Reverse mortgage giant American Advisors Group’s recent announcement that it’s officially a “product-agnostic” company was sure to prick up the ears of entrepreneurial-minded reverse mortgage originators around the country, wondering what the change means for them. AAG’s new business model includes a new forward lending division and real estate brokerage. The Orange, Calif.-based firm’s reworked marketing […]

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released updated statistics last month showing a sunnier savings outlook for Americans than previously estimated — but some commentators note that not everyone may be sharing in the success. After releasing first-quarter data showing the personal savings rate sat at 3.3%, the BEA recently amended its estimate to 7.2%, according […]

In an era of reverse mortgage uncertainty, a new startup plans to stand out from the crowd by providing an online-heavy approach to originations. The Silverthorne, Colo.-based MortgageRewind.com formally launched on Monday after about a year of development, with a platform designed to pair interested seniors with licensed loan officers from the first point of […]

Reverse mortgage lender Heartland Bank recently reported strong results across Oceania, with double-digit growth in both its Australia and New Zealand operations. The New Zealand-based Heartland saw 31% growth in net receivables related to reverse mortgages in Australia during the 12 months ended this past June, according to financial publication Interest, along with a 12% […]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development late last week filed a formal housing discrimination complaint against Facebook, accusing the social networking giant of allowing companies to exclude certain groups of people from seeing their advertisements. HUD says Facebook violated the Fair Housing Act when it gave advertisers a host of filtering options based on […]

The Federal Housing Administration last week offered another extension on the foreclosure moratorium instituted in the wake of last summer’s hurricanes. Affected borrowers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands now have until September 15 to work out any potential foreclosure issues surrounding their FHA-backed reverse mortgage loans before the process begins again. Foreclosures […]

Despite industry concerns about lower endorsement volumes and constrained principal limits, reverse mortgage originators continue to see success stories on the ground level. Kathy Collins, a branch manager at UMAX Mortgage in Carlsbad, Calif., recently assisted a couple who opened a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage to fund their grandson’s education. “I presented them with what […]