Mrs. Lumpkin, a happily-married 72 year old, owned a $220,000 home in northern California and had gradually fallen into financial trouble. She and her husband lived on a tight budget made up of her husband’s retirement income and her disability. Medical bills had piled up, however, and had refinanced their home to pay them off. Now, her new mortgage payment was nearly half of their income and the bank had begun foreclosure proceedings. Debt collectors were calling every day to the point where she had stopped answering the telephone.

Eventually, she had decided to sell her home to a “bargain-hunter” who had offered her $50,000 and was going to allow the Lumpkins to rent the house back from him, and in a few years he promised to sell it back to them “real cheap.” Mrs. Lumpkin suspected this offer was not a very good one but because of the pending foreclosure she didn’t know how else to keep her home.

At the recommendation of a friend, Mrs. Lumpkin began researching reverse mortgages. She learned that with the proceeds of the reverse mortgage, she would be able to completely pay off the $71,000 in debts on her home and have $35,000 left over. Furthermore, she would be able to stay in the home for as long as she and her husband lived.

Mrs. Lumpkin completed the reverse mortgage, exited foreclosure, and continues to live happily with her husband in their home of 22 years.