The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) expects to introduce new policy changes to the market around the end of January, 2010 said David Stevens, Assistant Secretary for Housing and FHA Commissioner in a letter sent to lenders and correspondents last week. The policies under consideration are intended to address the quality of the existing portfolio, improve [...]

OneWest Bank announced Friday afternoon that it purchased the banking operations of First Federal Bank of California from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Under the terms of the transaction, OneWest acquired $6.1 billion in assets, including $5.3 billion in loans, and $4.5 billion in deposits of First Fed.  OneWest also picks up 72 branches [...]

Reverse Fortunes Weekly Podcast Episode #82 Are your ready for AMCs and appraisal independence? It’s here. To listen login or become a free member to listen to past & current episodes. Home prices stabilized? Zillow say “yes they have” Counseling agencies say they’re ready for new California counseling checklist HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct). [...]

Combining a reverse mortgage with other financial products continues to be a topic debated in our industry and in the halls of Congress.   An article from Investment News describes how companies like Sun Life Financial are developing a hybrid benefit linked products which could involve a reverse mortgage: 

During the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association Annual Conference in San Diego last month, concern was raised about the readiness of HECM counselors to advise borrowers on the topics required by California’s new mandated reverse mortgage counseling checklist. The checklist is a part of the California Elder Protection Act, also known as AB 329. For [...]

Despite the fact that people 65 and older still make up less than 10 percent of the users on the web, their numbers are growing rapidly.  Over the last five years the number of seniors actively using the Internet has increased by more than 55 percent, from 11.3 million active users in November 2004 to [...]