Charles and Joan Henning, aged 79 and 77, respectively, have 26 miniature flags in their downstairs living room. Each represents the country of a foreign exchange student they have befriended.

“When our two daughters got married and moved away, we volunteered to be a host family in an international exchange program,” said Joan. “We love to do fun things and to hang out with young people. It’s been such a rewarding experience…The students who we have hosted over the years have become our extended family.”

The exchange program enables youths to travel to the U.S. to attend one year of high school, or to enroll as a graduate or undergraduate student at the University of Notre Dame in nearby South Bend.

Some students stayed with us while they were here and others we met at various functions sponsored through the exchange program,” according to Joan, who taught French, Journalism, and Drama at the local middle school for 17 years.  Although the Hennings are no longer a host family, they’ve kept in close contact with many of their former exchange students. Three of them - Christine from France, Gabrielle from Mexico, and Carlos from Brazil - got married in 2002. The Hennings were invited to attend all three weddings, which were held in their friends’ native countries.

To raise the money to attend the weddings, Charles and Joan decided to get a reverse mortgage. “We got the reverse mortgage, so that we could go to France and Brazil,” explained Joan. “Later we were invited to Gabrielle’s wedding in Mexico. Getting the reverse mortgage was a smart move, because we didn’t have to dip into our savings.”

The loan closed on February 25, 2002. The couple took out an initial draw of $8,000 to pay for the first two trips, and left the balance in a line of credit.  “You know how the Chinese have a Year of the Dog or some other animal,” laughed Joan. “Well in 2002 it was the Year of the Weddings for the Hennings. We traveled a lot, but it was so much fun traveling to Paris, and Brasilia [the capital of Brazil] and Saltillo in Mexico. We were treated like honored guests.”

In addition to paying for their travel, the Hennings also used the funds from their reverse mortgage to buy a computer. The computer, Joan said, “opened up a whole new world for us.” The couple now uses e-mail to keep in touch with their children and other friends.  “I used the Internet to purchase our plane tickets, reserve hotel rooms, and make other travel arrangements,” she noted. “I doubt we could have done any of this without our reverse mortgage, which is why we’re advising our friends to get one, too.”

By Durfee Bedsole

By way of introduction, I am 70 years of age and share a log home with my business partner/chef who is 64.  We both divorced our husbands many years ago. We came to East Texas 13 years ago and opened a country French restaurant. We enjoyed tremendous success but decided to retire seven years ago.  Our combined income is about $1700 a month from Social Security. 

After paying homeowners insurance, car insurance, life insurance, Medicare supplements, utilities, gasoline, car maintenance, lake community dues, and normal expenses to survive, like food and clothes, there was never anything left over to play with. We had no savings account for emergencies, no travel money, no luxuries.

A couple years ago I was sitting on my back porch, admiring the view of the neighbor’s pasture land with gorgeous quarter horses roaming at dusk. The sunset was spectacular.  I was absolutely awed.  What a lucky person I am. I started to count my blessings—my house and car are paid for, I’m debt free, I have my health, two grown children on the West Coast and two beautiful grandchildren, and close friends that are there for me. But I started wondering, is this all there is?

Suddenly it hit me while I sat here enjoying the sunset and gloating over my health and good fortune: my retired friends are traveling all over the world, going on cruises, getting manicures, pedicures, going to the big city for concerts, plays, ballgames, buying fancy clothes and jewelry, and eating out in fancy restaurants. 

And here I sit living their lives vicariously. Maybe they handled their money more wisely than I did; maybe they have tremendous pensions; maybe they have annuities, stocks, bonds, you name it. Big Deal! We have none of that. But we do have a house that is paid for! I wasn’t born yesterday. Isn’t that called equity? And I am sitting on it while others are sitting on deck chairs in the Bahamas!  Why not have my cake and eat it too? Just about that time, I read about reverse mortgages in the local paper. “I want that,” I cried. But how do I get that? Most people, including bankers here, either never heard of them or didn’t want to hear about them. For a year I talked to bankers, anyone who would listen to find out about these reverse mortgages. Finally, someone referred me to a website to read a column written by someone at the Dallas Morning News.  He said try _______ Mortgage and gave me the email address of Clive ________, their Reverse Mortgage Manager. Bingo. Well, it worked! Not without some diligence on all our parts, getting an appraisal, a survey, a termite inspection, a credit report, a title report, and filling out lots of paperwork. Was it worth it? You bet.

Now I know what you are thinking—what about the grandchildren?  What about their inheritance?  First of all, we still have plenty of equity left even after the mortgage.  Both my kids are thrilled that at last I have some money to “play” with, and now I can visit them.  I can send them presents and money for special things if they need it. They are completely supportive and always have been. Don’t they want me to enjoy the fruits of my labors?  Their inheritance is me, now, not after I am gone.

So what was the first thing we did with the money?  I bought a computer, started putting collectibles on Ebay and have increased our measly income by about half—and have had so much fun doing it.  Then we immediately signed up for a Mahjong Cruise on the biggest cruise ship out of Miami, Navigator of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). The ship is 15 stories high, two football fields long, and has an ice rink.

Then we went to California on a whim to attend a birthday party for an 80-year-old.  Five days of nothing but fun.  As I write this, I am getting ready to go back to California to attend the wedding of my great niece.  Another week of fun.  I’m thinking of taking my two grandchildren on an Elderhostel vacation on the coast of Oregon next year (2005). I could have attended my high school’s 53rd reunion, but opted not to because of the other trips I’m taking this year. In two years, on my 55^th reunion, they are planning a cruise.  Now, that’s more like it!

And, oh yes, I’ve had a few manicures, a pedicure, have tickets to go to my first Cal (UC Berkeley) football game in December since I graduated in 1955!  We took some good friends out to dinner at a fancy restaurant this year, and we even treat ourselves to an occasional lunch or Starbucks coffee or a new book. I went to my first book signing and actually bought the book with author’s autograph. We still have three CDs that mature in the next few years and a special savings account just for emergencies. We have tickets to community concerts and we are able to make a small contribution to the local art museum each year.

I almost forgot—we just bought the lot next to us to protect our peace and tranquility.

None of the above would have been possible without ________ Mortgage and our reverse mortgage. Now our dreams can become a reality.  I still sit out back and watch the horses at sunset, listen to the birds and crickets and cicadas, watch the herons as they swoop down on the pond.  Is this all there is?  Yes, and a whole lot more!

The past two winters had taken a terrible toll on Elsie Csonka’s 75-year-old, two-bedroom, ranch-style home. “The roof was in dire need of repair and the gutters were all beat up,” said the 70-year-old native of Griffith, Indiana.

This past summer, Csonka applied for a home improvement loan from her local bank, so she could pay a contractor to make the necessary repairs, only to be turned away because of a recent bankruptcy filing.  “The bank wouldn’t lend me the money because I had filed for bankruptcy,” added Csonka. “I was in a real bind because I needed a new roof but I had no way to pay for it.”

A few days later, Csonka read an advertisement about reverse mortgages that had been placed in a local senior publication. “I had read about reverse mortgages before, but this time I decided to pursue getting one, so that I could get a new roof,” she said.

However, there was one complication. Although Csonka, who’s single, remains the sole occupant of her home, two sisters, four nieces and one nephew also held title to the property. “This used to be my mother’s home,” said Csonka. “When she died, I was allowed to live here but, in exchange, my two (living) sisters, along with my deceased sister’s children, were allowed to remain on the title, so that if the home was eventually sold they would all receive a portion of the sales proceeds.”  But to qualify for a reverse mortgage, only the individual living in the home—in this case, Csonka—could be named on the title.  “I had to persuade everyone to sign individual “quit claim” deeds, so that their names could be removed from the title,” she added. “There was some initial resistance but we worked out our differences and reached a settlement.”

Once the matter was resolved, Csonka was free to begin the application process. The home appraised for $95,000. After her fall property taxes and closing costs were paid, Csonka ended up with a lump sum balance of $46,980. The closing took place just two weeks before Thanksgiving Day 2002. “Within a week after closing, I had a new roof and gutters, and the back door, which had also deteriorated, was replaced,” she said.

Csonka took another $1,400 from her reverse mortgage to pay off her creditors. In addition, Csonka agreed to divide the remaining loan proceeds amongst her sisters and other family members as a form of compensation for agreeing to remove their names from the title to the home. “It was the right thing to do,” she noted.  Though there were obstacles to overcome, Csonka said she’s much happier now that she has gotten a reverse mortgage. “I have an aunt who’s interested in possibly getting one,” added Csonka. “I hope she does.”

When John and Mary Williams, aged 85 and 81 respectively, paid off their mortgage in 1997, everyone, including their children, celebrated.

“They both worked so hard to pay off the mortgage,” said daughter Gloria Johnston. “There was a great sense of accomplishment when that final payment was made.” Soon after, John and Mary decided their 3-bedroom, 2-bath home near Charleston, S.C., needed an extensive makeover. “The kitchen and bathrooms needed to be repaired,” said Johnston. “My parents didn’t have much discretionary income to make home improvements because they were scraping together just enough money to pay the mortgage. Now that it was paid off, all us kids agreed that the home needed to be taken care of.”

Johnston said her father was reluctant to get a second mortgage to pay for the home repairs. “Heck, Daddy just got done paying off the first mortgage…The last thing he wanted was another monthly loan payment.”

Instead, Johnston suggested to her parents that they get a reverse mortgage. “I had read about reverse mortgages,” she said. “I thought it was something that my parents might consider pursuing.” Her brothers and sisters agreed. “We told our parents ‘you worked hard to pay this home off, now you do whatever it takes to keep it in good shape.’”

Johnston said both parents were excited to learn that they could use a reverse mortgage to tap some of the equity from their home without having to take on a new monthly payment. John and Mary met with a reverse mortgage lender to discuss their options. “I accompanied my parents to the mandatory counseling session just to make sure they understood fully what they were getting into,” noted Johnston.

Once the counseling was completed, John and Mary decided once and for all to get a reverse mortgage. The couple took an initial draw of $20,000 to cover the repair costs to their home. With the money left over, John and Mary elected to receive $350 in monthly income to supplement what John receives from the golf pro shop he has worked at for the past 25 years.  “My parents are so much happier now that the bathrooms and kitchen look brand new,” said Johnston, “and it really turned Daddy on to know he could get all this money without having a new payment to worry about.”

Freddie Clark is a 78-year- old mother of six, who has lived in her home for over 40 years. She is challenged with reading and writing. She received a “foreclosure notice” from her current mortgage holder because of late payments.

Her son contacted Roy Shellhammer, a loan officer with Next Generation Financial Services, in February of 2006 to discuss whether a reverse mortgage could help. NGFS is a division of 1st Mariner Bank, based in Baltimore.

The existing lien holder was uncommunicative and very difficult to work with, continuing to add on additional charges and fees to her current loan. When NGFS finally had a closing date set with an appropriate closing amount, and closing documents, the lien holder suggested to Freddie and her family that they should apply for a hardship reduction in fees.  She started this process with NGFS support. The lien holder would not respond to requests for a new payoff figure. The interest rate lock was lost and now the closing fees were greater than the amount of outside funds available.

It appeared as if Freddie would lose her home. Freddie’s family contacted a local “legal aid” group, and they put in a tremendous amount of effort to get the lien holder to provide a payoff figure. The lien holder denied the hardship reduction. Legal aid petitioned a judge to require the lien holder to provide the necessary information. The lawyers finally were able to talk the day before closing. Freddie got her reverse mortgage on July 21 and is now able to live in her home the rest of her life, PAYMENT FREE.

With the help of the reverse mortgage, and with some assistance from family and friends, her church, legal aid, and loan consultants Roy Shellhammer, Troy Shellhammer, and Grant Shellhammer, Freddie’s home was saved, but not without a lot of hard work from everyone involved!

For 45 years, Dorothy Rogers, 82, has lived in the same single-story home that she and her husband, John, and son, Thomas, built together in Hampton, NH.  “I would hold one end of a board while John nailed it in place,” Ms. Rogers fondly remembers. “We started building it in November (1955). It was so cold the glue, from the glue gun I was using, would often freeze before it had a chance to stick.”

She added: “To save money, my family ate mostly hot dogs and hamburgers while we were building the home. By the time we moved in the following spring I was sick to death of hot dogs.”

Before moving to Hampton in 1955, the couple lived near Boston, where Dorothy worked for Webster Thomas, a wholesale grocer, and John for Boston Edison, a power company. “When we moved to Hampton I became a housewife but John kept his job at Boston Edison. He commuted down to Boston every day.” John and Dorothy were living a normal, happy life when, in August 1976, he suddenly passed away a mere 20 days before retiring. “I lost John, his insurance, and most of his pension. I received a little of his pension but it lasted only about one year,” Ms. Rogers said.

To make ends meet, she lived off her Social Security. Initially, the monthly Social Security check she received was enough to live on. But over time, as inflation increased, the $743 she received was barely enough to cover her daily living expenses.

“I had a horrendous time paying for things,” Ms. Rogers said. “Every time I went to the grocery store, I’d have to choose between prescription drugs or food. In the end, what I was getting from Social Security was going almost entirely to medicine.”

Two years ago, Fred Rice, a childhood friend of Ms. Rogers’ son, Thomas, told her about the reverse mortgage. “Fred described the reverse mortgage to me and, after listening to him, it sounded like a good thing,” she noted. “He told me that I’d be living off my home.” However, a year went by and Ms. Rogers still hadn’t inquired about getting a loan. “My situation didn’t improve,” she said. “I was afraid when the postman would arrive every day because I didn’t want him bringing me more bills that I knew I probably couldn’t pay,” she said.

One day her anxiety was more than she could bear. “I got three bills and I had to decide which one I could let slide because I couldn’t pay all three,” Ms. Rogers said. “I said to myself, I can’t do this anymore.” This time, Ms. Rogers called Fred back and inquired where she could go to get a reverse mortgage. Ms. Rogers closed on a reverse mortgage on November 20, 2000, and is currently receiving $634 a month in extra income - an increase of 85% over her previous income.

Needless to say, Ms. Rogers life has completely changed for the better. She has no problem paying for prescription drugs, food, or bills. “I thank God every day that I got a reverse mortgage. I can go see a movie with the girls now, or get a sandwich. The first thing I did after getting the loan was go to the store and buy a steak,” she said.

Barbara Smith, 72, loves the outdoors. “I guess I got the bug when my husband and I moved from Cincinnati to Littleton in 1986,” she says. “I started backpacking soon after. Colorado is such a beautiful state to explore.”

Not long after moving to Littleton, Ms. Smith and her husband, Everett, bought their first motorized camper. Until Everett’s death in 1991, they took numerous trips, looking for new places to explore. After his death, she continued to travel.

Even now, Ms. Smith’s fascination with nature has never waned. “I have friends who have campers and we travel quite a bit,” she notes. “Most recently, I met a group of friends in Arizona.”

She added: “I’ve put a lot of miles on my camper, so last year I decided that if I was going to continue traveling, I would need a new one. Mine was worn out.”

Without enough savings to buy a new one, Ms. Smith decided to get a reverse mortgage, secured by her 1,430-square-foot “patio” home, which has two beds and a bath. In December 2000, she obtained a reverse mortgage. Using $55,000 from the reverse mortgage proceeds, she traded in her old camper and bought a brand-new one, built to her specifications.

Ms. Smith is also receiving fixed monthly payments of $814 for the next eight years from the reverse mortgage. “My financial planner is investing that money, so that when the reverse mortgage runs out, my investment portfolio will hopefully have grown and I can use that money to live off,” she explains.

By the way, Barbara recently took delivery of her new camper. “It has a hand-held shower, a toilet, and a stove, which I didn’t have before” she says. “I can’t wait to try it out.”

Patrick Dawson, 67, always dreamed of taking a riverboat cruise on the Amazon River. His dream finally came true, thanks, in part, to the reverse mortgage he got in January 1997.

Mr. Dawson retired at age 61, after teaching industrial arts at Lane Technical High School for 20 years. Before that, he was a real estate appraiser and ironworker. “I helped build bridges and high rises,” he said.

Once retired, Mr. Dawson quickly discovered the modest $1,000-a-month pension he received wasn’t going to be easy to live on. Because he retired at an early age, Mr. Dawson wasn’t yet receiving Social Security either. Yet he was still paying a monthly mortgage totaling some $647, which didn’t leave much left over for food and other essentials. “I was on food stamps at one point,” he said.

Two years after retiring, in late 1996, Mr. Dawson happened to see a newspaper ad announcing an upcoming public meeting on reverse mortgages that was to be held near his home. Curious, he went to the meeting, where he met Carolyn Hummel, a reverse mortgage specialist.  Shortly thereafter, on January 24, 1997, Mr. Dawson closed on a reverse mortgage. As collateral, Mr. Dawson used his single-story “Chicago bungalow” - appraised at $106,000 - containing two-bedrooms, a living room/dining room, and one bath that was built in 1932.

To close the deal, Mr. Dawson had to pay ComCor an additional $20,000 cash out his own savings because he still owed roughly $56,342 on his first mortgage. But once the first mortgage was entirely paid off, Mr. Dawson no longer has to worry about making a monthly payment ever again.

This allowed him to start saving money for fun things, like the Amazon River trip. “It was a seven day cruise, there were 15 of us, and it was wonderful,” he added. “I spent time looking at all the birds, the group of us counted 116 different species, and other forms of wildlife, including monkeys.”

Here’s an interesting fact: “The Amazon, because of all the rain fall, rises 28 feet every year,” he added. “When it eventually recedes, the natives are left with very fertile ground which they use to plant their corn, rice, and other things.” In addition to the Amazon River excursion, Mr. Dawson has taken some classes through Elderhostel, a non-profit corporation that schedules short-term educational programs, generally one week in length, for persons 55 and older.

“The first course I took through Elderhostel was on Appalachian heritage,” he added. “I traveled to a small college in Kentucky for five days. Very interesting. I’ve taken other courses on Scottish heritage - that was in Kentucky too - and another on the environment, which was hosted at Lake Tahoe.”

In reflecting back on the past few years, Mr. Dawson said he was thankful he got a reverse mortgage. “I really needed that reverse mortgage to stay alive,” he said.

Katrine Denese, 80, suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and Parkinson’s Disease. Yet the last thing her kids want is to have her placed in a nursing home. “My mother’s home is her security - she loves it there,” said Janet Hayes, one of four children raised by Denese. Ms. Hayes acts as Power of Attorney for her mother.

Though still able to function independently at times, Ms. Denise, nonetheless, requires round-the-clock care because of dementia.

Using money from her mother’s pension and Social Security, Hayes has hired caregivers to take care of her mother. “They help with everything - cooking, bathing, cleaning - you name it,” she said.

But that level of care requires money - lots of it. Last year, it became clear that Denese’s pension and Social Security were no longer going to be sufficient to cover the caregivers’ costs.

Hayes initially sought financial assistance through the federal government but quickly hit a dead-end. “I didn’t get very far with the government,” Hayes added. “They wanted to pick the caregiver, and provide coverage only for eight hours a day. My mom, however, needs care 24-7.”

Hayes thought about mortgaging her home to pay for a caregiver but, in the end, chose a reverse mortgage. “I could have gotten a lot more money using a home equity loan but the interest rate was higher and there’s a monthly payment to make,” she added.

Acting as Power of Attorney for her mother, Hayes obtained a reverse mortgage with a line of credit. “What sold me on the reverse mortgage was that even after my mother exhausts all the money, she still can stay in her home for as long as she needs to,” added Hayes.

Using the proceeds from the reverse mortgage, Hayes has hired two caregivers. “One person actually lives with my mom and takes care of all her needs,” Hayes said. “A second person comes in once a week to relieve the other, who spends a few hours shopping for groceries and handling other errands.”

Paying her mother’s prescription drug bill isn’t as much a chore as it once was, either. “My mother’s prescription drug bill runs about $330 a month, and that’s with free samples,” said Hayes, “so the reverse mortgage helped out there.” Hayes recommends the reverse mortgage to any adult child who has to care for their parent but doesn’t have the financial ability to do so. “It has been a life saver for my mother,” she added.

If you ask Harriet Dailey, 72, why she got a reverse mortgage two years ago, the answer is pretty simple: she wanted to reduce her daily work load, so she could enjoy life more.

Ms. Dailey taught kindergarten through 12th grade for 32 years, the last 10 as a senior high school English teacher in her hometown of San Jose, CA. Then, in 1990, she retired and moved to Oak Harbor, WA, which is situated on Whidbey Island. “It’s the largest island in the U.S.,” she said. “It’s in Puget Sound about an hour north of Seattle.”

After retiring from teaching, Ms. Dailey soon recognized that her small pension, plus Social Security, wouldn’t be enough to cover her daily living expenses. So she took a job with a local agency that provides in-home care assistance to persons who have trouble functioning on their own.

“I mostly helped prepare meals, did general housekeeping, assisted in bathing and dressing, and played checkers with them if there was nothing else to do,” she said. “I’d usually spend about 2-8 hours a day at each persons home. It was very rewarding work.”

On the other hand, working 40-plus hours a week to support herself eventually started taking its toll. “At times, there was a lot of heavy patient lifting involved with my job, which was difficult to deal with sometimes,” Ms. Dailey noted.

Then, in 1998, she read in a senior journal that a speaker was coming to town to give a lecture on reverse mortgages, so “I decided to go hear what he had to say.”

Not long after, she applied for a reverse mortgage. She paid off her existing first mortgage and set up the reverse mortgage so that she would receive $684 a month for the next 12 years. She also has a $10,000 line of credit, which she uses sparingly.

“The line of credit has really helped me out of a lot of holes,” says Ms. Dailey. “It’s so nice because the little money that I do spend gets replenished because of the interest that I earn. It’s a really neat thing.”

Ms. Dailey has used her credit line to help pave part of her driveway and to help repair her car, to name a few projects.

More importantly, the fixed monthly payments that she receives have enabled her to slowly cut back on her work schedule. “I’ve gradually reduced my hours,” she said, “so that I’m working roughly 15 hours a week” Now, with more free time, Ms. Dailey is taking a more leisurely approach to life on Whidbey Island, including playing bridge, a lifetime ambition.

“The reverse mortgage has literally saved this little old lady’s life,” she said.

There aren’t many communities in America, like Love’s Landing, in Weirsdale, FL.

 A planned subdivision situated in the middle of the state near Ocala, Love’s Landing has two intersecting grass airstrips - one running east to west, the other north to south - that residents use as often as the paved roads nearby.

 ”Most people who live here are pilots,” says 70-year-old William McAuliffe. It’s not uncommon to see someone leave their home, jump into an airplane, and take off either for a favorite vacation spot, or just to cruise the skies a bit.

 ”I’ve flown all over the world,” notes McAuliffe, a Korean War veteran. Last year, McAuliffe made the decision to buy an airplane kit. Not only was McAuliffe buying a plane, he was building it, too.

Lacking sufficient funds to make the purchase, he decided to apply for a reverse mortgage. After several weeks, McAuliffe got his reverse mortgage, as a line of credit, enabling him to purchase a Glastar single-engine, two-seat airplane kit.