LTC Bullet: Think Reverse, Book Review

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Boise, Idaho (LTC Tour Mile 26,744; State # 40)--

LTC Comment: Atare Agbamu's new book, "Think Reverse," is an excellent introduction to reverse mortgages, a subject critical to the future of LTC insurance. Read a review, after the ***news.***

*** NEED TO READ two Wall Street Journal articles today:

"Insurer Casts Off Long-Term-Care Policies," by M.P. McQueen, about Conseco's "transfer of many of the insurers' long-term care policies to a new state-supervised nonprofit trust, Senior Health Insurance Co. of Pennsylvania." Pick up today's paper or, if you have a subscription, read the piece online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122826822305174269.html.

"Home Appliances to Soothe the Aches of Aging Boomers," by Paul Glader. This could be an ice breaker with LTCI prospects easing them into the reality that they could need much more help with ADLs some day. Available to online subscribers at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122826077605073813.html. ***

*** BIG INDUSTRY CONFERENCE: The Ninth Annual Intercompany Long Term Care Insurance Conference will be held from March 29 to April 1, 2009 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. For information and registration, go to www.ILTCIconf.org. Organizers strongly recommend early hotel reservations. Don't miss this meeting. I'll be there speaking on the assigned topic: "Can LTCI Really Work?" ***

*** LTC TOUR SLIDE SHOW. Check out an updated version of this entertaining overview at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDmXS_gpVNA&sdig=1. Then enjoy all 35 interviews and humorous vignettes from the Center for Long-Term Care Reform's 2008 National Long-Term Care Consciousness Tour at our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/LTCConsciousnessTour. ***

 

LTC BULLET: THINK REVERSE

LTC Comment: Any reader of these e-pistles understands why reverse mortgages are important to the future of LTC insurance, but here's a quick refresher.

A. According to research by Jeff Brown and Amy Finkelstein published in peer-reviewed journals and at www.nber.org, Medicaid crowds out two-thirds to 90 percent of the potential market for LTC insurance.

B. Home equity is most of the average person's net worth. Medicaid exempts at least $500,000 of home equity and $750,000 in New York, California, and Idaho. Although mandatory under federal law, Medicaid estate recovery of home equity is easy to evade.

C. Medicaid cannot go on funding most LTC for most people. A likely change in eligibility requirements is reduction of the home equity exemption to zero or an amount closer to the level of the exemption in the UK, a socialized health care system: $42,000.

D. Once home equity is at risk for LTC, reverse mortgages will become an important means for home-owners to fund LTC, both to purchase services that enable them to remain at home and, for those who remain medically qualified, to supplement their income to afford LTC insurance.

E. A combination of disintegrating access to and quality of care provided by Medicaid and the loss of the home equity exemption will finally unleash the market for LTC insurance, which will become a mainstream insurance product within ten years.

OK, that's why it matters. Now, here's a great way to learn about the role of reverse mortgages in personal financial planning.

Read Atare Agbamu's new book:

Atare E. Agbamu, Think Reverse! The Complete Guide to Marketing and Originating Reverse Mortgages for Mortgage Professionals and Financial Advisors, The Mortgage Press, Ltd., Wantagh, New York, 2008, $49.95. To order, go to http://reverse.mortgagepress.com/. Download the first chapter for free!

About the book: According to the author's Introduction: "Think Reverse! is a road map into an exciting new frontier in residential mortgage lending--Reverse mortgages. Although there are some resources on reverse mortgages, they are primarily directed at educating consumers. [See for example www.reversemortgage.org.] Resources for educating mortgage professionals and other financial advisors are paltry to non-existent outside the industry. This book is an attempt to fill that void." (p. 14)

Think Reverse contains sections on the various kinds of reverse mortgages, marketing and originating reverse mortgages, endorsements from satisfied customers, and basically everything you'd need to know to get involved in this promising new field. I'm very pleased to report that the book's first Appendix is a ten-page interview with me titled "DRA 2005: Medicaid rule change and reverse mortgages: A conversation with Stephen A. Moses of the Center for Long-Term Care Reform." We first published this interview in "LTC Bullet: Forward on Reverse Mortgages," Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at http://www.centerltc.com/bullets/archives2006/652.htm.

Also available: The Think Reverse Practical Guide is based on the recently released book, written by Atare E. Agbamu, CRMS and published by The Mortgage Press Ltd., "Think Reverse! The Complete Guide to Marketing and Originating Reverse Mortgages for Mortgage Professionals and Financial Advisors." Designed for mortgage loan originators, servicers and investors, this searchable resource is available online through the AllRegs Information Service. To subscribe to the Think Reverse Practical Guide, visit the Academy at www.allregs.com or call 800-848-4904. Should you have any questions regarding AllRegs publishing solutions, or its other products and services, including AllRegs Academy, please contact AllRegs at 800-848-4904 or visit the company’s Web site at www.allregs.com. Subscriptions are based on site-wide licensing. All users at one company site have access to the Think Reverse Practical Guide. The annual subscription rate for one location is $495.

About the author: Atare E. Agbamu, CRMS, formed his company, ThinkReverse LLC, to help loan originators add value through reverse mortgages. Based in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, Atare is a reverse mortgage originator and a columnist for The Mortgage Press, and has authored more than 100 articles on the subject of reverse mortgages. Atare’s advice is sought out by seniors and their families, financial professionals and institutions nationwide. He resides in Oakdale, Minn., with his wife and three children. For more information, call 612-203-9434 or go to www.thinkreverse.com.

Congratulations, Atare, on the publication of your book and thanks for understanding and highlighting the importance of reverse mortgages for financing long-term care.