American Mortgage Education
Educated Senior Lending
Educated Senior Lending
By Diane Quitmeyer
In today’s economy it is becoming more and more difficult for seniors who try to hard to keep their assets intact. In their haste to leave something for the children, many overlook the opportunity to use the Equity in their home through a reverse Mortgage to improve their quality of life. The seniors may be actually increasing the risk of putting more pressure on their families in the long run because of financial deficits in the monthly budget. At least seven out of ten seniors find themselves cutting back on daily essentials like transportation, food, medication and healthcare needs according to Dr. Barbara Stucki, a consultant with the National Council on Aging. By doing so our seniors are reducing their quality of life and increasing the potential for accidents and illness.
People transitioning into retirement need to become more aware of how to spread their income out for their future. Many people don’t have a clue about how long they’re going to live. (The current average life expectancy for Americans is 78 according to the CDC and steadily increasing) So it is imperative for retirees to think in terms of how to make their money last for the rest of their lives instead of accumulating it.
According to Stucki, Baby Boomers are having a hard time believing their parents face any financial challenges. This belief leads to a significant amount of denial, which forces their parents to pinch pennies and eke out a diminished quality of life.
Reverse Mortgages are great financial tools to help alleviate some of this burden. Often times the reverse mortgages are criticized by outside industries. According to Diane Quitmeyer, Reverse Mortgage Specialist for Frontier Mortgage in Creve Coeur. This is because they don’t understand the product and how it works. The largest misconception is that the “bank takes their home”. The bank doesn’t take the home it simply lends money against the equity at about 60% of the value. Another problem is the average consumer’s long held desire to own their home, free and clear. Home equity is considered something sacred and not to be utilized. Better education about reverse mortgages will eventually help overcome these views.
On the other hand Baby Boomers think differently about their finances and they’ve never met a loan they didn’t like says Tom Kelly, an author, columnist, and radio talk show host who has been covering reverse mortgages for a decade. Boomers will be more likely to embrace the reverse mortgage program to purchase a retirement home, travel, purchase long-term care or adult housing for themselves.
Currently many older adults believe that Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare will cover much of their financial and medical needs as they age. However in today’s environment the forecast looks very dismal with public programs expecting to run out of money in the near future.
It is quite a challenge for adult children to help when their parents want to remain in control. However, the older and frailer they become conflicts with their desire to remain independent. No one wants to become a burden on their children. So it is important for everyone involved to become educated about financial options and communicate openly about the wants and needs of everyone involved. This could lead to a win-win situation.
About the Author
In the course of a diverse 25 year career in education, medicine and real estate, Diane Quitmeyer has proven to be a skilled executive and visionary entrepreneur. She has worked on the staff at St. Anthony’s rehabilitation center, managed a national internship site, developed the OASIS Center for Music in conjunction with Webster University; lectured at the St. Louis University Conference on Aging, Missouri Governors Conference, Lindenwood University Masters in Gerontology class, as well as presenting at regional and national conferences; served as adjunct faculty at Maryville University and member of St. Louis Breakthrough Coalition for Seniors; designed and conducted research with Washington University on recreational music making and healthy aging.
Diane has worked with seniors for over twenty years in rehabilitation centers, nursing homes and most recently “well elderly” through OASIS education program and as program director for the national Elderhostel program.
Diane holds an MBA from Lindenwood University and an undergraduate degree in Music therapy and psychology from Maryville University.
Diane and her husband have been investing in real estate for over twenty years and fully understands the mortgage industry. She started her career in Reverse mortgages with Wells Fargo in 2006. Reverse mortgages combines two of her greatest passions which is working with seniors and improving their quality of life. www.dianequitmeyer.com
Real Estate School – American Education Institute
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