6/10/2015 – Reverse Mortgage Ads May Sidestep Potential Pitfalls (The New York Times)

A reverse mortgage is a loan that lets older people tap the equity they have built up in their homes. No principal or interest payments are due until the borrower dies, or moves out of the house. To qualify, a borrower must be at least 62 and have significant home equity.

The loans may make sense for some borrowers, but they are complex financial products. Lender advertising often omits or oversimplifies their potential pitfalls, according to a report this month from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “Many consumers were very confused,” said Stacy Canan, deputy assistant director of the bureau’s Office for Older Americans. While it’s not the bureau’s position that reverse mortgages are an “unsuitable” product, she said, consumers must fully understand the risks.

Read the full article in The New York Times.