Age Discrimination: No Laughing Matter by David Reed
I got into a friendly discussion last week with a radio talk show host who sounded surprised when I told him that lenders do in fact make 30 year mortgages to people who are in their golden years. I forget exactly how his question was phrased, but it was something to the tune of, "So David, if I'm 75 years old will a lender even give me a 30 year mortgage? Won't they want me to take something shorter?" He caught me off guard. There was silence on the radio as I composed myself. "Of course they will, but if you ever hear of a lender declining a mortgage because of someone's age, then call up a bunch of lawyers and don't stop suing that lender for discrimination," I replied. Now while this radio guy was responding to my answer I was thinking in my head that maybe this person was just joking, but then again I had to believe he was serious. He didn't say he was joking and the tone of his voice certainly sounded like it was a legitimate question, so I answered it. He said, "But don't the lenders ask how old you are on all of their loan applications?" This guy was serious after all. "Yes, a lender wants to know your age, but that's to help document the file by helping to identify the borrower as well as making sure the borrower is of legal age to enter into a legal contract. But lenders don't make loans based upon life expectancy." (Okay, Reverse Mortgages kinda do but that's an entirely different topic) What startled me was not just the question itself, but that this person even had to ask it. He has a radio show in an area that is probably full of retirees, so I'm sure he asked the question for the benefit of his audience -- but do people actually think that? Did he really not know? Do they really not know? Do people think lenders will require borrowers to reasonably outlive their mortgage term?. Imagine this phone call, "Hello Mr. Smith, this is David over at the bank here, how are you today! Say, we noticed that you're 68 years old and you've applied for a 40 year loan. That puts you right at 108 years old when the loan is fully paid off. Do you mind if I asked you a few questions?" "Are your parents still alive and if not, how old were they when they died?" "Do you smoke?" "Do you exercise regularly and tell me about your diet." "Do you parachute?"
After a couple of minutes I say, "Well Mr. Smith, based upon our conversation we can still issue you a mortgage if you quit smoking, exercise a little more and take a ten year loan. How's that Mr. Smith?" Can you imagine! I can't, but then again I can imagine people out there who don't know any better. And perhaps they haven't applied for a mortgage because they thought they were too old. Are there people who haven't refinanced to a lower rate mortgage, applied for an equity loan or maybe bought another house and because they thought they couldn't qualify due to age? I hope not, but if you know of anyone who does think that, set them straight. The bottom line: It's illegal to discriminate. | 
