reverse mortgages declining urban neighborhoods (55, grandparents, states, relative)

[chessimprov]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/s...100319361.html
Sad times, and much of this story is in our very own Philadelphia.

One valid argument is that undereducated African-Americans were taken advantage of.
Another potentially valid argument someone made is that these people got themselves into this mess.


I think what matters most is how do we minimize the negative effects this has had on urban neighborhoods presently? Any suggestions/thoughts?

[Pennsport]

Easy solution. Simply do the bare basic research and have some idea of what you’re signing. I love how these individuals are the poor victims bc they are too lazy to spend 15 minutes on google. It’s mind blowing. Now, as usually, the rest of us have to pick up the pieces and support these idiots. Good times.

[chessimprov]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

Easy solution. Simply do the bare basic research and have some idea of what you’re signing. I love how these individuals are the poor victims bc they are too lazy to spend 15 minutes on google. It’s mind blowing. Now, as usually, the rest of us have to pick up the pieces and support these idiots. Good times.

Well, these people are seniors and most of them might not be good with the Internet. If you don't know what term(s) to look for or how to read certain things from the Internet, it doesn't always give you information in a properly organized or easy flow through methodology. It does seem to point to our lack of math skills as a society, or at least as a society in the US.

It also points to you shouldn't be taking loans you don't understand fully either then or it shouldn't get to the point where you are wiped out completely. . .

[Redddog]

These people are taken advantage of from the slime that peddle this garbage.

The people who sell these types of "instruments" are trained extensively, use keywords designed to reel their prey in and they have no idea what hit them. They purposely target those who neither have the knowledge to understand what they are signing and 2. don't have the ability to get there. And it's all under the guise of financial gain to the customer. I can tell you that with only a few exceptions, the broker is the only one who makes out in these transactions.

Annuity sales is another industry that blatantly crosses the line into what I think should be illegal suitability practices that should be banned. It's heart breaking to see these people get screwed like that.

These people are sitting ducks and there is little to protect them.

[Fireshaker]

Yeah, I mean, I'm as much for personal responsibility and accountability as the next guy. But as others have noted, this disproportionately affected the weak and the elderly, who get scammed A LOT, in a variety of contexts.

And not because they're necessarily greedy or stupid, but because they often lack the ability to see through a scam, or they don't have the support system in place to make sure they don't fall for things like this. Especially well-designed scams that hide their true intentions very well.

It doesn't excuse their situation, per se, but we do need to have some amount of empathy for the most vulnerable in society, and take steps to make sure they're not getting fleeced.

[Flyers Girl]

Originally Posted by Fireshaker

Yeah, I mean, I'm as much for personal responsibility and accountability as the next guy. But as others have noted, this disproportionately affected the weak and the elderly, who get scammed A LOT, in a variety of contexts.

And not because they're necessarily greedy or stupid, but because they often lack the ability to see through a scam, or they don't have the support system in place to make sure they don't fall for things like this. Especially well-designed scams that hide their true intentions very well.

It doesn't excuse their situation, per se, but we do need to have some amount of empathy for the most vulnerable in society, and take steps to make sure they're not getting fleeced.

Well, the linked article states that it disproportionately affects African Americans, which is insulting on its face. What, exactly, are they implying?

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Fireshaker

Yeah, I mean, I'm as much for personal responsibility and accountability as the next guy. But as others have noted, this disproportionately affected the weak and the elderly, who get scammed A LOT, in a variety of contexts.

And not because they're necessarily greedy or stupid, but because they often lack the ability to see through a scam, or they don't have the support system in place to make sure they don't fall for things like this. Especially well-designed scams that hide their true intentions very well.

It doesn't excuse their situation, per se, but we do need to have some amount of empathy for the most vulnerable in society, and take steps to make sure they're not getting fleeced.

These people are very slick and are trained to leverage financial fear. They have their prey thinking that this is the only way to avoid ruin and by the time they're done, the victims are thanking them for their help.

I work in an industry where we see a LOT of these people and after they realize what they've been forced into, it's too late. Most if not all had NO IDEA how this was going to work. and the slime that sold it is already gone, onto the next victim.

It's horrendous.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

Easy solution. Simply do the bare basic research and have some idea of what you’re signing. I love how these individuals are the poor victims bc they are too lazy to spend 15 minutes on google. It’s mind blowing. Now, as usually, the rest of us have to pick up the pieces and support these idiots. Good times.

I read this stat this morning: 36 million adult Americans lack the reading skills to make sound decisions about just this kind of thing. 36 million people who can't fully function in a world that requires literacy.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by kyb01

I read this stat this morning: 36 million adult Americans lack the reading skills to make sound decisions about just this kind of thing. 36 million people who can't fully function in a world that requires literacy.

Yeah, all good points in the prior posts. I don't mean to minimize the predatory nature of scumbags organizations who prey on the weak, but IMO, there comes a time when one has to be responsible for his/her own actions. If you're not sure what a reverse mortgage is, don't take it. As a grown up, one needs to figure out a way to make appropriate decisions and then accept the consequences. I mean, a lawyer would review a contract like that for 200 bucks and the individual wouldn't even have to read. Or a librarian might do it for free. Or, just ask the librarian to help you google assistance programs and give you the phone numbers. That's like me buying a house without doing an inspection and then blaming everyone but myself when the foundation crumbles.

[thedirtypirate]

My mother's parents were modest people. My grandfather was a SEPTA bus driver. My grandmother worked retail. They were old school. Had a bunch of kids. Lived in the same house for decades. Someone from a bank called my grandfather one day and sold him on the reverse mortgage. Seemed like it was too good to be true. I remember him saying something along the lines of "essentially get paid to live in your own house". This is especially enticing for people, like grandparents, who are living on a fixed budget. They probably took an extra trip or two florida. Or bought the bigger sedan. But when my grandfather passed away, the way it was setup, meant my grandmother couldn't get the finances straight to pay off the new debt caused by the mortgage. So the house is gone.

Reverse mortgages were mainly sold over the phone and are relatively complicated even compared to a regular home mortgage. Lots of crooks out there.