Case Studies Archives

One Couple’s Tragic Situation And Why I Couldn’t Help Them

Mike Roberts March 15, 2020

What do you think it’s like to be in your late eighties, in declining health, without a dime in the bank, and facing foreclosure? I had the chance to find out when I chatted with a woman in this exact situation. Folks, I’ll tell you, it isn’t fun. This woman, who we’ll call Norma, was 88, if I remember correctly. Her husband, who we’ll call Fred, was just a few years older. Norma’s health wasn’t great, but she could mostly get around OK. Fred, on the other hand, was in bad shape. He could barely do the basics like eating and…

Yes, A Reverse Mortgage Can Be Life Changing

Mike Roberts June 15, 2019

Imagine it’s Christmas Day and you’re sitting on the sofa in the living room of your son’s house. A beautiful Christmas tree covered with ornaments and bright lights stands in the corner. The turkey baking in the oven fills the air with warm and delicious smells. Your favorite people in the whole world – your children and grandchildren – are sitting around the room and laughing and chatting and enjoying each other’s company. You stare at the beautifully wrapped gifts from your loving family stacked in a large pile at your feet. You know you should feel happy and blessed,…

What One Couple Did to Get a Reverse Mortgage Was Pretty Crazy (Or Was It?)

Mike Roberts January 6, 2019

Accountants and financial advisers beware, this case study might freak you out a bit. What if I said that a couple chose to drain their $80,000 IRA to get a reverse mortgage? Say what?? Gut an IRA to get a reverse mortgage? Were they nuts? It might sound completely crazy, but these clients did just that – and they did it happily. I’ll show you why. First, let’s set the stage. This married couple, who we’ll call Joe and Loretta, were 65 at the time. They really wanted to get retired so they could spend more time with their grandchildren, who were…

Are You Flushing Your Retirement Income Down the Drain?

Mike Roberts November 26, 2018

A lot of retired seniors are flushing their hard-earned income and assets down the drain. Are you one of them? If you’re like many seniors, you might have refinanced your mortgage in the past few years to take advantage of low interest rates. You may also have chosen a fixed 30-year mortgage because of the low payments. That’s not a bad choice, but here’s the kicker: when does that loan pay off? Sometime after the year 2040 perhaps? If so, that means you could spend the rest of your life paying on that mortgage and still never pay it off. Why…

Case Study: How the Smiths Upgraded Their Lifestyle Without Draining An IRA or Increasing Their Taxes

Mike Roberts April 7, 2017

How the Smiths Used the HECM Reverse Mortgage

Mr. and Mrs. Smith, both 66, are retired and live in the state of Virginia. Mr. Smith had a very successful career as an aerospace engineer and Mrs. Smith had her own bookkeeping business. They made good money over the years, stayed out of debt, saved diligently, and managed to retire with a paid off house and $1 million in a traditional IRA. By all accounts, the Smiths have done very well for themselves. Though they have low expenses and are able to live on just their Social Security of $3,000/month, they don’t have much left over at the end of the month…

Case Study: How One Couple Wiped Out Debt Payments, Extended the Life of their Savings, and Eliminated Financial Stress

Mike Roberts June 17, 2016

Fred and Gina Mason, both 79, live in Reno, Nevada and have been retired for a number of years. Fred was an insurance agent for over thirty years and Gina worked as a school teacher for a local private school. They enjoy spending time with their grandchildren and taking the occasional trip, but their budget is tight and they don’t have a lot of extra money at the end of the month. The Masons decided to look into a reverse mortgage primarily to eliminate $23,000 in credit card debt they accumulated from income taxes. The interest rates on the credit cards are super high…

Are You Throwing Money Down a Rat Hole?

Mike Roberts April 7, 2016

Are you retired (or nearly retired) and still making mortgage payments? If so, is that what you envisioned for your retirement? Was it your plan from the beginning to make mortgage payments for the rest of your life? For most people, probably not. But we all know that life happens: health issues come up that force you to retire early, you get hit with unexpected medical bills, the stock market crashes and takes 40% of your IRA, a spouse passes away, etc. Nobody wants these things to happen, but it’s often unplanned events like these that derail the plan to get your home paid…

Case Study: How a Reverse Mortgage Helped One Woman Reclaim Her Dream of Traveling

Mike Roberts March 13, 2016

Nancy, 65, loved to travel and has been on many exciting trips throughout north and central America. During her working years she dreamed of a time in her life when she would be able to retire and really pursue her passion for exploring new places. Unfortunately, since retiring, she hasn’t been able to do many of the fun trips she’d been planning because of $35,000 in credit card bills that had accumulated from caring for her mother and doing some needed projects around the house. Though her home, which was worth $365,000, was free and clear and she had a decent income from Social Security and a…

Case Study: How A Reverse Mortgage Enabled One Couple to Finally Retire

Mike Roberts February 15, 2016

How a Reverse Mortgage Enabled One Couple to Retire

Ted and Patricia, aged 67 and 64, respectively, live in Lake Forest, CA and are looking ahead toward retirement. Both are still working, Patricia as a nurse, Ted as a truck driver. They like their jobs, but they’ve been at them for a long time and are tired of the stress and long commutes. They really want to quit working so they can spend more time with their children and grandchildren. The two of them combined bring home a good income, but they expect it to drop substantially once they quit their jobs and begin living on just Social Security, Ted’s pension, and Patricia’s 401(k)…