Reverse Mortgages: Reverse mortgages, like all mortgages, are contracts, or legally binding agreements, between a borrower, known as the mortgagor, and the lender, called the mortgagee. (To keep these terms straight, remember the borrower or mortgagor must pay up or else. At the same time, the lender or mortgagee thinks, "Gee, isn't it nice to get all this interest.")

The more comfortable you are with contracts the more prepared you'll be when faced with deciding whether to sign on the dotted line for a reverse mortgage. Reverse Mortgages: Best Friend, Worst Enemy...Your Choice! explains what contracts are, and what to look for, and to look out for in a reverse mortgage contract.

For an inside look at contracts gone wrong in the context of renovations and homeownership, read the article "Contracts: The Deliberate Path to Success" posted August 11 on "Decisions & Communities": http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/pjwade.htm