I'm interested as a homeowner in the value of my space, and I know that families bring in value".
Like traditional mortgages, reverse mortgage involve a homeowner borrowing against the value of his home.
Existing homeowners may become unable to afford escalating property taxes, often leading them to sell and take advantage of increases in the values of their homes.
A homeowner in any of the 40 states where the "high LTV" (high loan-to-value) lads peddle their wares can now borrow up to 125% of its value.
And that can get homeowners thinking about the value of their increasingly expensive broker.
Last year 38% of workers earned less than the amount the average homeowner "earned" from the increase in the value of their home.
The banks are not obligated to re-negotiate mortgage terms with borrowers -- even though a staggering one in six homeowners owe more than the value of their homes.
Analysts say they expect many homeowners to begin tapping the appreciation in the value of their houses to start paying down high-interest debt.
The authors found that homeowners overestimate the value of their homes by an average of 5-10%.
Around 1m elderly homeowners have at least £100,000 locked up in the value of their houses, but have incomes so low that they qualify for means-tested benefits.
In many cases the homeowner could stay put without causing much shrinkage in the value of the bank's income stream.
