Herbert and Barbara Hoffman, aged 85 and 73, respectively, have lived in their turn-of-the-century farmhouse for over 25 years.

"It's such a lovely home and we have about five acres of land," said Barbara. "We're located about a quarter mile off the main road, so it's nice and private."

Unfortunately, Herbert suffers from Parkinson's Disease, which progressively made it difficult for him to walk up the steep stairs to his second-floor bedroom and bath.

Because they loved their home - "selling it was the last thing we wanted to do," said Barbara - the couple decided to get a reverse mortgage so that they could modify the first floor to meet Herb's needs. In the spring of 2002 they obtained a reverse mortgage. The couple took an initial draw of $20,000 to fund the home modifications, and the balance in monthly payments for life.

"We added an addition onto the back of the home," added Barbara. "We converted our small den into a larger bedroom for Herb and I and then we added a nice sized sun room as well."

Other minor ground floor alterations were made to make it easier for Herb to move through the couple's house. "He gets along pretty well despite the Parkinson's," said Barbara, "but if we hadn't gotten the reverse mortgage we eventually would have had to sell the home and move into another place."

Noted Barbara: "We didn't want to move because after you've lived in a place for as long as we have here, you've arranged things a certain way and you become a part of the surroundings. Getting the reverse mortgage was one of the best things we ever did."