Water shut off without notice, a letter addressed to a deceased mother, a loan that never should have been granted.

Even heirs who want to pay off reverse mortgages to hold onto a family home, and have the means to do so, can find themselves stymied by a seemingly endless cycle of conflicting messages that stretch out for years.

That’s according to some of the more than 100 tips and letters received by USA TODAY following its probe into a surge in reverse mortgage foreclosures issued just after the recession.