A good story to remind of us of our good deeds will keep you going!
post by Sam Collins

Every now and then I find myself getting discouraged with my business.   I work hard, but sometimes, no matter how hard I work there are some senior homeowners I just can’t help.  When this happens I find myself taking it personally.  With the recent principal loan limit formula changed,  I am finding more and more of my senior clients do not qualify, because of a shortfall.  

To bring myself back to reality I recall several stories of those seniors lives I have impacted.  I would like to share one such story with you.

I Just Want to Have Coffee with my friends!

I first received a call from Mrs. S’s, son, Tony.   Tony said he heard that our company did reverse mortgages.  He wanted to know more about the program.  His Mother, Mrs. S. was 78. 

Tony said he and his brother were trying to help Mom as best they could.  Tony knew his Mother’s house needed some work, but prior to his Dads passing, they had taken out a home equity line of credit to do some repairs, but it wasn’t enough.  With his Dad’s passing his Mom’s social security benefits had gone down dramatically and she was having a tough time making ends meet, even with help from him and his brother.  Both sons’ were willing to help, but they also had growing families to support.

We sent Tony our information package which explains all the ins and outs of a reverse mortgage and followed up with a phone call to make sure Tony understood the material we had sent to him.   After talking with Tony, he agreed a reverse mortgage may be the answer to solving his Mom’s needs and agreed to meet his Mother at her home.

I met Mrs. S. in the middle of winter.  When I entered her  home it was very cold.  I asked Mrs. S. if things were alright with her heater.  She told me, her heater did not work.  She said, “We just add on a few more blankets when it really gets cold.”  My heart sank and I knew we had to get to work quickly to take care of Mrs. S.  

Mrs. S was a proud lady and she did not want to admit she needed help.  I knew we could help  improve her life tremendously with a reverse mortgage.   I assured her, because of her and her husband’s hard work to pay down their mortgage, she was now in a position to utilize their built up home’s equity with a reverse mortgage.

After some conversation I got to the truth about why the house was so cold.  Her oil tank was empty.  She said she had called Catholic charities, but she had exhausted her aid.  Next, I did what I am sure you would do, I immediately went to work to get her furnace fixed and the heating oil tank filled. Within two days Mrs. S had heat.

Within about 3 weeks we were able to complete the reverse mortgage.  Mrs. S. had enough money to make repairs to her windows, install a new roof, replace her kitchen floor,  paint her living room and repair damage from a previous water leak.  The best part is Mrs. S still had enough money to receive a monthly tenure payment, which aided in supplementing her monthly income and expense shortfall.

Mrs. S. kept saying, “I can’t believe it. This whole reverse mortgage thing sounds too good to be true.”  I agreed, many of our senior clients have said the same thing. But, she soon became a believer!

I can still recall Mrs. S saying, “Now, I can have my friends over for coffee.” 

Often,  I have to pinch myself and give thanks for our many blessings and the many Mrs.S’s  we can all help being reverse mortgage advisors. 

Next time you get discouraged, please remember your Mrs. S and keep going.
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Remember, keep moving forward to stay ahead in reverse.
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