University Professors Research Reverse Mortgages, Set Record Straight

Why are reverse mortgages misunderstood? I think it's largely because of how the industry has marketed and advertised them… as a product older people get when they need money to cover living expenses during retirement.   So, it would stand to reason that all of the people that do not yet need money to cover their living expenses, would ignore reverse mortgages completely… which is exactly what they do for the most part.

The media’s coverage of reverse mortgages has been terribly slanted, but that’s not even the worst of it… it’s also been factually incorrect in most… if not all, cases.  And that certainly hasn’t helped anyone gain a better understand of anything.

Well, I’ve been writing about these and other issues related to reverse mortgages for some time now, but I wanted you to hear what others have concluded after researching the product.

David W. Johnson, Ph.D., is an associate professor of finance at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and holds a doctorate in finance from the University of Tennessee.  Zamira S. Simkins, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and holds a doctorate in economics from American University.  Together they published a paper titled: “Retirement Trends, Current Monetary Policy, and the Reverse Mortgage Market” that appeared in the Journal of Financial Planning2014 27 (3): 52–59… and was widely read and discussed all over the country, having been reviewed or reported on by numerous other publications, as well.

They are my guests on this Mandelman Matters Podcast… they are not selling anything… and they both have become experts when it comes to reverse mortgages.   In PART 1, Professor Johnson does an outstanding job presenting the facts about the product, commenting on the media’s awful coverage, and discussing the industry and the problems it faces.  (I LOVED doing this interview and I think it’s certainly worth listening to, no matter who you are.  It’s just that good.)

Professor Johnson was actually primarily motivated to study and write about reverse mortgages by the media’s horribly slanted and generally inaccurate coverage of reverse mortgages, and he shares some examples that will make you cringe.  He’s also one of those educators that is great at making things simple and getting right to the heart of the issue.

Not only should you listen to this podcast, but I hope you’ll pass it around to anyone that would benefit from knowing the facts about reverse mortgages, and the incredible and little-known ways they can be used.