4000.1, which includes specific sections on HECMs. It is a big step in the journey for HECMs to gain widespread acceptance, something all stakeholders say needs to continue. Only a small percentage of those who are eligible for a reverse mortgage have gotten one. The industry experts we interviewed peer into the future, knowing that 2024 is following a challenging year for the industry. They offer some advice on methods that have helped with their success. As Paul Scheper, CRMP, puts it in Milestones, reverse mortgages provide people at or near retirement an opportunity to attain “the new American dream.” This version of the housing dream is the opportunity for seniors to live in their homes forever, free of financial stress. While estimates vary, roughly 70 million Baby Boomers are out there, with most of them at or near retirement. For many people in this target demographic for reverse mortgages, the last time they were truly carefree might have been in their teens in the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s. They might have even attended Woodstock, the famous gathering in 1969 that came to symbolize a carefree time. I found it interesting that Melanie, one of the musicians who played at Woodstock, recently used a reverse mortgage to take some financial stress off her later years. That article is this issue’s Those We Help (p. 34). The COVID-19 pandemic limited her ability to tour and took a financial toll, and a reverse mortgage has helped her to pay for expenses. “I would highly recommend it to anyone,” she says about reverse mortgages during an interview at NRMLA’s Annual Meeting and Expo in October. While reverse mortgages aren’t the secret sauce to a completely carefree retirement, they certainly are an important ingredient. Thomas A. Barstow, senior editor of Reverse Mortgage, is a writer and editor based in Pennsylvania. In Reverse Partnership you can trust. Dedicated to never competing with you - your success is our success. Ready to experience the difference? Visit Celink.com Deep Industry Experience 96% Borrower Satisfaction Rating Independence and Alignment with Clients Robust Specialized Technology Reverse Mortgage Is Our Core Competency © Celink. All rights reserved. NMLS #3020 - http://nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Compu-Link Corporation dba Celink (WA license# CL3020 and 603 018 607) REVERSE MORTGAGE / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024 3
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