The Obama administration is asking taxpayers to subsidize the Federal Housing Administration’s program for reverse mortgages for the first time.  The administration has requested that Congress appropriate $798 million for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), according to budget documents released today.According to the budget documents: The decline in house prices has adversely affected the […]

Earlier this week, California Assembly member Mike Feuer introduced three different bills designed to help protect seniors vulnerable to abuse in nursing homes and exploitation in the marketplace.  "Especially in this economy, we need to take every step we can to protect seniors who may be at serious risk of abuse or exploitation," said Feuer. […]

Yesterday the House of Representatives approved President Obama’s economic recovery plan with vote of 244-188.  The text of the bill does include the reverse mortgage provision which was added in response to a request that came jointly from NRMLA and AARP.  The provision would  set the single national loan limit for HECMs at a higher […]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s assistant inspector general warned a Congressional committee on Jan. 9 of concerns regarding FHA’s ability to handle the increase in volume it has seen over the past year. James A. Heist, assistant inspector general for audit, testified that FHA needs to increase personnel, increase training for personnel and […]

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation recently published Reverse Mortgages: What Consumers and Lenders Should Know. The report goes over the the history of reverse mortgages and why the aging population presents such an opportunity to banks. While there is big opportunity in catering to the aging demographic, the report notes that financial institutions have been […]

Over the weekend, President-elect Barack Obama announced that Shaun Donovan will become the new secretary of Housing and Urban Development.  Donovan, a trained architect, served in the housing agency under President Bill Clinton and has been commissioner of housing in the New York City government since 2004.  In Obama’s announcement, he said HUD will be […]

HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research recently published its 2008 State of the Housing Counseling Industry  Report.  The study covers all types of education and counseling services and provides an overview of the housing counseling industry and investigate the challenges it faces. A substantial amount of the report discusses how HECM counseling will continue […]