Home Run: The Reverse Mortgage Advantage, is the new book by HomeEquity Bank CEO Steve Ranson and EVP of Marketing Yvonne Ziomecki. It provides in-depth insights into how best to serve one of the fastest growing demographics – Canadians 55+ – and in doing so grow your own business.

Chapter 4 of Home Run looks at the topic of aging in place. This is an important issue among older Canadians. According to a National Institute of Ageing/Telus Health survey, “100% of Canadians 65+ who report that they intend to do whatever they can to stay active, healthy, and independent, plan on living in their own home as long as possible.”

Chapter 4 looks at the journey to making this a reality for your clients.

Many Canadians 55+ come to us in dire straights

It can be heartbreaking how bad some of our clients’ financial situations have gotten before they come to us. They’re often in crisis and have waited and worried for a long time.

They may have ended up in this situation for multiple reasons. Maybe they made a bad investment, had an unexpected expense, or – like many – perhaps they underestimated how much they’d need saved to fund their retirement. Unfortunately, many people wait so long that things get worse, or they go down a more expensive route – like a second mortgage or a credit card with exorbitant rates.

The saddest thing to see is the affect this has on people’s mental health and self-esteem. They often feel a lot of stress and shame, like they’re a failure and don’t measure up to others. All the while they’re not living life to the fullest in retirement.

At HomeEquity Bank, we believe that people deserve to feel proud and empowered, not stressed, and ashamed. Often, when someone contacts us, it will be the first time they’ve voiced their financial concerns and it’s a real relief for them to share what’s been troubling them. When we hear potential clients being down on themselves, we always remind them that they did make at least one very smart financial decision – they bought a house!

Turning your home into security

According to a 2018 CIBC poll, 90% of Canadians don’t have a formal or detailed retirement plan, and 53% aren’t sure they’re saving enough. We often see this with our clients; while they made the smart investment decision to buy a house, many of them simply don’t have enough saved to live off.

One reason people may not have saved enough is because they figured they could count on their home as a source of funding for their retirement, although many haven’t thought through exactly what that would look like.

Options they may consider could include downsizing or a home equity line of credit, although many don’t realize that these can be hard to qualify for in older age. Downsizing is also not ideal. When we’re younger, moving to a different house seems like an adventure, but as we get older, the novelty wears off and most of us would prefer to stay in the place where we feel comfortable and have built happy memories.

That’s why we’re trying to show people that they can still see their home as a source of money – just in a different way. Homeowners have this amazing investment and a real estate market that’s been on fire for the past two decades. The challenge is how to access some of your home’s equity, and the CHIP Reverse Mortgage is the solution.

When clients take a CHIP Reverse Mortgage, their world suddenly opens. A weight is lifted as they’re able to not only cover monthly essentials, but even treat themselves every now and again as well.

If you want to learn more about how the CHIP Reverse Mortgage can help you serve your 55+ clients, contact your BDM for your copy of Home Run: The Reverse Mortgage Advantage, or order yours here.