Len Raymond founded Homeowner Options for Massachusetts Elders (HOME) in 1983. The nonprofit started off as a pilot program to explore options for elder equity conversion in the greater Boston area at a time when “reverse mortgages” were an unknown quantity. There were no laws governing reverse mortgages, and no local expertise or experience.

Now, HOME serves seniors from the Berkshires to the Islands, and parts of southern New Hampshire. It does all its work without any fees, and without receiving any cut loans made through their counseling.

“Whatever assistance we may give to a senior, whatever we recommend to them because obviously they make their own decisions, ultimately we don’t garner any benefit by what the decision may or may not be,” Raymond said. “That is really incredibly important to us.”

Thanks to partnerships with other nonprofits, more than 60 local community banks and credit unions, and the private BAR association, HOME continues its work with a modest staff in increasingly difficult times with only donations and grants to see them through.

Len Raymond

Title: Founder and Chief Operating Officer

Organization: Homeowner Options for

Massachusetts Elders (HOME)

Age: 60

Experience: 26 years

When you started this in 1983, what was your goal for HOME?

The goal was to get this thing off the ground, and to see if we could put together a credible program for seniors that made sense. And there certainly was some evolution over that time, but in some senses, remarkably, I think the program has remained very consistent. Our corporate mission … when we originally set up the corporation with our federal 501c3 submittal, was to help elders stay in their homes as long as possible, to provide assistance for successful aging in place … to deal with foreclosure prevention, and to free up income and resources for elders to have in home care, major home repairs or modifications to their homes, etc.

Has it turned out the way you expected?

All this has stayed very consistent. If anything, what has happened in this quarter of a century is that elders have found themselves in much more difficult straights then ever. I would say … if we go back to the beginning of the program, it was not an uncommon scenario to find an elder who had either paid off the house, or paid it down considerably, and needed a small supplement. Today, the fastest growing group in America of people refinancing are 75 and older. The reason for that is quite simple: they are really getting it in the neck in terms of energy costs, of health care, of property taxes that have gone sky high over that period.

Consumer debt was another big issue that has really exploded. Elders did not have plastic 25 years ago. Today, it’s a common problem. The average consumer debt when clients come to us is $11,000. Remember, we’re a nonprofit charity, so we don’t serve elders who are well off. That doesn’t make any sense, that’s not who we are.

Why should equity conversion be considered a final option?

Any good financial planner worth their salt will say one of the big negatives of an elder equity conversion or a reverse mortgage type transaction is that it reduces your options the further down the road you go. You’re using up that asset.

Some people have some real big disconnects. They say, ‘Well, it’s an aging population. Look at the Baby Boomers. There is going to be this gigantic bulge of people getting into their 60s. This is going to be the transaction of the future.’ Well, at the same time they don’t seem to be sensitive to certain other issues. For instance: Look at … the mortgage debt burdens for this generation. When you go back and look at the older elders out there, they tend to have much more equity than younger elders, and certainly a lot more equity than the group of people soon to be elderly. You’re not going to be able to do a lot of equity conversion if you’ve got a whole generation of people who are going to go into retirement with 40, 60, 80 percent loan to value on their homes. There is not going to be a lot to convert. In fact, we’re facing a very dangerous scenario. How are those people even going to keep up making their payments? Because, on average, when you retire your income drops 40 [percent] to 60 percent.

Hopefully the market will recover, but it’s going to take a number of years for the market to change again. There was no question we were dealing with a bubble in the middle of this decade. We’ll never return to the same levels, it was wholly unrealistic. There was an expectation that your house was going to go up 10 [percent] or 20 percent every year.

Why do you still do this?

It’s the challenge. We were at this at the beginning; we were the first equity conversion company in this part of the country. We’ve seen an evolution in the industry in terms of elder needs, in fact a worsening of elder needs – their options are diminishing. If you look at the public side, we’re seeing a real diminishment in the federal and state levels of options and assistance for seniors – the so-called safety net. Elders are thrown much more back on their own resources and self devices. The need for them to be assisted in making their decisions is that much more critical and important. Unquestionably, these are very challenging times, much more difficult times, but it’s much more rewarding in a sense because we’re having much more of an impact for people.

Len Raymond’s Five Favorite Locations for Aviation Photography

1.) Quonset, R.I.

2.) Owls Head, Maine

3.) Barnes Municipal Airport, Westfield

4.) Rhinebeck Aerodrome, N.Y.

5.) Castle Island, Boston Harbor