it took a while. She also let me know how bad the other loan officer was for me. She said that I was made to pay a lot of fees and with the other provider, my appraisal came in about $16,000 less. So it was hard but it all worked out and Finance of America was pretty good.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed Sept. 12, 2020

    I finally looked into getting a reverse mortgage when I got a call from some outfit in Chicago. As I worked with them, I also wanted to find out what the current company that I had would do. So I had these people calling me all the time and was telling me to make the change and I finally did. As I talked to the Finance of America representative and compared her to the Chicago broker, she seemed to have more knowledge of the situation. I was more impressed with Finance of America and her than I was with the Chicago broker. So I chose Finance of America. The application and underwriting took about seven weeks. Overall, we were very pleased with the transaction. It saved us a lot of money and we were very appreciative of the help that the loan officer gave us.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaffRatesTransparency

    Reviewed Sept. 12, 2020

    We wanted to get a lower interest rate and a fixed rate. Since Finance of America was who we’re with, I called their number decided to process our refinance with them. The application process was fine and it took six weeks to complete. I'd liked for things to have been a little quicker, but they were dragged out. I know COVID caused a lot of delay where you had to wait for people and considering that, the timeframe was fine. The hold up also caused an increase in our interest rate. It was lower when we first started then it ended up being up half a point by the time we got it closed, and I was hoping it’d be a little bit lower. But the representative, overall, was very good. Sometimes he didn’t give me explanations though. I had to push him to give me explanations and answer my questions. But eventually, I always did. So, I got no real complaint.

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    Reviewed Sept. 11, 2020

    They did a good job. The closing company initially screwed everything up, but it had nothing to do with Finance of America Reverse. They sent a new closing company. Everything was fine. I’m pretty satisfied.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedMaintenanceStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed Sept. 11, 2020

    We looked at several different companies, and Finance of America was the one with the most complete program and the best follow-up. We took a lot of education before we were ready for the application process. When you’re 30 years old, you go ahead and sign things because if you make a mistake, you got some time to think. But when you're 70 years old, you don't have any time to fix things if you mess up. So, we had to be very patiently educated about all of the conditions and the pitfalls. And that’s where their rep really shined.

    Our loan officer was very communicative, answered all of our questions, explained everything in detail with examples, and proceeded at a speed level that we were comfortable with. We took a long time making up our mind and we looked at everything from every different angle. We asked probably some dumb questions, but we had some thorough questions too. So, she did an excellent job. The rates are acceptable, too. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gone ahead with it. It enabled us to go ahead and have a little more comfortable cash flow.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaffRatesHonesty & Transparency

    Reviewed Aug. 18, 2020

    I am one to do very thorough research before working with a company, so I spoke with representatives from four different reverse mortgage companies. After talking with Taylor ** at Finance of America Reverse, it was an easy decision. Taylor stood out as being more knowledgeable, efficient, and thorough than the others. He has a very honest, comfortable, professional consultant rather than ‘sales’ demeanor. He listened closely to my needs and interests and very clearly outlined different options and their advantages. My questions were answered in an easy to understand way with just the amount of information I needed. He shepherded the entire process every step of the way, and when a couple things came up I was comfortable that he was “on it”.

    My expected timeline came true. Especially as reverse mortgages are still working to be viewed as being a credible avenue for people, it is important to have someone you can trust and who can comfortably describe all the nuances. The excellent customer service along with learning that Finance of America Reverse is an initiator of some of the lending instruments more beneficial to me, makes it an easy “5 star - highly recommend”.

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & SpeedStaffBilling

    Reviewed Aug. 1, 2020

    When I was looking into getting a reverse mortgage, Finance of America Reverse was the company that the person who was assisting me with first introduced me to. The process went very well and it was very smooth. It took about three weeks. I had to get all the information they wanted. The rep was fantastic and very patient, and gave educating and prompt answers to all our questions. I was very pleased with FAR and I found them to be in the range of other companies out there.The only thing that I kinda have an issue with is the service when I'm trying to pay it back. If I wanna make payments, that hasn't been a smooth transition. You have to do a lot of things manually that it seems like you would be able to do through a phone call. That is a little awkward and I'm not too happy with the way that part has been going. But the expense or the cost of the fees were very fair.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePunctuality & SpeedRefunds & PayoutsStaffFollow-Through

    Reviewed July 31, 2020

    I put out a couple of inquiries and I liked the agent at Finance of America Reverse, which was my main thing for staying with them. She felt much more hands-on and personal even though it took forever because just as we were starting, pandemics came down and all the different things that we couldn't do. I couldn't get things in order and I couldn't go out so that made things complicated. But she stayed connected with me by phone and by email. We continued to work out problems and get things done so that made a lot of difference.

    The process took five months. It was time-consuming but the process was good with them. I didn't feel that FAR was at fault at all. The title company made errors a couple of times that they shouldn't have done and there were a couple other things that they did. I gave them instructions towards the closing that I was switching insurance companies and they paid the wrong insurance company. So I had to pay the other one and then wait for a refund, which was annoying. So there seemed to be a disconnect in that title company that even if you told them something, they didn't seem to be able to follow through. But Finance of America Reverse itself did a good job.

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    StaffBillingLoan Process

    Reviewed July 30, 2020

    The gentleman, Scott, that handled our financing was always very helpful, kept us informed of the status of our account at all times. We would definitely recommend Finance of America Reverse to anyone who is looking to refinance their home to pay off other outstanding loans, bills, etc.

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    Customer ServiceTechStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed July 30, 2020

    A little friendly COVID guy came out and everything closed and there wasn't so much I could do. I live alone, so it’d be nice to have a car here if something were to happen. I had to have one to go to the store and groceries. I had been renting for eight months so I decided to go with anything that rolls and the engine works, and looks nice to me. Finance of America turned this into a pleasant experience. They had better rates for me so I went with them and it just worked out. Their loan officer was great. He was patient and he took his time. He was a real nice guy. He checked up on me just about 15 minutes before I was about to call him if I had any more questions. He was right within the ballpark at the moment we were doing that. I'm pretty happy with the rates and terms.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedRates

    Reviewed July 29, 2020

    Jason ** was extraordinary in the speed and accuracy with which he got our application processed--and he did it in the midst of the pandemic! Communication was first rate, both in its regularity and its clarity. We would recommend him to anyone.

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    Staff

    Reviewed July 29, 2020

    I took over nine months from initial contact to closing - Mathew was most patient and worked with me to clear a number of hurdles. The first appraisal came in low and I declined to go forward. He initiated a second which came in at a reasonable amount and we closed in April. Credit to Mathew.

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    Finance of America Reverse
    Response from Finance of America Reverse

    Thank you for taking the time to write a review, John! We're glad you continued working with Matthew to obtain a reverse mortgage that met your needs.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed July 29, 2020

    The entire experience was wonderful with no glitches or problems. My agent contacted me almost daily to keep me in the loop every step of the way. He was so knowledgeable. He anticipated everything that would be asked for and had me submit things before they were needed. That made the process so quick and painless. I would recommend Finance of America to anyone.

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    PricePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed July 29, 2020

    I did my first Reverse Mortgage with Finance of America Reverse, loan specialist was Amber Boston. I was referred by my financial planner Tim ** from Morgan Stanley in Tacoma WA. I interviewed several companies and Finance America had the best Interest rates and lowest loan & fee costs. Everything was explained thoroughly plus Amber made herself avail 24/7. Evenings and weekends! She was very patient and helpful. I’m so grateful that I was able to qualify for my Reverse, I’m a very happy homeowner. The other caveat is this all happened during the Pandemic and we still were able to close the escrow early!!

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed July 29, 2020

    Not sure if transaction is complete yet. Still haven’t received the draw requested. I’m in limbo waiting to see if it comes. Would like some confirmation. Please respond to let me know when to expect money to be deposited in my account. Thank you.

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    Finance of America Reverse
    Response from Finance of America Reverse
    7-29-2020 response:

    I have reached out to our Servicing Oversight team to confirm that Celink received your draw request form. You can also call Celink at 866-654-0020 or email them at LOC@reversedepartment.com to check on the status of your request. You should also confirm with Celink that you have direct deposit set up. It is typically established automatically if you provide a voided check at closing, but they will mail a check to you if direct deposit is not set up.

    7-30-2020 update:
    I received the following response from our Servicing Oversight team:
    Celink has processed the LOC request as follows:
    On 7/26, a note was made they received the fax on 7/24 for a LOC draw
    On 7/29, payment was sent to the borrower’s bank account.

    Today, a letter was sent confirming the transaction.

    Your loan officer Barb will also give you a call to follow up. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to assist you.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaffBilling

    Reviewed July 29, 2020

    There were several companies that had called me and I ended up liking the fellow that I talked to at Finance of America Reverse. I first contacted him over a year ago and he kept in touch with me on and off for that long about what I wanted to do because he knew my situation and that it would be a good solution for me. There was no pressure. He was excellent. It went into the COVID virus thing when I first started. So when they did the appraisal, they had to do a drive by where they took the pictures from outside the house. Then when I had to do everything with the notary, we had to sign the papers outside and kind of separate from each other. So it was a different experience than what a lot of people have.

    When my husband died, I wasn't driving because my depth perception is very bad. But where my house is located, I can walk to all the groceries. My dentist is within walking distance. A big shopping center kind of went in behind us after we bought this house. If I had sold the house, I would have gotten more money, but the way the rents are here in Las Vegas, my rent would have been a lot more expensive than my mortgage payment. I wouldn't be able to find another place to live where I can walk to all those places that I needed to go. I really wanted to stay in this house. It was very important to me. So the reverse mortgage kind of saved my life. It kept things where I can still walk to every place I need to go and I have more money for extra things like hiring somebody to do the yard work. It's nice to have the extra money to hire somebody and not have to worry. I've been able to change some of the medications I was taking.

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    Reviewed July 28, 2020

    Finance of America Reverse answered my questions well and explained things well. They were awesome. They were very polite and they didn't get irritated with me. I'm happy with the terms, too. I'm very satisfied with Finance of America. I have less stress now. I got a little bit money to have along with my Social Security.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed July 27, 2020

    A friend of mine had talked to Finance of America Reverse and she thought they sounded good. So, she gave me a name. Jason was the guy I dealt with. Once I decided to do it, I just kept going. Jason was fabulous. It had felt like he was my best friend. He was very personable. He answered all my questions and returned calls immediately if I had to leave a message. Also, the process seemed to go fast enough.

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    StaffRates

    Reviewed July 26, 2020

    Everything went very well with Finance of America Reverse. The gentleman took care of everything. He was great. He did everything he could to get the most amount of money for me. It was very pleasant experience. The application process was their standard procedure. I've been through it a lot of times with selling houses and it seems perfectly adequate. There were some little delays here and there because of the virus and this and that, but it was very well managed. Finance of America Reverse was really good. When I got questions, they answered. We should have more like that in this world. The rates are low now and it couldn't have been a better time to do it.

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    Coverage

    Reviewed July 25, 2020

    I went online and I knew I was looking for a jumbo mortgage. I looked for the firms that could handle jumbo mortgages. The process with Finance of America went very smoothly. The person that handled my account, Nicole, was wonderful. There were no problems and no glitches at all. The process took about six weeks because I had to change my insurance. I own my house outright and it's in an ancient floodplain, and so I had to get flood insurance in order to qualify for the mortgage. So, it took six weeks, but if I'd had the flood insurance, it would have gone even quicker. I'd highly recommend Finance of America. I had gone through a lot of mortgages and refinancing. It's always been problematic because they always ask for stuff at the last minute, but Finance of America asked for all the stuff they needed up front.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan ProcessRatesTransparency

    Reviewed July 24, 2020

    Updated on 09/28/2020: Our financial advisor thought a reverse mortgage would be a good move. Our first one was a year and a half ago and then, we refinanced with Finance of America earlier this summer. The application process was straightforward. We had done it before so, it went smoothly. Our loan officer was very cordial and helpful, and no complaints at all. He worked well. There was one aspect of our second reverse mortgage that I don't know whether he neglected to mention to us or whether he did only perfunctorily and just found out later. We did not have that in our first mortgage so when we got our statement and saw that particular line item there, it was surprising to us. I wished he had brought that up. It would not have necessarily changed anything but he might've been somewhat negligent in bringing that. I called him about it and he said he thought he mentioned to us. That was probably the only glitch in the process.

    Our rates and terms in the first mortgage were very high but the second time, with interest rates going down, we were very pleased with the interest rate. Finance of America was very good. They recommended you have to go through counseling. They gave me some options but that went smoothly too. There's a negative aspect to the whole process of having to go through the counseling. But on the other hand, the government requires that to protect consumers. So, that was a little bit of an extra bureaucracy and time that we had to spend with the counselor. But in the end, people should go through that and go through the process.

    There are some negative information about reverse mortgages and understanding exactly what they are is something that every person considering it needs to look at carefully so they know exactly what is happening and why they're getting the money. Because it is different than a conventional mortgage. They're not out to get your home. All the rumors that you hear about, that's not it at all.

    Original Review: Our experience with FOA was excellent. From the very start, Taylor ** was very helpful to us in choosing the best options, getting us the best rate, and making the whole process understandable and pleasant. He followed up regularly, updated us on rates, and facilitated the paperwork promptly and effectively. This was our second reverse mortgage with FOA and our overall experience was even better than the first. I highly recommend this financial company and Taylor **. You won't go wrong!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed July 24, 2020

    My sister referred me to Finance of America Reverse. She said that they were pretty good. The rep was so good in the way he had helped me. His personality was so friendly. Anytime I needed help, he said just give him a call and not to hesitate so it made me feel comfortable. He was available. Going with Finance of America Reverse, I’m now able to do things that I needed to do for my home and the other things that I needed.

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    Customer ServiceStaffRates

    Reviewed July 23, 2020

    We looked around online for a company and explored a number of them. Finance of America Reverse was very responsive and the fellow we worked with was tremendous, excellent, answered every question I had and responded in a timely manner. It was a lot better experience than I thought it would be. From start to finish, once we submitted the application, the process took about three weeks. I've done a number of mortgages and refinancing before, and the rep was at the top of anyone I've worked with. He was excellent. The rates were fair and everyone was upfront. There were no surprises so, we felt good about the process. FAR was top-shelf.

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    Customer ServiceStaffRates

    Reviewed July 17, 2020

    Ryan, the one who was taking care of me and my friends, kept on calling me and I finally did business with him. He followed-up with me for three years before I decided. He was the best and I never saw anyone doing that. If he did not do that, I would not go with him. He was very helpful, sweet and he handled the process very well. He took his time and was nice. I wish the rates could be lower though and that FAR will do regular mortgage so I can refer more people to him. My friends usually have their kids to take care of them so they don't have to worry about a reverse mortgage.

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    StaffLoan Process

    Reviewed July 10, 2020

    I helped my mom with her reverse mortgage through Finance of America Reverse. She needs home care and the funds are for that. I looked around and noticed that Finance of America was highly-rated, so I went with that choice. The process was fairly easy. The loan officer was very helpful, very responsive and she's probably the key reason why the process was easy. Everything was pretty clear. The only part that was a challenge for my mom was the signing. If that could have been done in a more electronic fashion versus lots of signatures.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaffValue

    Reviewed July 9, 2020

    My wife and I took several proposal and we did an involved evaluation on what they think the property's worth, the way they work things, or how clear it is, what they say, or how well developed the program is so that it's more clear, and Finance of America was the clearest. The guy that worked with us seemed to know what he was doing. I told him that they were not the biggest company. He replied that they were the best. I liked his attitude. But it came down to the fact that he seemed to present the program a little more clearer and a little better. When the product was finally developed for us, it was the best of the bunch.

    The only thing that bothered me was that some of the details were named something else in the wrap-up so it was kinda hard to find. I've done financial analysis myself and I knew where they were headed with this. I told the rep that if they don't want someone to shoot at a target, don't give them a target. That's what they kind of done. However, I like their program. The detail and the summary could be a little more juxtaposed. They would line up a little more clearly than they did and having to ferret it out a little more than I would like to have had to do, since the rep was making a commission off of this. But I found that to be the case in most of them. It was almost like they'd followed a pattern, and we had to kinda do a little guessing and adding.

    I laid the whole thing out on a spreadsheet on my own computer and I looked at these things and saw where it was going. But until I did that, everything was not as clear as it should have been. And yet, I found that Finance of America was less unclear than the others, but some work could have been done on the presentations financially and how it was laid out. The rep gave us the biggest bang for the buck and he worked well. He seemed to be willing to answer any question and go down any avenue and to expose any kind of thing that was not clear in the light of day so that we would feel comfortable doing it.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed July 8, 2020

    My business kinda got shut down because of the coronavirus. I am all in all free and clear and 70 years old. It made sense for me to go ahead and pull the money out. I wanted to use it instead of giving it to my kids. I did a reverse mortgage with Finance of America Reverse. The process went little slow, but I don't think it's their fault because of what's going on in the country. But I got the reverse mortgage and everything's fine. The rep did a fabulous job. She was working out of her house because of the virus and she worked her butt off trying to get this thing done.

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    StaffLoan Process

    Reviewed July 7, 2020

    The loan officer was excellent. The application process did not take very long but I happened to have 2 appraisals delayed. We had one person that didn't show up. They had to do the internal appraisal. They had to come inside the house to do it. Another one tried to do it from the street. Then we still had to get 2.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed July 6, 2020

    When we did the loan from Bank of England last time, they sold it to Finance of America. A fellow from Bank of England had called us but he would've had to have a lot of paperwork from me. On the other hand, Ryan from Finance of America had all of my papers. He didn't have to have my driver's license. He didn't have to have anything so he made the process extremely easy and walked us all the way through it. I was extremely pleased with him. He explained things and I don't think there was one time that I called that he didn't answer directly. It wasn't like you got a voicemail and had to wait. He called us right back. I also felt like I wasn't pushed. I hope he goes far, but I hope he stays where he's at, though, so he could help a lot of people.

    We didn't get as much money as we thought because our house isn't appraised as high, but we know that the market here in Sidney isn't very good because the oil's really down. But we were very interested then because we did lower our interest rate a bit and we did get a little bit of cash out of it. We did use the money that we got to pay off something else.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageSales & MarketingPricePunctuality & SpeedStaffBillingRates

    Reviewed July 6, 2020

    I was looking to do a refinancing. I had some good rates and a 15-year term. I was gonna stretch it out to 30, which would be almost the same as what I'm doing now. I was gonna take 60,000 out in equity which is also about the same that we're doing now. The payments and interest rate would have been lower. Then the reverse mortgage came. There were no payments required.

    Finance of America's sales rep was excellent. He went very much in depth, and he was there at every time I had a question. He answered it very quickly and gave me facts. He didn't give me a lot of BS. The only problem I had is at closing. I never got any paperwork, so he called and followed it up for me. I got the paperwork in the closing much later on. We closed at the end of May and here we are now. One whole month transpired to the end of June, and today is the first week into July. I was supposed to get a statement every month showing what the charges are, where we stand with the account, et cetera. This way, I could send in a check, which I want to do to cover our interest, and I don't know where to mail it. I don't have the account number. Other than that, everything went very well.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsCoveragePriceStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed July 5, 2020

    I just refinanced with Finance of America and things didn't go well. I'm in bigger trouble than I was in before. I was told that I could take all the money at once. But I only got half and when I called the rep back on it, she said she never told me that. But I had it in an email and she must have taken it off because they only gave me $32,000 plus. My roof alone is $31,000 and I have to buy my car. I got this thing in the mail where I can fill it out. The rep said that for the other $32,000, I could get in a year. The remainder won't be ready for me until next May, but I need it now. I’m not happy with that because I'm in trouble right now. I need my money as soon as possible, at least another $15,000. That would help me out a great deal.

    I was hoping to get the full amount. In the beginning, the rep quoted $66,000. They went ahead and did a reappraisal then something else got in trouble. It just took more time. In the end, it was only $64,000. Also, everything was supposed to be covered by them. I'm thinking to myself, the more time they're taking and the more time they're working on it, it's costing me money. The loan rep was great. But it seems like every time I turned around, it was something else and something else. I was digging around here. It was not good for me health-wise. The process was very stressful. I've just had knee surgery and I can't walk. There's also this whole COVID thing. It has got everybody stressed out. I'm stressed to the max.

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    Finance of America Reverse
    Response from Finance of America Reverse

    We are so sorry to hear that this experience has become a stressful situation for you. Unfortunately, we must abide by HUD's guidelines that limit the percentage of funds that can be disbursed to you in the first year after closing. Fortunately, the portion of your line of credit that is inaccessible is also growing, so you will have access to a larger line of credit when the time comes. We understand it is frustrating to wait for a second appraisal while your HECM loan balance continues to grow, but that is determined by the FHA's automated system, and lenders do not have the ability to waive that requirement. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you feel better about your reverse mortgage refinance.

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    PricePunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed July 4, 2020

    The process of obtaining my mortgage with Finance of America was painful because it took nearly five months. It was because we had COVID. I have an expensive property and I needed two appraisals. It took forever to get the appraisals done and that delayed the whole process. Other than that, it was okay. The guy I was working with was excellent. Jason was my loan officer and he was responsive. He did everything I asked him to and more. He was really good to work with. He was as frustrated as I was with the length of the whole process.

    One issue right now is I still didn't get a statement. It has been way over a month. We signed all the documents in late May and today is July 8. The closing document is 275 pages. That's a little much. Imagine how many trees you have to cut. The documentation was nothing short of ridiculous. But it is what it is. Also, the rates are very high but that was what Finance of America was offering. Otherwise, I'm glad we’re finished but I would think three times if I'd have to do this process again.

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    Customer ServiceStaffTransparency

    Reviewed July 4, 2020

    My experience with Finance of America Reverse was very good. The reps were very good as well. Communication and transparency were good. I had nothing but a good relationship and a good process. I was very happy.

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    Customer ServiceStaffRates

    Reviewed July 3, 2020

    Someone called about reverse mortgages and I got interested. I called around at different places. Then, someone gave me a paper with Finance of America's name on it and phone number, and I went with them. Getting the mortgage from them was very good, and it didn't take long at all. The rep who helped me was wonderful. She could not have been more helpful

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    StaffRates

    Reviewed July 3, 2020

    Everything went fine with Finance of America Reverse. We started this three years ago and after that, I had to sell a house and buy a house. I was in contact with the rep I worked with for a long time and she was very good. I've recommended her to other people. Their rates were also pretty good for the state of our economy right now.

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    Customer ServiceStaffRates

    Reviewed July 2, 2020

    I had a great experience with Finance of America. Everything was good about the process. I wouldn't recommend AAG to anybody. They are terrible. They're not forthright and trustworthy. Any chance they get, they'll try and switch it so you have a bad scenario that'll eat up the equity in your house. I started out with them but their application process was kind of bumbling. The right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing. They were not on top of things. I switched over to Finance of America who was upfront and gave me good terms right from the start. They told me exactly what they could do, and they, in fact, question why I had been looking at adjustable rate mortgages. I said, "That's all they offer. They didn't have any halfway decent terms. The rest of them are worse. They gave me 3 bad scenarios and tried to make me pick among them."

    Finance of America said they could give me a fixed rate which is what I was after in the beginning. The rep said the rate was 3.8. I asked if that could go down and he said yes. He described the circumstances where it might go down. He was right up front and responsive. Every time I had a question, he was there to answer it. It's not like AAG when the rep said, "We'll get back with you within 24 hours if you leave a voice mail," and he never did. He'd go like a week and then I'd have to call them back or email them. I'd rather promote an outfit like Finance of America. They took the paperwork that was generated by AAG and modified it. It sped everything up. AAG was into 2 months plus of bumbling around and Finance of America took the process, corrected the problem, and got it through in a decent amount of time.

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    StaffLoan Process

    Reviewed July 2, 2020

    I did quite a bit of shopping around and my wife felt like Finance of America was the best choice. Our experience was excellent. The application process was much better than I anticipated. So, we had a very good experience with the application process. It took about a month and a half. Our loan officer was an excellent contact. She was wonderful to work with. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Finance of America to anybody. They were great.

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    TechStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed July 1, 2020

    It went very well with Finance of America. A reverse mortgage seemed to be the best available option for us and I'm glad I didn't go with AAG, which is the one that's putting out all the propaganda about reverse mortgage. I didn't get a good feel about all of the celebrities they brought to the television every night about 4 or 5 times. I figured all that was going to was lining somebody's pocket and not helping anybody. Finance of America was the only other company that was reasonably available, and they had good press on the internet, at least no bad press.

    The rep was very good. She didn't push or do anything that was unpleasant. We got everything done and all the questions answered. We were content. We'd had a line of credit with the bank and it was a pretty low interest rate loan, but we never could pay it back. In this situation, we know we'll be able to. We were satisfied with the rate and terms but the process was extensive. There was too much. I felt like I was buying not a house but a city. The paperwork was incredible, repetitious, and annoying. It could be cut in third and still suffice.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsCoveragePricePunctuality & SpeedRefunds & PayoutsStaffBilling

    Reviewed June 30, 2020

    I went to a number of lenders and talked to a number of people. I was dealing with a lot of them all at the same time. If they're gonna talk the talk, they gotta walk the walk and some of them didn't. Some of them couldn't get me a jumbo and when they did get me a jumbo, they were asking too much. It was gonna cost me too much to get what I want, and I didn't like that so I went with Finance of America Reverse.

    Their process had its ups and downs and I didn't like the end results. There are some things that could have been a little bit more professional. These outfits are professional but they got a lot of "summer replacements." Some of these people are there just answering the phone. They didn't have the answers I wanted and I didn't like that. They're just filling a spot and not everybody is professional and I wanna deal with professionals. They said one thing and did another so now I have to call them on it. If I had dealt with a professional right from the beginning, none of this stuff would have happened.

    I didn't like the idea when they automatically charged me $800 for an appraisal. Then they sent some ** over here. I had to pay $250 to him yet they charged $800 on the appraisal. That's $1250 out of my pocket. They owe me some money back. Another thing is I paid my insurance for the whole year which is $1533. Now, they said they paid it for the whole year too. That's like a double payment to my house payment. I should get that money back. I called my insurance company, State Farm, and they said they never got a payment yet. Finance of America said they paid it but they didn't. They're so quick to grab the money, but they're so slow to release it. It's been 3 months.

    But they did a pretty good job considering there was a lot of screwing up and it wasn't on their part. I had the patience to wait for this to happen. That's what I was happy about. They did get a lot done. I'll probably turn around and do this again. I'll go through them again. Out of all of the lenders, they are the best. My broker, Adam, was very cool and calm about it. He said they were going to take care of it and got it done. I recommend him very highly. I'm glad I went through Finance of America Reverse. I'm especially glad I dealt with their agent.

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    Sales & MarketingPriceStaffRates

    Reviewed June 29, 2020

    I was with another company and they suddenly gave me a ridiculous document that they wanted. They said it was a consumer that required it and none of that made any sense so I switched to Finance of America. They were excellent. They funded and funded almost $80,000 more than the other one. They should add one thing to their sales pitch. It's that when you get the reverse mortgage, you're still paying interest, which is deductible from taxes. They didn't mention that and I didn't think of it until I closed.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaffRatesHonesty & Transparency

    Reviewed June 28, 2020

    I went online, looked at a reverse mortgage and there were 3 or 4 companies. I got in contact with Joe from New Jersey and went through him, and he went through the people that I went through the deal with. I trusted Joe because he's been doing this for years. He was very helpful. I had questions and he answered them.

    The overall experience was fine but the application process was worse than buying a house. There were so many freakin’ pages I had to sign or initial! I own my own house and I went through that 11 years ago. I didn't sign that many papers. They sent a guy out here with COVID going on. He stood at my back door outside watching me at the table sign every page. The other thing that I didn't care about was I had to have a home inspection. The week they were gonna do my home inspection, that's when they authorized the people doing the inspection and I wasn't aware of this. I looked outside and the guy was in front of my house. He took a picture and drove off. I called and found out that that was my home inspection. I told them he was charging me over $500 for that and I hope to hell he ain't charging me $500 for coming, taking a picture and that's it.

    They also told me they're gonna make $9,000, but when I signed, they made me take $37,000 and I didn't want to do that. I wanted to take out money as I need it and I don't need to have that now. I got that money that I had to take out and I'm trying to put it somewhere where I can make money on it. Other than putting it into the stock market, there really isn't any place to put that kind of money. That's what I didn't like about the deal. I understand banks gotta make money but they gave me the deal banking I'm gonna live a few more years. I expect to live a few more years, but who knows these days? If I live 10 more years, I'm being charged for that 37 plus the 9. They’re charging me $46,000 of interest each month. I was told a year ago through Bank of America that if I gave them $25,000, they guaranteed me I'd make $1,000 interest. I did it and I made under $500. So I'm going back down, talk to that agent and chew some **. I was misled.

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    Finance of America Reverse
    Response from Finance of America Reverse

    Hi Michael, we're sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction. You were right to trust Joe and his experience. He structured your reverse mortgage with a partial draw at closing because the terms were considerably more favorable on that option. Choosing to draw $37,000 at closing increased your initial line of credit by about $14,000, and it lowered your interest rate by about 1% over the life of your loan. All borrowers have the option to choose how much cash they draw at closing; we don't require a minimum draw in order to obtain the reverse mortgage. You have an open line of credit with no pre-payment penalty, so any funds you do not need right now can be paid back to reduce your loan balance and will be available to draw again at any time in the future. We hope this helps resolve your concerns about accruing interest, but please let us know if not.

    Reverse mortgage applications require a lot of signatures because it is important for you to be informed about the unique terms of the loan. We have obtained approval from many state regulators to allow most of the application to be signed electronically, but your state is not one that has approved electronic signatures yet. We use notaries to assist customers with signing paper applications to provide a better experience for the customer, and we're glad to hear that your notary kept his distance at a time when the government had just started taking action to stop the spread of COVID-19.

    Fortunately, appraisers were able to conduct their business at a safe distance too. Just weeks prior to your appraisal date, an interior inspection would have been required. Your appraiser was able to complete the 27-page report without entering your home and putting your health at risk because HUD made an exception to allow "drive-by" appraisals on reverse mortgages. If that had not been allowed, there would have been an even greater shortage of available appraisers which could have increased the fee for an appraisal. Regardless of the number of photos taken and the time spent at the property, appraisers spend many hours completing their reports. We send a paper copy of the appraisal in the mail when we first receive it, and a copy of the final draft is provided to you at closing. If you would like us to send you another copy by mail or email, let us know. We hope that you will feel better about having to pay for an appraisal when you see the work that goes into it.

    Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any other concerns or questions about your reverse mortgage.

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed June 27, 2020

    Everything's going great with Finance of America Reverse. It was a good experience. The guy that helped us, Ryan, did a good job. Everything turned out pretty much as he said, so we were happy with it. The application process went a little longer than I thought it would, but it wasn't a problem. It did work out good. I thought we were gonna net out a little more money. There was a little shortage there. We’re rigid, but the numbers, I can't complain about it. It worked out okay.

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    TechMaintenanceRatesTransparency

    Reviewed June 27, 2020

    We're okay with the process except the guy that came out to the house to sign the final documents gave no explanation. He might be given a heads up about not rushing people through the signing process 'cause we didn't know what we were signing. We have a slush fund for some repairs to be done on our house and I didn't know that when we got it all signed. It just came in the mail. I guess the appraiser said that there had to be a repair around by the roof and a repair to painting the eaves. They were peeling. He said it was estimated to be $2,400. So, lo and behold, we have a $2,400 account sitting somewhere that we can draw on to get the repairs done. But the process didn't take that long and it was good. We've dealt with Olivia for quite a while and we liked her. She got it done very rapidly and we have good rates and terms.

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    Customer ServiceStaffRatesSales Tactics

    Reviewed June 26, 2020

    To clear debt and to be able to live a little bit easier, I opted to do a reverse mortgage. The Finance of America person that worked through the process with me did a fantastic job. He wasn't pushy or a hard sell. He seemed to be genuinely interested in what my wife and I had to do. He went the extra mile to try to help us. Everything went really fine.

    The process took about three weeks. I wish they would be able to expedite things a little bit faster, but it really wasn’t a big deal. The rate was a little bit more than I anticipated because we were told at one time that the rate was going to be 2.5%. But it went up to about four point something percent, but that was due to what was going on in the market. That wasn't that bad a deal though.

    The only thing that was good for us was we qualified for a certain amount. And what I liked was that cash flow was actually set aside. You can't touch it for a year and it grows interest for you while it’s just sitting there. Even though we don't plan to use it, it's good to know that that's an ace in a hole if some type of emergency were to happen. With whatever going on in the world today, that's not entirely impossible.

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    Staff

    Reviewed June 26, 2020

    After several years I've been thinking about a reverse mortgage so that I could reduce my cash flow output to more or less match what my income was. The process with Finance of America Reverse was really well done. I'm fairly familiar with mortgages ‘cause I used to be in that business other than reverses and so I know what it's about. I can tell that from my perspective, as a consumer, they did a great job. After it's all said and done and sort of made the decision and got through the fact that I was gonna be using up equity over the period of time, the reverse has been a load lifted off my shoulders. I know AIG and a couple of names. But somebody that is very familiar with the mortgage process, I would certainly have no question at all about recommending Finance of America, and the rep, Frances, included.

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    StaffRates

    Reviewed June 25, 2020

    They treated me nicer, sweeter, and better than any company I have tried to deal with. I’m 84 years old and they gave me no arguments about my age. They gave me no arguments about my income and they helped me with everything that I needed help with. It was a very pleasant experience all the way around. I went through with Joe and he was fantastic at explaining everything and also at helping me through the process with the paperwork. There was no arguments or doubts about anything. Also, they are better than any other rates that I’ve checked into. I live in an older home and I wanted a reserve in case something broke or I needed home repairs, then the money would be available. There will be no argument with the bank because I am on Social Security. So working with Finance of America Reverse would make my life much more simple.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed June 25, 2020

    I was working with Quicken and their reverse mortgage program about almost a year ago and we decided not to proceed at the time. But then I went back to them and found out that they were no longer doing a reverse mortgage. So I Googled and found a couple of most likely candidates and I called three, and Finance of America was one of them. I was working with Finance of America and one other company. It was simply a matter of dollars and cents. By the time we got down to it, Finance of America made me a better offer. Plus my agent was really good.

    She followed up all the time. There was a lot of paperwork to go through and a lot of hoops to jump and she just walked us through it. She was always there, always in touch, if not every day, then at least two times a week while we're waiting for things to happen. She was very attentive too. Everything was handled very well. They did a great job. It's made a great difference. Now we've got money to do all the fun stuff that we wanted to do. It has taken a load off of our shoulders ‘cause we don't have to worry about anything anymore.

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    PricePunctuality & SpeedRefunds & PayoutsStaff

    Reviewed June 24, 2020

    I wanted help to get out of debt and be able to live. I wanted to use the equity of my house. The process with Finance of America Reverse in obtaining my mortgage was fine. Sometimes, it was a little slow but I expected that. Until I got my money, the process took probably about two months. I closed two months ago. They told me I was gonna get a kit in the mail probably a couple of weeks after I closed saying how I make withdrawals and stuff like that. I know I can't withdraw any more money this year so I wasn't in a rush. But I want to know how I make deposits because I was made to take out everything I could this year even though I didn't want all this, so I wanna deposit some of it back.

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    Contract & TermsPunctuality & SpeedRates

    Reviewed June 20, 2020

    They gave me a nice packet of information rather than just a disk and they were there to answer my questions. They gave me a lot of information so it was easy to make a decision. Their rates were attractive as well. The process was nothing less than what I expected. I had to fill out an application. I had to go through an instructional process where the guy came and explained to my wife and I what reverse mortgage was all about and what the pros and cons are. They actually tested us, unbeknown to ourselves, after making his presentation and asking us questions. But it was fine. It was a lot of paperwork and a lot of forms to fill out, but all in all, it went very smoothly.

    It took a while from the first time I reached Finance of America Reverse to the time we closed the agreement because they were experiencing some problems with New York State. New York State was coming out with some new regulations and they were waiting for these regulations. So it took roughly two and a half to three months. The one failing that they did do is they sent me paperwork, which then, after filling it all out, they rescinded the thing. They told me they sent the wrong thing and that we had to do it all over again. That was a pain in the neck.

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & SpeedRates

    Reviewed June 14, 2020

    I discussed the project with three reverse mortgage companies and the lady that we finally did the deal with was very attentive and should be complimented. She matched the best deal I could find and she was the most attentive. She was very efficient. I was extremely comfortable working with her. I trusted her. If I had any questions of her that she was unable to directly answer, she’d either get back to me after checking with whoever she checked with or she would set up a conference call with her superiors. Overall, the application process was quick and easy but they could have lower rates.

    I had a good experience with Finance of America Reverse. But the whole industry could be improved by not negotiating down rates. Every one of the three firms that I contacted started with higher rates than I eventually got. As the three competed, because of my knowledge of finance, they all kept coming down slowly. So it’s an unfair way to treat seniors that don’t have any background and experience to negotiate. What they’re doing is they’re stealing money from old people by quoting high rates and seeing whether or not it flies.

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    Customer ServiceStaffBillingLoan Process

    Reviewed June 13, 2020

    The preliminary figures of Finance of America Reverse were better, which was why I went with them. We were just refinancing so, I already knew how all of it works. There was some difficulty with the process but the people were good and they worked on it on their end. The bank that obviously is holding the note treated it more like a regular mortgage instead of a reverse mortgage and I was gonna be making payments on it every month. There was no need for any of that to go on. You can if you want and that’s not a problem.

    The first time I did it a few years back, I didn’t have to answer any of those questions that have to do with your finances. They weren’t asked because they weren’t relative to the loan. If that’s the way they’re doing it now, be prepared to answer questions. The way I was understanding it is that’s the way it’s done nowadays. It took a little while, but they worked it. They were professional and they would return calls when they needed to, and they were very good at it.

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    Customer ServiceStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed June 12, 2020

    Everything was good with Finance of America Reverse and I’m glad I did it. There was some confusion because of the type of loan and I’m not really happy with the interest rate but overall, it relieved a lot of anxiety. Randy, the rep, was great. She was always available either on her cell phone or even after hours or on the weekend if I had any concerns or questions. She was always calm and patient. She was definitely top-notch.

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    Reviewed June 10, 2020

    They did a great Job. Chuck ** is the best. Chuck did what he said he would do. And did it during a pandemic. The Co. did everything he said they would do. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a reverse mortgage.

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    Loan Process

    Reviewed May 30, 2020

    I had a reverse mortgage with Finance of America Reverse that I closed some time ago. Their service was very good the first time. When I moved and bought another property, I thought about going back to them. I talked to the same loan mortgage originator that serviced me the last time. He had all the information that I needed at his fingertips, so I did not have to start all over. It took some time to approve the loan, but we got it approved and I have no complaints.

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    Punctuality & SpeedTimeliness

    Reviewed May 15, 2020

    With a reverse mortgage, I had a trust that I'm withdrawing money on it for so many years and it kept getting lower and lower. I wanted to just boost my income every month. Not all finance companies will give you that if it's a condominium, and the condo managers don't approve of the reverse mortgage. Finance of America has a way of getting around it so it's like refinancing. So it's much better. I'm very happy with Finance of America. I'm very comfortable. One thing that probably could have improved was the fact that the second notary time, the notary said he was gonna come in so late. I said, "Can you do it tomorrow?" not realizing that you have to do it on the same day. So he came the next day and I had to do it over again, which was not a problem. The second lady was faster and better anyway. She's lovely. She explained everything, and she made it very easy for me.

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    Loan ProcessTransparency

    Reviewed May 13, 2020

    Recently received a reverse mortgage loan from Finance of America Reverse. I found them online. Spoke to Taylor **. He gave me a very good explanation of how a reverse mortgage works then sent me a pack thoroughly explaining all. He was always available had all the answers I needed. A very nice lady Linda ** came to my home, Took my application. Another nice lady Jennifer ** came to my home for the closing. In a few days I received the funding. Thanks to Taylor ** with Finance of America Reverse for a very good experience plus Taylor assures me he remains available if I have any questions.

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    Customer ServiceTechPunctuality & SpeedStaffRates

    Reviewed May 9, 2020

    Finance of America Reverse gave me the better interest and pay off, and they were very friendly. So I went with them. I talked to a girl and she helped me very much go walk through it. There wasn't too much I had to do. They took care of everything. They kept in contact with me and told me every step of the way what they were gonna do and what to expect. Everything seemed to be working all fine.

    It took a little over 30 days by the time I got some people out here to look at the house. With everything going on with this virus thing, it slowed things down a little bit. The guy came out with all the paperwork to sign and everything was quick after that. There was just one issue when they were working on taking care of that. But other than that, it went fairly smooth. They answered all my questions. They were very helpful. I got a good deal from what I heard from other ones. So hopefully, they'll settle this one little issue we have. But the rep is working on it and she's gonna take care of it for me.

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    Sales & MarketingPricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed May 7, 2020

    I went online and I picked five companies that I thought I wanted to look into. There was only one other company that came even close and the one with Tom Selleck was terrible and they wouldn’t give me any information. Brent, the rep from Finance of America Reverse, was helpful. He answered all my questions and based off of what we thought the house would be worth, he gave me numbers to look at. He gave me everything I asked for and did everything in a timely manner. I would highly recommend him. I’ve been in sales, sales management and sales training all my life. Most salespeople beat around the bush and they hem-haw. If they don't know the answer to a question, they make something up. If I was hiring salespeople, I would hire Brent and be happy to get Finance of America Reverse. I bought a few homes in the past and I never had one go that smoothly. I know a lot of mortgage companies are nightmares but they were great.

    I did everything that Brent said a day or two after I got the information and we had everything rocking and rolling in a week. It was amazingly quick. Finance of America Reverse did everything that they said they were gonna do in a timely manner. The only curve was once it got to the title company and to the appraisers, they all dropped the ball and took way longer. I had to wait a while to get somebody here for the appraisal and Brent was very nice.

    The water heater didn't have straps on it and he said that they might say something to me about that and that was that. Then, they got the appraisal to the finance company and everything was good. We thought we were a go but a week and a half later, they got another thing back that said I had to put a pipe from the blow-off valve to the ground, and I had to strap in the water heater. So, we wasted a week or two there. Then, we had to wait for them to look at that again. That process was kind of a mess but the finance company doesn’t have any control over that.

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    StaffLoan Process

    Reviewed May 6, 2020

    I am a 73-year-old senior citizen and have just completed a reverse mortgage thanks to Taylor **. I guess I was like a lot of people thinking A reverse mortgage was a bad thing. Taylor showed me that a reverse mortgage was good investment for me. He explained everything in detail and answered all my questions. As a loan officer he took time to answer all my questions and gave the understanding that assured me I was doing the right thing. I would recommend Taylor to anyone considering a reverse mortgage.

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    Customer ServiceStaffBillingLoan Process

    Reviewed May 6, 2020

    Getting a reverse mortgage seemed like the smart thing to do to reduce or eliminate our mortgage payment. It makes our retirement a little bit more comfortable. We were very happy with the whole process. It all went very smoothly. We were very comfortable with it all the way through. It was handled extremely well. My loan officer was the only person that I dealt with over the time and he responded when I needed him. He was very good to work with. We’re only on the second month into the loan but we’re very comfortable with it. We got our first statement in the mail today and it's a very clear statement that tells you exactly where you’re at. So we’re very pleased. It’s done what it’s accomplished.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed May 1, 2020

    Our experience with Finance of America Reverse LLC and our agent Taylor ** went well from start to finish. We felt completely informed regarding the Reverse Mtg process due to the excellent work of Taylor and his Company. Quick processing and rapid funding. We would strongly recommend using FAR and Taylor for anyone considering this life changing transaction. Great work everyone! Dale/Laurette **

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    Staff

    Reviewed April 30, 2020

    We cannot give enough praise to Taylor, our mortgage broker, for his expertise and guidance as we navigated the process of our reverse mortgage. He walked us through the numerous questions we posed to him, and truly wanted to provide us with the best figures for our particular needs. We couldn't be happier with our experience and with Finance of America. The process was smooth and non-stressful. We highly recommend Taylor and Finance of America for your reverse mortgage.

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    Customer ServiceTech

    Reviewed April 29, 2020

    Celink, the company that was servicing the original reverse mortgage, recommended Finance of America and that was who I went with. The gentleman that I worked with seemed to be proficient and I didn’t have any issues with him at all. However, the title company and reverse mortgage company were not in sync and the title company called a family member. There was a $20,000 upfront request in the beginning that the family needed, and instead of discussing it with the reverse mortgage company, the title company called the house and discussed the 20,000 with someone that they should never have talked to. That caused some serious family issues. Otherwise, the experience went fine.

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    Customer ServiceStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed April 28, 2020

    The house has to be approved by HUD and my condo unit wasn’t. I called HUD and I was doing everything but I couldn’t get a damn thing done. But the gentleman from Finance did it. I signed a few papers and he gave me a few things. It took less than two months and it was HUD-approved. Then, I let him take it from there. I had to go to get the mortgage counseling and everything was all right. He did everything that was in my way to get the loan and helped me get through it. He was hands-on. Also, the rates and terms were fair. I had no problem with Finance of America Reverse.

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    Customer ServiceStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed April 27, 2020

    Jaime ** was an outstanding agent and helped me when I was having problems with another company. She assisted me with the transfer process and followed up after the loan was completed. I have recommended her to other people. She’s the best!

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    CoverageTechPunctuality & SpeedStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed April 27, 2020

    A friend of mine helped me do the preliminaries for the reverse mortgage and then Finance of America came out and talked to me right here at my home. I feel good about what was done with it. They came right out when I told them what I wanted and the application process was good and it wasn’t very long at all. I woulda had a problem just by myself but having that friend and then another two that had been in court and insurance jobs was a big help. They broke it down for me and I could understand it all.

    Finance of America really talks to you and is ready to work with you. It was good for me because it never makes me comfortable if somebody gives me a slap no or a flat yes. I wanna know why and where and how come. The loan officer was nice. I was surprised that it went through as fast as it did and the rates and terms were good. They answered my need and went right through with it.

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    StaffLoan Process

    Reviewed April 25, 2020

    I was lucky enough to have Ms. Monica Lynne ** working on my loan. She was very informative, extremely thorough, pleasant to work with, and always kept me appraised of what was happening and when. I would highly recommend Finance of America Reverse LLC and Ms. **.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed April 25, 2020

    My FAR representative, Roobert **, helped me all the way from day 1 to completion. His advice and service was outstanding. Quick (about 45 days) to close. Great company. A reverse mortgage was the perfect solution for me to keep my home after my wife passed away. Without her social security income I was rapidly depleting my resources. Best move I made was getting this reverse mortgage financing.

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    Customer ServiceStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed April 25, 2020

    I have known Julie, the agent, for a couple of years because she contacted me a couple of years ago through a tax client I had, and she called me every few months. She knew I was looking for a new house and she stayed in touch with me to see if she could help me. She worked hard. Our house was being built so the process took six months because that was the time element in building the new house. Finance of America Reverse didn’t want to put the loan through prematurely. It took right up to the end to finalize everything. But it was all right.

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    CoverageStaffLoan ProcessRates

    Reviewed April 25, 2020

    Working with Finance of America took a lot longer than I expected but that wasn’t their fault. There was a RREM grant thing that came into play, there were problems with bank of America, and there were some problems with the insurance company. It took over six months. I wasn’t prepared for that. Also, I’m happy that the interest on the loan initially was 2 point something, but it’s gonna gradually go up to over 7. I’m not too crazy about that. Other than that, the rep I worked with was excellent.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed April 25, 2020

    I had a good conversation with the agent of Finance of America Reverse that helped us. He was always easy to get a hold of, and then it seemed like Finance of America Reverse had good reviews too. When we first started it, we were told the process from beginning to end would take about a month or so, but then it ended up taking several. They had a surge at the time. With all the holidays hitting, that pushed things further. So, it would be better if they could clarify that it could definitely take a lot more time than you’re expecting. But the customer service was good. They knew what they were talking about and they did an okay job as well.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedRefunds & PayoutsStaff

    Reviewed April 24, 2020

    I have a 48-year old son who had a series of falls and he's a paraplegic now. I had to have 24-hour care for him and pay them out of my pocket. When I looked up reverse mortgages on the internet, I had two or three different companies call, and Finance of America was competitive. Another company offered me a little bit less, but if there was no follow-up and I wondered how it was gonna play out and how long it was gonna lay there if I don't jump on it myself. Also, Finance of America's rep, Julie, was very nice and very persistent. She kept it up and guided me through it to the point where we got it done.

    Everything went very well with Finance of America. I also read that doing a reverse mortgage takes time and I started as early as I could. But as far as the house estimates, they had a second one come out after the first one, and I agreed with the second one. I went on and on and got nitpicky with the details, but other than that, there was nothing you could do about it and I was just glad to get the funds.

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    Staff

    Reviewed April 24, 2020

    My experience was absolutely wonderful. Julie ** was fantastic. It was a long hard journey and she was with me every step of the way. Professional, knowledgeable, caring, never giving up. I consider her my angel. Without her this never would’ve happened. I also commend Eric **.

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    PriceStaffLoan Process

    Reviewed April 24, 2020

    Working with Finance of America Reverse was a little bit of work. It was like filling out a job application. I work at nuclear power plants, and it was like going through a background check. It was tough but I got through it. The application process was okay and if I had a problem, Tim, my loan officer, helped me. They did a good job. But they were a little expensive.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 24, 2020

    In light of what’s going on now, using Finance of America was a great decision. Although we explored other possibilities, we wanted someone who has done this for a while and who we felt confidence in. We dealt with Scott by phone and he did a superb job. He kept us informed and assisted us through every step of the way. Everything that he told us was correct and there were no surprises. We’re happy with things as they stand.

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    Staff

    Reviewed April 23, 2020

    We were very happy with Marina ** and the rest of the FAR staff. They were very professional and helpful through all steps of the process. Marina made herself available to answer any questions or concerns we had. Thank you, Marina.

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    Staff

    Reviewed April 23, 2020

    Had a reverse mtge & had excellent service with my agent Randi. Everything was explained clearly by Randi & things happened when they were supposed to happen. Things were done in a timely manner. I would recommend Reverse Mtge to anyone.

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    Punctuality & SpeedLoan ProcessHonesty & Transparency

    Reviewed April 23, 2020

    The information that I received was misleading. I was told that my loan would have a line of credit and later found out that it didn’t. I feel trapped. I later found out that the type of loan I received didn’t qualify for a line of credit. I am now trying to raise funds needed to pay off this loan.

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    Rates

    Reviewed April 23, 2020

    I believe Mrs. Randi ** was concerned that this transaction was handled professionally and in the best interest of my self and the company she represents...I felt she worked very hard to complete this matter at the terms I required...

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    Customer ServiceStaffBilling

    Reviewed April 23, 2020

    Our experience with Finance of America was great. Our advisor was with us from the beginning to end and she was terrific. She helped us every step of the way. Working with them affected us very nicely—by not having the payments and by making life a little bit less stressful in this very stressful time we’re having. As far as anything that could be improved upon, they didn’t really let us know all at once of everything we needed and it was somewhat piecemeal at times. Like with some of the paperwork that they wanted, our advisor was very good and she’d say, “Just take a copy of it with your phone and email it to me or text it to me,” and that was what we did. But then it was, “You know, it didn’t come out quite as good,” which I understand. I’m not that terrific with them. But they sent FedEx envelopes so that it could get overnighted back and forth, and it worked out fine.

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    Sandra increased rating by 4 stars.
    Customer ServiceTechPricePunctuality & Speed
    After a positive interaction with Finance of America Reverse, Sandra increased their star rating.

    Reviewed April 23, 2020

    I researched reverse mortgages and got quotes from several companies and chose Finance of America. Had someone come out to the house and get completed application, and all back-up needed. They received every item requested. Didn't hear anything for two weeks so I called. Said they were having trouble getting an appraiser in Texas to do appraisal. 7 weeks later and we are still waiting. Even offered to find an appraiser myself. I'm going to cancel the contract and find someone else.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed April 23, 2020

    Finance of America sounded very good and the customer service I got was very nice. Scott, the rep was very kind, had a lot of knowledge, and answered all my questions. They explained a lot of stuff I didn’t know in detail. And he explained everything very well. If anybody comes to me, I would definitely suggest Finance of America.

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    StaffLoan Process

    Reviewed April 23, 2020

    I did a research and then saw their name. I recently got them and I receive something in the mail form them once a month. The Finance of America Reverse loan officer I dealt was fine and she was on top of it.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsStaff

    Reviewed April 23, 2020

    When we were looking at entering into a reverse mortgage agreement, we reviewed all the major companies and then interviewed representatives from all the major companies. We analyzed the pluses and minuses of the whole concept, and then we analyzed the competitive proposals from the top three. And from that data, we chose FAR. The customer service experience was wonderful. Diana was our personal interface and she was a delight.

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    StaffBillingRatesHonesty & Transparency

    Reviewed April 22, 2020

    Getting a reverse mortgage seemed like a good idea to save on mortgage payment and to have the security that it offers. We spoke with Adam, the agent from Finance of America, and we really clicked with him. He worked with us and didn’t rush us. He was always honest about what things were and was good to work with, so we stuck with them to the end. We followed the protocol and altogether, the whole process took six weeks. We were also satisfied with the rates and terms of our mortgage. We got a good interest rate, which happened to be pretty low that week, and we were happy with that.

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    Finance of America Reverse Company Information

    Company Name:
    Finance of America Reverse
    Company Type:
    Public
    Year Founded:
    2003
    Formerly Named:
    Urban Financial Group
    Address:
    8023 East 63d Place, Suite 700
    City:
    Tulsa
    State/Province:
    OK
    Postal Code:
    74133
    Country:
    United States
    Website:
    www.financeofamerica.com