With the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) capital reserve ratio beneath its Congressionally mandated level thanks to thousands of bad loans made during the housing bubble, the agency came under fire on Thursday during the House Financial Services Committee Hearing on the FHA single-family insurance fund. One program that escaped the heat was the Home Equity [...]

Although Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsement volume has declined slightly on a monthly basis, so far it’s accounting for a higher share of the Federal Housing Administration’s overall single-family market, compared to fiscal year 2011, although year-over-year volume is lagging. Reverse mortgage market share volume of the Federal Housing Administration’s overall single-family portfolio dropped to [...]

The Federal Housing Administration today announced the results of its annual actuarial review of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, including the fund for the FHA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program. The HECM program received a transfer of $535 million from the MMI capital reserve account in 2011 to meet shortfalls. However, the transfer is less [...]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently published projections for 2012 Home Equity Conversion Mortgage volume following the close of its fiscal year on September 30. According to the projections, HECMs will see an increase to near 88,000 in 2012 from a total of 73,129 in FY 2011. Of the 2011 total, HECM Savers represented 3,828, [...]

The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage counselor exam administered under the Department of Housing and Urban Development will change, with a new exam rolling out on Monday, November 28. The exam is required to obtain and retain a place on the HUD HECM Counselor Roster, and has not been revised since May 2009. The new revision [...]

The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program is critically important and requires ongoing attention, the acting Federal Housing Administration commissioner told reverse mortgage lenders during a presentation on Tuesday. Stressing the need to prevent tax and insurance default and regain housing counseling funding, Acting Commissioner Carol Galante presented a very supportive outlook for the HECM program. [...]