Reverse Mortgages for Women by Women
Book Review & Guide
If you are a woman approaching retirement, or you love someone who is, this might be the most important book you pick up this year. Reverse Mortgages for Women by Women isn’t just another generic financial guide. It is a specific roadmap for a demographic that the financial industry often overlooks.
Let’s look at where this book comes from. It was written by Renee Constantine, Kimberly Buckley, and Rosemarie Litoff. These are three industry experts who realized that the standard advice on reverse mortgages simply wasn’t connecting with the people who needed it most. For decades, the reverse mortgage industry has been dominated by technical jargon and aggressive sales pitches. These authors saw that women face a unique set of challenges in retirement. Women statistically live longer than men, often have smaller pension benefits due to wage gaps, and are far more likely to age alone. This book was born out of a need to address those specific realities with empathy and clear, honest education.
So, why is this a must-read? Because it completely reframes your home equity from a “last resort” into a strategic asset. Most people are terrified of reverse mortgages because of horror stories from twenty years ago. This book dismantles those myths one by one. It explains how the modern FHA-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage works today, with consumer protections that didn’t exist in the past. It isn’t about losing your home; it’s about using the wealth you’ve built to stay in your home safely. It empowers you to take control of your financial longevity so you aren’t dependent on your children or forced to move when you don’t want to.
Here are five things most people do not know about this topic that the book highlights.
Number one: Single women are actually the largest group of reverse mortgage borrowers. Statistics show that nearly forty percent of these loans are taken out by single female borrowers, compared to only about twenty percent by single men. It is a tool predominantly used by women to secure their independence.
Number two: You can use a reverse mortgage to actually buy a new home. Most people think it is only for the house you are currently in. But if you want to downsize to a condo or move closer to grandkids, you can use a “Reverse for Purchase” to buy that new home without having a monthly mortgage payment.
Number three: The proceeds are generally tax-free. Because the money is considered a loan advance and not income, the IRS typically does not tax it. This is huge for keeping your taxable income low while increasing your cash flow.
Number four: It does not affect your Social Security or Medicare benefits. Since it is not counted as income, it generally won’t trigger benefit reductions.
And number five: The book includes a “Companion Workbook.” This is one of the best features—it moves beyond theory and gives you worksheets to calculate your actual numbers, helping you plan for things like in-home care expenses.
To make this easy for you, I have put the direct Amazon link to buy the book right in the description below. It is a small investment for a massive amount of peace of mind.