With the new HECM Counseling protocols only days away, the Department of Housing and Urban Development released the Reverse Mortgage Toolkit to help counselors with the transition.
Developed by the National Council on Aging, the toolkit is a series of online tools that include the Financial Interview Tool, Benefits Check Up, and other resources.  The tools [...]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced new changes to the mortgage insurance premiums for the Federal Housing Administration’s reverse mortgage program on Wednesday.
For all Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) with a case number assigned on or after October 4th, 2010, FHA will raise the annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) charged to borrowers from [...]

As the reverse mortgage industry gets ready for several anticipated changes in the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) product in October, counseling agencies are scrambling to prepare for the new HECM counseling protocols.
While the guidelines don’t officially begin until Sep. 11, certain aspects of the protocol must already be followed according to an alert from [...]

Shaun Donovan, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary spoke with CNN on its “State of the Union” show about the Obama Administration’s plan to set up an emergency loan program for the unemployed and a new government mortgage effort to help homeowners.
The programs include $2 billion of additional assistance for states hit hardest by [...]

For the last few years, the number of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) in default from a failure to pay taxes and insurance has been hot topic for debate at events around the country.  Estimates from industry experts typically put the number around 10,000, but a new report from the Department of Housing and Urban [...]

During a call with industry leaders last week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said it plans to raise the annual insurance premium charged to borrowers and reduce the amount of money they can receive from the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM).
Starting Oct. 4th, the principal limits for Federal Housing Administration’s reverse mortgage program [...]

The number of seniors taking out reverse mortgage applications fell 1.4% from June, coming in at 8,961 units during July according to a report from the Federal Housing Administration.
It’s the first decrease in the number of HECM applications after five consecutive months of increases.  For FY 2010, applications for reverse mortgages are down 44.3%.