Into The Woods And Out
Amy Catling, C.S.A.
Reverse Mortgage Specialist
GIA Mortgage Corp.
1-207-251-0633 or 1-800-476-2858
acatling@seacoastreversemortgage.com
Recently, the National Reverse Mortgage Lender's Association (NRMLA) decided to focus the latest issue of their official magazine, Reverse Mortgage, on personal stories of reverse mortgage borrowers from across America. I was honored to be asked by NRMLA to represent Northern New England: one of my Maine clients kindly consented to being the very first profile in "Senior and Secure: America's Reverse Mortgage Borrowers Tell Their Own Stories". The names of both people and places have been changed to protect privacy. Please enjoy reading about this wonderful couple, the "Livingstons".
"Into The Woods And Out", an article written by Lauri Giesen for Reverse Mortgage, November - December 2009, Volume 2, No. 6.
More than 100 miles from the major metropolitan cities in the Northeast and even 45 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean is quiet Windhaven, Maine. On the edge of picturesque Spangle Lake, Windhaven offers all the amenities of a popular water resort to regional tourists, as well as a tranquil environment in which local residents can raise a family and retire.
It was to this region that Tim Livingston and his wife moved from suburban Connecticut 33 years ago. Maine offered them quiet resort communities where they could start a family and raise their son that was in stark contrast to the more-crowded urban and suburban areas of Connecticut.
“It was a great place to raise our son,” Livingston says. “There was an excellent school system. And while I can’t say you don’t have the crime and related problems of big cities, it is a lot easier to stay away from those problems here than it is in the big-city regions.”
Although Windhaven is 45 minutes from the ocean, the rural atmosphere suited him fine. In fact, the Livingstons liked the wooded areas so much that they got even closer to nature nearly five years ago when they moved from a single-family home in Portland to a condo in Windhaven. The condo is 30 minutes from the nearest stores, but makes up for the isolation with an environmentally friendly atmosphere.
“You feel like you are in the woods here,” he says. “My wife and I fell in love with the place the minute we saw it,” he says of his three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath home that is 1,800 square feet in size. Although it is a condo, it has a full basement with the feel of a single-family home, he says.
But times weren’t always so favorable. His wife became disabled 15 years ago. And then Livingston had to go on disability from his job as a regional advertising manager in the publishing industry six years ago. Both are 62 years old. Health concerns and the resulting health costs became a big issue for the family. “I previously had a lung operation and am now working with four different doctors on various health issues,” says Livingston. It was the need to cover the medical costs that caused the Livingstons to look at a reverse mortgage.
“I didn’t even know it existed before, but I was given the name of Amy Catling with GIA Mortgage in York, Maine,” he says. Livingston’s greatest fear about taking out a reverse mortgage was that his heirs would have nothing to inherit. “But Amy explained how this worked and that my heirs have certain rights,” he says. The reverse mortgage allowed Livingston to get rid of his monthly mortgage payments, pay off some medical bills and even provided some cash to take care of big purchases. He was able, for example, to help his son purchase an automobile that he needed to get to work after he graduated from college.
“We love living here and this has helped us to get rid of our monthly payments and live more comfortably knowing our medical bills are paid,” says Livingston.
To ask specific questions about how a reverse mortgage may fit in with how you or a loved one would like to live in retirement, you may reach Amy Catling at 1-800-476-2858 or 1-207-251-0633, or by email at acatling@seacoastreversemortgage.com.
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