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 [...]

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 [...]

The Reverse Mortgage Counseling Association (RMCA), a non-profit trade association, is offering a new tool to help streamline the HECM counseling process and increase consumer knowledge about reverse mortgages.
Through ReversePackage.com, consumers, lenders, and counselors have access to new tools that help them effectively follow the new HECM Counseling protocol.  ”This new program helps the counselors and [...]

Reverse Fortunes is providing RMD readers with another free training session on September 2nd at 12:00 PM (EST).
They will explain why the FIT (Financial Interview Tool) and the BCU (Benefits Check Up) will change the future of HECM counseling for your clients and how to prepare them.  Remember, the new HECM counseling protocol is scheduled [...]

The National Council on Aging (NCOA), a leading nonprofit service and advocacy organization for older Americans, announced the addition of Madeline Halmo of Washington, D.C. as one of fifteen new staff members on Monday.
Halmo joins NCOA’s Home Equity Initiatives and will provide support to NCOA’s Reverse Mortgage Counseling Services Network, one of five national counseling groups [...]

When the new HECM counseling protocols are rolled out in September, all Department of Housing and Urban Development counseling agencies must give clients a new 28 page consumer booklet on reverse mortgages from the National Council on Aging.
In addition, HECM counselors must complete an extra level of financial assessment to help prospective borrowers gain a [...]

Getting an inside look into the reverse mortgage process from Ronni Bennett at Time Goes By has provided an honest opinion about what consumers are seeing in the marketplace today.
Everyone has an opinion on the importance of HECM counseling and the latest from Bennett describes it as “invaluable”.