Latest Research on Reverse Mortgages Suggests They Can Be a Good Tool

Sept. 30, 2014 — Some co-op boards, to say nothing of residents, are wary of reverse mortgages, a type of loan that lets elder homeowners have money to live on by borrowing against the value of a home, to be paid back from the proceeds of a home sale after the borrower's death. Habitat, since 2006, has published articles explaining reverse mortgages and examining them in detail for boards. Now The New York Times, in a survey of the latest economic research on the subject, suggests that after some growing pains and unscrupulous lending, reverse mortgages may be a highly useful tool in specific situations — and that even some early naysayers are converting.