it's a good option for those who have very little income and no savings, as long as they have enough equity to provide a cushion to pay bills and they are at an age where the money will outlast them...

Yes, it has been used in this area. 

Never has happened thus far. HELOCs to buy, but never an HECM to buy.

Yes and it is a great program. The keys are having a loan officer who is well experienced with it. I wish i would see more of them

Youree Lundy - None of my clients - however, I know a good lender in our area for that...

I think that reverse mortgage are the most poorly marketed product on the market right now.  It is really impossible to get information on how they work unless you are getting infomration for yourself and are willing to give huge amounts of pesonal data to someone on the other line.  I've yet to find a site where you can just read about how they work in "Run, Spot!  Run!" English.

The only person I know is my Sister, and she regrets it.

I have not had a client use this option.

I'm with Barbara Todaro on her comment!!

I think they can work really well for some seniors, but I'm not sure they are always a good thing for the heirs. Am I wrong?

People get scared of this option because the old school train of thought was to do everythign you can payoff your house. It is beaten into their heads to the point that it is a hard ideal to overcome.

Anyone that is retired shoud do it since they get to live rent free. It just makes sense in my mind.

     Good for seniors like Barbara Todaro described. 

     Not so good for the heirs, if they cannot afford to refinance the house when Mom and Dad pass on.  I know a family that is very upset that they are going to lose "The Family Homestead", because none of them has the cash or the ability to qualify for a loan to pay back the money Dad borrowed with a Reverse.

It has its place and only had one client use it. When others explore it they find they can handle traditional financing and even get a HELOC at rates much more attractive than Reverse Mortgage rates. Buyers need to explore all their options and compare.

Not yet... 

 In Korea they call it the Home Pension ~  that clarifies the asset class.  It is definately benificial to seniors that are dealing with low income, destroyed fico from hiccups in life...

I have heard of the program but none of my clients have utilized it.   

Not in my area no

Have not worked with reverse mortgages. It should work well for some if the fees are not too high (as they used to be). 

No.  Investors usually pay cash or use hard money lenders.

no

No.

This is an excellent option for some seniors. Many agents fail to recognize when a reverse mortgage should be considered.

No.

I only know of one person who use this product and was very happy with it.

One of the biggest banking scams ever. Anybody that knows anything about finance would know why.

There is a lot of fraud and most are very weary of using a program that got a bad reputation.  In theory that works....

No,  I haven't had that pleasure yet.

It's a great option if the person can live in the home until they die. If they have to go into a nursing home situation at a later time and they cannot sell the home to pay off the reverse mortgage, it may not have been such a great option in hindsight. 

None of my clients have yet.

My parents used the reverse mortgage for another reason and got screwed...they wish they had talked to me first

No.  Not yet.

Is it a great option?  That would depend on the client and why they may want it.