Jan-Feb2020

Borrower Chronicles VINCE SCARICH HAS LIVED 47 years in his three- bedroom, two-bath ranch house, surrounded by dense foliage and towering trees, in the Los Altos area of California’s Silicon Valley. “I know where things are,” he wryly comments. Born at the other end of San Francisco Bay in Berkeley, Vince sums up his financial experience in just a few words: “Made a lot of money, spent it, divorced it, lost it.” In reality, it wasn’t quite that simple for this multitalented retired mortgage broker, whose house and reverse mortgage have allowed him to “live life abundantly” in his senior years. Vince, 81, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley at age 20 with a degree in electrical engineering, motivated, he says, by “wanting a Corvette.” He got a mas- ter’s degree in engineering and found himself designing computers near the beginning of the computer revolution. “While I was doing this, I managed to make a lot of money in the stock market.” Instead of the Corvette, “I got a Ferrari,” Vince says. His career success afforded him enough financial security to retire at age 40, a hiatus that lasted for seven years. “But when I retired, I missed the normal activities of social interaction, dating, etc. It was kind of a midlife crisis, so I decided to explore, travel and figure out what I wanted to do,” Vince says. A friend got him involved in her business, which involved taking care of flowers in people’s homes and offices. “I asked her for leads on businesses. I picked out 13 and wrote them letters asking, ‘Do you have all the money you need?’ I didn’t know anything about this business, and I didn’t know where I was going to get the money if I did get any responses,” he says. “I just basically acted my way through.” That led Vince to obtain his real estate license and then become a mortgage broker. “I was a commercial mortgage broker, and then in residential for 25 years, and I held a lot of professional positions in the field,” he says. “During that time, I made it a crusade to make truth and honesty into the code of conduct and mission statement for our industry.” Vince’s occupation as a mobile notary introduced him to the world of reverse mortgages. “My business depended completely on relationships with the title companies that used my services,” he says. “But eventually it became more work for less money. From what I’d learned, the reverse mortgage became a palpable option for me, and I got one in December 2018. It has allowed me to no longer work and live a life of ease.” Vince wasn’t always so enthusiastic about the product, however. “With my [financial services] experience, I wouldn’t do a reverse mortgage because I felt they were too one-sided,” he says. “Now, things have shifted, and the interest rates are workable.” He looked into Finance of America Reverse’s (FAR) HomeSafe Standard product. Ashley Honore Smith is FAR’s director of marketing and worked with Vince on his reverse Vince Scarich had a varied career but now is living life to the fullest, funded in part by his reverse mortgage. Life of Leisure Vince Scarich Figured Out How to Use a Reverse Mortgage to Live Life ‘Abundantly’ By Mark Olshaker 32 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020