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As the United States has become an older nation, reverse mortgages have grown into a $20-billion-a-year industry, with elderly homeowners taking out more than 132,000 such loans in 2007, an increase of more than 270 percent from two years earlier.

From Charles Duhigg

In surveys, many borrowers say reverse mortgages have improved their lives and provided money they needed for retirement.

From Charles Duhigg

Because reverse mortgages do not require borrowers to make immediate repayments, the interest charges are added to the debt every day, and the total amount owed grows over time.

From Charles Duhigg

Lawsuits against reverse mortgage companies, including the nation's largest, Financial Freedom Senior Funding, contend that those firms helped pressure older Americans into bad investments.

From Charles Duhigg

Because the fees associated with a reverse mortgage are high, such loans make sense only for borrowers who expect to live in their home for a number of years.

From Charles Duhigg

Some financial advisers say anyone who may move in less than seven years should not take out a reverse mortgage.

From Charles Duhigg

It is almost always a bad idea to use a reverse mortgage to pay for a vacation or to buy a risky investment, like stocks or deferred annuities.

From Charles Duhigg

Cash from a reverse mortgage can be paid out in several ways, including a lump sum, a monthly payment, a line of credit, or a combination of those. If you do not need money right away, it is usually a bad idea to take all the money upfront, since it starts accumulating interest charges immediately.

From Charles Duhigg

When the vast baby-boom generation exploded into adolescence in the 1960s, marketers exulted. Advertising consultants, always eager to coin a phrase, began happily explaining to corporations the difference between 'teenyboppers' and 'counterculture consumers.'

From Charles Duhigg

Older consumers don't want to be treated like teenagers; what's more, they don't want to believe they fall into any niche at all.

From Charles Duhigg

Charles Duhigg

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