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 […]
Category: Counseling
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 their […]
With echoes of earlier calls for “net tangible benefits” from the forward world resonating, suggestions now are being floated for “financial assessments” of seniors in the mood for a reverse mortgage. Washington, D.C. attorney Jim Milano says “one policy floating around is whether seniors need some kind of financial assessment and, if so, who should […]
Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta announced it has been approved as a national reverse mortgage counseling intermediary by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As a result, each reverse mortgage lender in the U.S. will be required to provide their new clients a list of counseling agencies that includes […]
Along with the recent changes to HECM counseling, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is expected to unveil a new counseling protocol next month to help borrowers asses whether a reverse mortgage is the right choice for their financial situation. The new protocol will include stronger assessment tools as well as the creation of […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published Mortgagee Letter 2009-10 to clarify several issues regarding HECM counseling for prospective borrowers. According to ML 09-10, FHA wants to ensure that prospective borrowers initiate the request for HECM counseling. Lenders may not contact a counselor or counseling agency to refer a client, discuss a […]
Earlier this week, the Arizona House Banking and Insurance Committee agreed to set up new regulations for companies offering reverse mortgages. HB 2513 includes some mandatory disclosures and counseling requirements which were already required by HUD, but Robert Zumoff, an assistant state attorney general said “proprietary” lending is not covered. "This is a bill that […]
The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it’s creating a new HECM counseling survey to obtain information about borrowers counseling experience. The information obtained will help HUD determine performance reviews of counseling agencies. According to the Federal Register Notice, HUD is soliciting comments from members of the public and affected agencies concerning the […]
Dual certification of counselors by both federal and state governments is causing a logjam in some states. Jack Belles, president/co-founder of Reverse Mortgage of New England, based in Plainville, Mass., says it is taking two weeks for his applicants to get the required counseling there – a comparatively long time. And, Dave Bancroft, CEO of […]
Earlier this month, Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta announced that it was merging with Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Central Florida & The Florida Gulf Coast. Together these agencies provided a range of counseling services to an estimated 550,000 consumers during 2008. The merger enables CCCS of Greater Atlanta to significantly […]
