Older American homeowners have a greater degree of financial well-being than those who do not own a home, while lower housing costs are also correlated to more positive financial well-being. This is according to a survey titled “Financial Well-being of Older Americans,” released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans on Thursday.

According to the federal agency, the survey aims to provide “detailed information on the financial well-being scores by individual characteristics and issues of interest to people who work with older adults.” At-large, the report illustrates that general financial well-being increases with age before then declining again at later ages.

Continue reading →

Last month, American Advisors Group (AAG) announced the company was adding government-backed Veterans Affairs (VA) loans to its lineup of product offerings, differentiating its offering from the standard VA loan by focusing marketing efforts more specifically on the needs of older veterans.

The company says it has staked a unique position in the larger market for VA-sponsored loans, given its specific focus on older veterans.

Continue reading →

Finance of America Reverse (FAR) will be transitioning to private label servicing for its proprietary HomeSafe reverse mortgage product, as well as conducting direct outreach to its borrowers on matters of account statements and communications.

“We are private-labeling so that we can have a more direct connection with our borrowers,” said FAR president Kristen Sieffert an emailed statement to RMD. “While the origination process might last a few months, the servicing experience often continues for decades, which creates significant opportunity to go above and beyond for our borrowers.

Creating a positive borrowing experience is something that FAR sees as a major opportunity to differentiate its service from other offerings, and made this the right time to enact this shift, Sieffert added.

Continue reading →

Total equity on mortgaged properties currently stands at $9.8 trillion, $5.9 trillion of which is tappable. This indicates a drop of $140 billion in the third quarter of 2018, while also illustrating that 272,000 fewer homeowners have tappable home equity available in Q3 when compared with Q2. This is according to a new study released by homeownership data firm Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI).

The average homeowner who has at least 20 percent equity in their home has approximately $136,000 in tappable equity, which also represents a drop of about $2,300 compared with Q2 2018, according to the study’s findings. A decline in equity affected 60 of the nation’s largest 100 markets in the third quarter, with the study detailing that losses were driven by “softening home prices in the most equity-rich among them.”

Continue reading →

After her confirmation last week in the United States Senate, Kathleen L. Kraninger was sworn in as the new, full-time director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Monday afternoon. She made her “media debut” on Tuesday, answering questions from the press on her first full day on the job. Meanwhile, California Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) – currently the ranking member of the Republican-controlled House Financial Services Committee – has been nominated to the position of committee chair when Democrats take control of the House in January, 2019.

Following her nomination Monday evening to the role of committee chair by the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, Waters issued a statement looking forward to driving a new agenda in the 116th Congress.

Continue reading →

Live Well Financial has sold the majority of its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage-backed securities (HMBS) issuance portfolio – $4 billion worth – to Reverse Mortgage Funding, LLC (RMF), according to GNMA data cited by New View Advisors in recent commentary.

The acquisition places RMF as the owner of the largest HMBS issuance portfolio industry-wide, New View notes. The company acquired Sun West’s $1.8 billion servicing portfolio in 2015.

Continue reading →

Bridging two industries that have a shared interest in the ability of senior individuals to age in place, reverse mortgage stakeholders presented a webinar discussion last week to an audience of in-home care professionals. Largely focused on presenting the benefits of reverse mortgages for home care recipients, the panel also dispelled common myths around the product.

The Home Care Association of America (HCAOA), a primary trade association for the in-home caregiving industry, presented the webinar as part of an ongoing three-part series called “Using Home Wealth to Fund Home Care,” the goals of which are to provide tools so that people in the home care industry can discuss clients’ major asset: the home.

Continue reading →