Many of us watch American TV and have seen advertising for the reverse mortgage products available in the United States. You may have read some tragic stories where people were losing their homes to unscrupulous lenders. There are an overwhelming number of banks down there and lending practices are more lenient than here in Canada. An example of this difference is the 2008 financial crisis where America experienced staggering bank failures and foreclosures on homes that folks should never have been allowed to borrow on in the first place. We did not experience that here in Canada as our banking system, with it’s few chartered banks, is much more stable and practices ethical lending practices.
There are some similarities between the Canadian and American products but please be aware that Home Equity Bank’s reverse mortgage is structured to protect your investment as it is also their investment. The bank’s criteria for lending is straight forward and fair for all.
In the past there was media exposure regarding some unscrupulous lenders in the United States that left homeowners with negative or no equity when it was time to pay out the mortgage. Here in Canada 99% of reverse mortgage customers have equity remaining when the mortgage is discharged. In fact the bank guarantees that!
