It was Mom’s idea!
HER MOTHER WAS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR their marriage and indirectly responsible for their HECM – two undertakings that greatly enriched the lives of Janet and Ray Massey of Katy, Texas.
Both families were born and raised in Houston, not all that common these days in this increasingly cosmopolitan Lone Star city. Ray and Janet met at the University of Houston, while attending a fraternity-sorority mixer. They were immediately taken with each other and dated steadily for two years while they completed college. “Then about April, a month before graduation for both of us” Ray recalls, “her mother proposed to me!” What Mimi, as she was known throughout the family, actually said, was, “Are you going to marry my daughter or not?” “I said to Janet ‘do you want to get married?’ She said ‘Sure.’ So we did.”
That was more than 50 years ago, on their golden wedding anniversary, they sent a card to family members proclaiming, “Thank God for Mimi.” She passed away a little over a year later after attaining the ripe old age of 98. “She was a wonderful lady” says Ray. The Masseys’ journey toward a reverse mortgage began when they were taking care of Mimi in her home. As she got older, she required more and more care and as a result, according to Ray, “Our moneys were getting low. Her house was free and clear, so we tried to get a line of credit on the house to help with the expenses, but that was not legal in Texas.” According to state law, even thought they had power of attorney, the only one who could take out the credit line was the homeowner, and by that point her Alzheimer’s disease excluded that possibility.
But they could take out a reverse mortgage on the property. They were referred by a friend to Vickie Cheairs with Reverse Mortgage Funding. Ray uses nothing but superlatives to describe Vickie. She is absolutely the nicest person I’ve ever done business with,” say the man who spent his entire working life in business. “She is off the charts nice. The product was new to us and all her answers were complete and truthful.” When Mimi passed away, Janet and Ray started thinking about moving. “When I heard they didn’t plan to stay in the home beyond a year or so, I asked where they thought they would like to move,” says Vickie. “He told me they were interested in Katy.” Vickie told them about HECM for Purchase and described houses David Weekley Homes was building in Katy. “Mr. and Mrs. Massey went out that same day and signed a contract. And as they came to have a better understanding of the loan, they added an additional $80,000 in upgrades, including a swimming pool and backyard pergola.” Using the HECM for Purchase, they put down $240,000 and put $300,000 into a line of credit. “We can take it out as often as we want,” states Ray, “or not take it. In the meantime, it’s 5.7% tax free growth. It’s nice to have it when we need it.” Ray liked the HECM so much he decided to become a loan originator and now has a Reverse Mortgage Radio Show on 100.7 FM KKHT in Houston!
And the fact that David Weekley of David Weekly Homes and his wife Bonnie were both students under Janet Massey at Memorial High School brings The Massey’s story around full circle. Janet takes great pride in their accomplishments and will “admit”, she is responsible for all of David’s Success!
Tune in each Wednesday & Friday at 5:30pm & Saturday at 4pm to the Ray Massey Reverse Mortgage Show on 100.7 FM, KKHT.
