When the Department of Housing and Urban Development unveiled its 2010 budget request last month, it included a request for $798 million credit subsidy for the FHA’s reverse mortgage program.  It’s the first time HUD has requested a subsidy for the program and left many questioning if the HECM needs to change in order ensure […]

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that more than $58 million is available for a broad range of housing counseling programs to help families and preserve housing.  The funding is an increase of $11 million, up 23% from last year according to a statement from HUD.
“Now, more than ever, it is […]

The Federal Trade Commission published Housing Counselors: How to Help People Avoid Reverse Mortgage Missteps to provide guidance for counselors in indentifying false and misleading claims related to reverse mortgage offers. 
As an example, the FTC said that some unscrupulous lenders may try to mislead seniors about the key features of a reverse mortgage […]

As part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s changes to HECM counseling, all HECM counselors will need to pass an exam to demonstrate their knowledge of reverse mortgages.  In cooperation with HUD, AARP Foundation’s Reverse Mortgage Education Project (RMEP) will be administering the HUD HECM Counselor Exam. 
The HECM counseling exam has […]

As the industry awaits word from Mother HUD on what counselors may, can or should do - or not – on certain key issues, questions have arisen about the purpose and product of this forthcoming federal mandate.  There is little doubt that updated regulations, which are expected to bring stronger assessment tools and a financial […]

More people are tapping into retirement accounts despite the negative financial consequences, but wind up struggling to pay their mortgage anyway, said the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta. 
The counseling agency found that 29.6% of the people who called the nonprofit agency for foreclosure prevention counseling received an early distribution from […]