Posts Tagged ‘reverse mortgages’
Recent headlines pointing to the detriments of reverse mortgages aren’t getting the story straight. One of the nation’s leading reverse mortgage lenders, Generation Mortgage Company, wants to separate fact from fiction. “Because so many Americans over the age of 62 are facing significant financial stress due to dropping retirement and savings account balances, as well as higher healthcare costs, many groups are targeting seniors under the guise of helping them,” said Scott Peters, CEO and president of Generation Mortgage.Read more
Like most pioneers and leaders in other industries and other spheres of life, pioneer loan officers in the U.S. reverse mortgage industry were a curious bunch of happy warriors. They were the foot soldiers who brought the innovative home equity loan to America’s skeptical senior homeowners.Read more
From a New York Times article on how low interest rates are slamming savers …
People who rely on income from such investments for support, however, are being forced to consider new options.
Eileen Lurie, 75, is taking out a reverse mortgage to help offset the decline in returns on her investments tied to interest rates. Reverse mortgages have a checkered reputation, but Ms. Lurie said her bank was going out of its way to explain the product to her.
“These banks don’t want to be held responsible for thousands of seniors standing in bread lines,” she said.
Such mortgages allow people who are 62 and older to convert equity in their homes into cash tax-free and without any impact on Social Security or Medicare payments. The loans are repaid after death.
“If your assets aren’t appreciating and aren’t producing any income, you’re getting eaten up in this interest rate environment,” said Peter Strauss, a lawyer who advises the elderly. “A reverse mortgage is one way of making a very large asset produce income.”
Other mortgage-rate tales:
Post from: Mortgage Insider
Generation Mortgage Company has created a continuing education class on Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase loans for California realtors. The California Department of Real Estate-approved course, “Reverse Mortgage Opportunities and Consumer Protections for Senior Clients,” is available upon request to California real estate agencies statewide. Attendees can qualify for two credit hours toward continuing education requirements for their California broker licenses.Read more
The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) has welcomed Live Well Financial Inc., of Richmond, Va. and Generation Mortgage Company of Atlanta, Ga., as charter members of the association’s new Wholesale Lenders Program. Launched on July 17, the Wholesale Lenders Program provides information to lenders and brokers on delivering reverse mortgages to reputable investors. The reverse mortgage marketplace continues to grow at a rapid pace. The number of lenders approved by the FHA to originate reverse mortgages leaped from 1,001 in January 2008 to 2,461 in June 2009.Read more
A HUD news release, dated July 15: David Stevens Sworn in as HUD Assistant Secretary for Housing and FHA Commissioner: HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said, “David’s knowledge in real estate, housing and the mortgage industry will help us overcome the current challenges we face, he will implement changes that protect FHA and will enhance its risk management capabilities to protect its future viability.” (Read more
Author’s note: In the dying days of the Bush Administration (Dec. 5, 2008), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued Mortgagee Letter 2008-38 (ML-08-38). ML-08-38 is a raw deal for America’s seniors who have taken, who are taking or who plan to take Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) reverse mortgages, the dominant program in the U.S. reverse mortgage market. “An Assault on Fairness: Quash Mortgagee Letter 2008-38, Part I” shows why we believe ML-08-38 is a raw deal for seniors and their heirs/estate, and why we are asking the U.S.Read more
The U. S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on June 29 titled, "Reverse Mortgages Product Complexity and Consumer Protection Issues Underscore Need for Improved Controls over Counseling for Borrowers" with recommendations to address potentially misleading marketing of Home Equity Comversion Mortgages (HECMs) and improve the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD’s) oversight of HECM counselors.Read more
