Earlier this year, RMD took a look at several presidential candidates and their stated policy positions, and how they could interact with the reverse mortgage business. These efforts were undertaken while the Democratic presidential nominating process was still taking place, and featured profiles of candidates like businessman Michael Bloomberg, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, […]
The state of California is reportedly seeking to establish its own financial watchdog agency which would operate similarly to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The proposal would be accomplished through an expansion of the existing California Department of Business Oversight (DBO). This is according to original reporting at NPR. Members of the state […]
The trial of Michael C. Hild — the former CEO of defunct reverse mortgage lender Live Well Financial — for an alleged bond fraud scheme has been delayed by six months, due to complications arising from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. This is according to original reporting by RichmondBizSense and court documents obtained by RMD. According […]
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has issued new updates to a series of regulations governing both Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) and proprietary reverse mortgage products originated within the state, considering a series of industry comments submitted to the regulatory body by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). This is according […]
The United States Supreme Court (USSC) will hear arguments in a case that challenges the single-director leadership structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), just weeks after a ruling in which it deemed a similar structure at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) unconstitutional. “The justices granted a pair of cases, Collins v. Mnuchin […]
The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) index is scheduled to be retired in 2021, and while the transition to a new index would likely be a positive development for the forward and reverse mortgage industries in time, the transition has the potential to create issues for both the servicing of existing loans, as well as […]
In late 2019, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued new condominium guidelines that aimed to make it easier for single units to be approved for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) financing. This included transactions under the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program. Historically, an entire condo complex would need to be approved for FHA […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a blog post on its “WatchBlog” devoted to providing additional information and context for seniors who may be considering a reverse mortgage transaction for themselves. The post — derived from a 2019 study on the product category by GAO and its director of financial markets and community investment […]
A coalition of attorneys general from 27 different states, led by New York A.G. Letitia James, sent a letter Friday to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Dr. Ben Carson, urging the Department to take further action to protect seniors with Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) who have been […]
Even in the midst of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, second appraisals on Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) transactions under the recently-extended collateral risk assessment (CRA) rule are still a reality that the reverse mortgage industry has to contend with. Fortunately however, the instances of second appraisals being required do not appear to be increasing at […]
