Rethinking Reverse Mortgages

You bought your house for $375,000 and your neighbor just sold his for $599,000. That's great -- but unless you want to downsize or move to a cheaper part of town, the best you can do is brag about it at parties.

The mortgage industry begs to differ. It purports that a reverse mortgage could be the key to your untapped pot of gold.

And if you listen to actor James Garner, he thinks so, too. As spokesman for Financial Freedom, a California-based company that is currently the nation's largest provider of reverse mortgages, Garner is out there telling folks that reverse mortgages can be your salvation (times must be tight for the actor). ...