As the industry has positioned the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage as a strategic retirement tool for more affluent borrowers, an industry trade group recently issued an important warning: Do not accidentally terminate your loan by paying down your balance too low. Called a “HECM non-claim termination” in the Federal Housing Administration’s HERMIT system, this type […]

Despite almost two years of public support and amended bylaws, residents in one of Arizona’s 55-and-up communities must continue to wait to open reverse mortgages. Residents of the Sun City West active adult community, about 30 miles northwest of Phoenix, got a glimmer of hope in May when their governing body rewrote a bylaw to […]

As the reverse mortgage industry continues to adapt to the lower principal limit factors introduced last year — and the resulting volume declines — diversification has become a key watchword. Offer a wide range of potential solutions for a senior borrower, from reverse mortgages to forward refinances to real estate brokerage services, and you’re likelier […]

The reverse mortgage industry has seen a flood of new proprietary products this summer, and key software vendors have taken steps to upgrade their systems to keep pace with the changes. ReverseVision last week announced a program that allows lenders to incorporate their products into the San Diego-based company’s software within eight to 10 weeks, […]

A financial columnist this week detailed the ways in which his opinion has evolved on reverse mortgages, moving from mild distrust to solid acceptance in certain scenarios. Writing for the San Antonio Express-News, columnist Michael Taylor noted that before digging into the products in response to a reader question, he hadn’t known much about them […]

Reverse mortgage counselors have seen their demand fall in tandem with originations and endorsements, but many are already adapting their educational programs to include the wide array of private products entering the marketplace. Counselors logged 7,198 visits during July, according to data from Ibis Software Corporation — representing a sharp decline from the recent peaks […]

Reverse mortgage endorsements dipped 15.5% between May and June of this year, according to the most recent update from Reverse Market Insight — and the long-term arc of the post-October 2 recovery is following a well-worn pattern. Both Federal Housing Administration-approved lenders and their non-approved counterparts endorsed 2,833 loans in June, down from the 3,351 […]