Dear Editor:

Seven years ago, I happily returned home to Boothbay Harbor, after being gone for 40 years, to take care of an aging parent. It has been a wonderful opportunity to return to this beautiful and caring community, to reconnect with old friends and make many new ones. Also, it was such a pleasure to start a whole new career working in the Emergency Department at St. Andrews and having the pleasure of working with all the great staff that I have met over the years.

But as I sit here after many weeks of cleaning out the family home, it is so bittersweet that I will be unable to stay here at this beautiful spot that I have called home for seven years. I am sure that my mother is very sad that I am unable to stay here in, as she called it, “her little piece of heaven.”

I am a victim of what the banks call a “reverse mortgage,” and I am writing this letter to warn the elderly and aging families that it is one of the worst things that they can do if they have a family home they wish to keep. I have been battling one of the largest banks in the country to no avail. Watching the bank’s ads on TV makes it sound like a great opportunity, and then when they talk to you, the bank puts so much pressure on the elderly that they fall for all of their marketing comments.

I get so upset when I think about what the companies say to the older generation to get them to sign agreements, without discussing the “small print,” ie., legal ramifications, with them.

If you do decide to have a reverse mortgage, talk to your family and have them sit in on any discussion with a bank. This has been a difficult and heartbreaking battle but I am very grateful for the wonderful years I have had here back in my hometown. This is a very special place with many special people.

Teresa Watson Shaw
Boothbay Harbor