July-Aug 2020

AT 66, BOB HULL says he works as a specialized carpenter because he wants to—“not because I have to”—thanks to the reverse mortgage that his wife and he now use to help pay expenses. Bob and his wife, Cheri, live in an old neighbor- hood in the southeast part of Boise, ID. Bob grew up in Bakersfield, CA, and moved to Boise in 1979. He met Cheri, who is from Yakima, WA, in a restaurant in Boise. “I had seen her a few times there,” Bob says. “I got to talking to her, I asked her out, and the rest is history!” They’ve been married 15 years now. Cheri has two grown daughters with families of their own. Bob is a carpenter, and he spent much of his career with drywall and stud framing, as well as working with acoustical ceilings. Now he works in the highly specialized field of “clean room” construction for Micron Technology, which produces memory and storage solutions for digital data systems. Their highly sensitive devices must be manu- factured and assembled in sterile, dust-free environments. Bob has been with a company that contracts with Micron for the past 25 years. “Over that time, I guess I’ve progressed to the point that I got really good at what I do,” Bob says. Cheri is in the antiques business, serving as assistant manager of a prominent antiques store in Boise. Bob, 66, andCheri, 65, are very active, but Bob recently started thinking about retirement or semi-retirement. “I wanted to feel a little more secure about our future,” he says. “I heard about reverse mortgages through a friend who is a real estate processor, who put us in touch with Kyle Buck of Mutual of Omaha Mortgage. Kyle was very good, and it was a great experience working with him. He took us through the whole process step by step, answered all of our questions and was very supportive whenever we needed it. He prepared us for the counseling session and made a complicated procedure fairly easy. “The reverse mortgage has taken the burden of monthly payments off of us, and we can use our energy more productively in other places,” Bob adds. “Now, I’m in a position where I’m working because I want to, not because I have to. That makes your attitude a whole lot better. I can now gauge when I want to retire.” Kyle says it was great working with Bob and Cheri. “And I was very gratified that he said the reverse mortgage Thanks to a reverse mortgage, Bob Hull and his wife, Cheri, enjoy their home in an old neighborhood in the southeast part of Boise, ID. Working After 66 With a Reverse Mortgage An Idaho-Based Carpenter Enjoys His Job Knowing He Doesn’t Have to Work By Mark Olshaker Borrower Chronicles Borrower Chronicles continued on page 34 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JULY-AUGUST 2020 33