Best Reverse Mortgage writer Peter Miller brings up a good question… why not have escrow accounts for reverse mortgage borrowers? He writes:

Money Management is reporting that the Senior Australian Equity Release Associaiton (SEQUAL) is concerned the Federal Government’s desire to regulate reverse mortgage product design could have a harmful effect on the industry. The government is reviewing the process of reverse mortgages, focusing on product disclosure, design, and consumer financial literacy being the three areas being [...]

Reverse mortgage originators hoping that the Federal Reserve’s final interim rule ending the Home Valuation Code of Conduct would eliminate the use of Appraisal Management Companies are out of luck. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Fed’s final interim rule has no direct implications on the agency’s appraisal independence guidelines so [...]

Ginnie Mae announced it’s increasing net worth requirements for Single Family issuers for the second time in three months to ensure its requirements align with the rapidly changing housing finance market. Ginnie Mae is increasing the current $1 million base net worth requirement to $2.5 million and changing the formula for calculating additional requirements above [...]

Lawsuits can bring out some interesting information and the latest against Seattle Mortgage is a perfect example. Bank of America acquired Seattle Mortgage’s reverse mortgage division in 2007 which included a portfolio of over $4 billion reverse mortgages, approximately 400 SMC employees as well as a retail sales force of more than 200 associates in [...]

Data from the S&P Case-Shiller shows a deceleration in annual growth rates in 17 of 20 MSAs and the 10 and 20 City Composites in August compared to what was reported for July 2010. The 10-City Composite was up 2.6% and the 20-City Composite was up 1.7% from their levels in August 2009.  However, home [...]