The New York Times has published a response to a recent article in the same publication that portrayed reverse mortgages in a negative light. In a printed letter to the editor to the Times penned by National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association President and CEO Peter Bell, Bell describes the reverse mortgage as an innovative product that has helped hundreds of thousands of seniors, calling the Times article an “unfair snapshot.”
The op-ed, titled, “Reverse Mortgages: The Industry Responds, covers recent consumer protections, and describes the product in the greater context of financial challenges faced by many American retirees.
The letter to the editor writes:
“Abuse Growing in Loan Option for the Elderly” (front page, Oct. 15), about reverse mortgages, is an unfair snapshot of a financial product that has afforded a better life to more than 700,000 American senior citizens.
Reverse mortgages are an innovative effort to help retirees gain access to the equity they have invested in their homes. The history of the product shows a continuing commitment to improve it for borrowers.
As issues have emerged, federal regulators and lenders have worked together to address them…
The original article sparked discussion of reverse mortgages spanning many publications nationwide.
View the full article at NYTimes.com.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
