Can a Reverse Mortgage Lender Kick Me Out of My Home?

August 3, 2018     10 comments

I have lived in the home with my mother and paid all of the property taxes and home insurance plus maintenance for the home and lived there for seventeen years. Can the reverse mortgage lender kick me out of the home? I get this question or one very similar to it a lot and you’re looking at the loan in the wrong manner.  The reverse mortgage is a loan just like any other loan. The reverse mortgage lender cannot do anything that the owner of the property does not agree... Read Full Article

Reversemortgage.org Releases New Consumer Guides

March 22, 2018     no comments

New Consumer Guides Walk You Through the Reverse Mortgage Process More than one million American homeowners have been served by Federal Housing Administration-backed reverse mortgages via the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program. Now in its 27th year, the HECM program continues to enhance its consumer protections as lenders strive to improve the customer experience for both reverse mortgage borrowers and their families. Like the acronym suggests, HECMs allow homeowners age 62 and older to convert a portion of their home equity into loan proceeds. The borrower can access these... Read Full Article

When a LESA (Life Expectancy Set-Aside) is Required

March 21, 2018     no comments

How to Tell if You Need a Reverse Mortgage LESA Qualifying for a reverse mortgage today is a different process than it was in the past. As underwriting standards have tightened considerably in recent years, becoming eligible for a reverse mortgage now requires a more complex analysis of the loan applicant’s financial circumstances. As a prospective borrower, it helps to know just what you’re going up against during the application process, including what aspects of your financial history are most likely to impact the overall determination of whether... Read Full Article

Top 5 Reverse Mortgage Rules You Must Know

March 6, 2018     no comments

Applying for and taking out a reverse mortgage loan is an important decision for senior homeowners, and it’s one that deserves time and research. Reverse mortgages enable homeowners 62 years or older to supplement their retirement income by converting a portion of their home’s equity into accessible cash flow. Reverse mortgages are powerful financial tools, but they are not one-size-fits-all. To fully understand the ins and outs of this product, homeowners should remember and be aware of the following reverse mortgage rules: There’s a Lending Limit For HECMs As... Read Full Article

Reverse Mortgages and Trumps Tax Reform

January 31, 2018     8 comments

You can be forgiven for not knowing exactly how tax reform will affect reverse mortgages  -- after all, with the legislation itself passed hastily to capitalize on rare consensus among Congressional Republicans, accountants, and other financial professionals will likely be busy sorting out the implications through tax day and beyond. For many homeowners, the disappearance of a tax deduction for home equity interest will have a significant impact on their annual tax bills, whether they have a forward mortgage or a HECM product.  But as retirement blogger Tom Davison points... Read Full Article

5 Key Reverse Mortgage Changes Moving into 2018

December 31, 2017     2 comments

Another year has come and gone… Where is the time going?  It sounded strange to say 2017 all year and now 2018 is upon us.  This year, the reverse mortgage industry experienced many changes. 2017 HUD Surprised Industry with Massive Changes  In September, HUD sent the entire industry into a tailspin by announcing changes that were to take effect a month later in October.  Instead of the condo spot approval program finally coming back, we had to adhere to more restrictive Principal Limits and lower interest rate floors resulting... Read Full Article

Higher Reverse Mortgage Limits Announced for 2018

December 8, 2017     8 comments

BREAKING: 2022 Reverse Mortgage Limits Soar to $970,800 Higher Reverse Mortgage Limits Coming January 1st 2018 Starting in 2018, lending limits for government-insured reverse mortgages will increase, allowing borrowers the opportunity to access more of their home equity than ever before. The vast majority of reverse mortgages are federally-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) that are backed by the Federal Housing Administration. These loans allow homeowners age 62 and older to convert a portion of their home equity into loan proceeds that can be used to supplement retirement spending.... Read Full Article

All Reverse Mortgage® to Buy in Del Webb Community

November 29, 2017     no comments

An All Reverse Mortgage® Client Success Story in Del Webb Active Adult Retirement Community  Nancy D’Angelo first heard about using a reverse mortgage to buy a home through some friends with a problem: They were moving from the South to Orange County, Calif., where sky-high real estate prices meant they couldn’t cover the cost of a new home just by selling their old one. The issue hit home for D’Angelo, who was looking to move from Antelope Valley, California to Orange County to be closer to her daughter,... Read Full Article

HUD Lowers Limits, Raise Costs Under Trump/Carson

August 29, 2017     no comments

In our recent article dated July 26, 2017, we indicated that a new administration in Washington marks a time of uncertainty and uneasiness as people try to guess what the new policies will be.  The announcements made by HUD today answered some of those questions with regard to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program. Lenders had been hearing bits and pieces of welcome news over the past months of possible condominium approval changes and changes to come for non-borrowing spouses so when it was announced that HUD was issuing a major... Read Full Article

California Reverse Mortgage Counseling Rule Change of 2017

August 22, 2017     4 comments

Purpose The purpose of this bulletin is to restate and update new California requirements regarding required disclosures, counseling, timing for when certain fees may be incurred on the borrower’s behalf, and when other activities related to the origination and processing of a loan may be performed. Implementation These requirements are effective for all California reverse mortgages with applications taken on or after August 22, 2017 Required Disclosures Prior to counseling, the applicant must receive the list of HUD-approved counseling agencies as well as the required Reverse Mortgage Worksheet... Read Full Article