“BC’s Story”

When I first met BC, he was 73 years old and struggling financially. He had always been, and still was a responsible person. In the past he had paid his bills on time, but after the prolonged illness and subsequent death of his long time, live-in girlfriend, his savings were depleted. Because he had also lost the supplement of his girlfriend’s income, he became hard pressed to make ends meet.

BC owns 2 properties, one with a small mortgage in North Carolina, and his Central Florida home of many years. His house was appraised at $200,000, and he had a balance of $109,000.

Every month BC would worry, “when I pay this bill, will I have enough money for gas, for food? Month after month, he was scraping to just get by. He longed to visit his family in North Carolina, but never had the money to afford the trip. A 73 year old man who worked hard all his life, shouldn’t have to struggle so hard, just to survive.

To help make ends meet, BC would garden and sell his produce at flea markets on the weekends. He also enjoyed woodworking, and is quite good at it. He would invest hours and hours creating wooden masterpieces, which he would then sell for $20 each at his weekend booth. But after the investment of his time, and the booth fees, he rarely broke even. Still, these things brought joy into his otherwise solitary life.

But now, after taking out a Reverse Mortgage on his home, and no longer having to make monthly mortgage payments, BC is saving $900 a month in expenses. He can now afford to visit his children in North Carolina. He can now thrive, when was once struggling just to survive.