I recall one time when my dad and I were playing a round of golf. He was retired and I was wondering to myself how my mom and dad were doing financially. Just as I was thinking that, he came right out and asked me about a reverse mortgage and how they work. I explained it all to him. He was a bit concerned because he thought it might be a way for an unscrupulous lender to take away their home. I told him I was a fan of reverse mortgages, I thought they were a good thing for the right fit. I told him I’d do a little research on rates and terms and so on and get back with him.

The next day I did a bit of checking and picked out two different lenders who offered the product. I gave each of them a call. The two responses could not be more different.

The first lender I called answered my questions including rates and costs and general loan terms. We had a good discussion and he answered my questions promptly and without hesitation. He then sent me a written quote via email for me to keep as a reference. And if you’ve done any rate shopping in the past, you know it can get pretty confusing remembering which lender said what and when. I got the email and downloaded the quote.

Now, on to the second lender. He also answered my questions but instead of leaving the answers there for me to ponder, he began his sales pitch. He said if I went with him today while on the phone he would pick up the charges for an appraisal. I told him I was just doing some initial research for my dad and we weren’t ready to make any sort of commitment at that moment. He then asked me to wait a minute before I hung up and began to talk about how great his company was and how great he was and how many loans he has closed and so on. It was beginning to get old and it was during this ‘sales pitch’ I had made my decision to go with the first lender. I honestly felt as if I were at a used car lot and the salesman wouldn’t let me leave without getting me to put a down payment on a car or something. I kinda felt like I needed to take a shower after talking to him.