Editor’s note: Reverse Mortgage Daily will be observing the Labor Day holiday Monday, September 7, but we will return to our normal posting schedule Tuesday, September 8. In the meantime, all of us here at RMD would like to wish all of our readers a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend!
In case you missed it, here’s what happened in reverse mortgage news this week:
New Lenders Find New Strategies for Reverse Mortgage Success—A lot has happened in the reverse mortgage industry over the past few years, which have seen a variety of changes to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program and the exits of big banks like Wells Fargo and MetLife from the reverse space. There have also been several new entrants to the sector, each relying on new strategies to be successful in the new reverse mortgage landscape.
FHA Resolves Tech Hang-Ups with Reverse Mortgage Financial Assessment—This week, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) identified several issues with FHA Connection, including giving reverse mortgage lenders the ability to complete the Financial Assessment data entry with a negative residual income value. In the same memo FHA sent out, the agency also noted some inaccuracies related to the HECM Calculator software.
Mortgage Prof: Navigating Reverse Mortgage Pricing—In a recent article, Jack Guttentag (a.k.a. The Mortgage Professor) addresses HECM pricing. The article raises two questions: whether borrowers are getting value for the upfront fees they pay, and whether they can avoid paying excessive fees.
HUD Revises FHA Lender Certification Rules—The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Tuesday proposed a revision to a previously announced proposal that would change the certification requirements for FHA-approved mortgage lenders. The revised proposal would require lenders, in order to be eligible for FHA instance, to certify their firm and its principals have not been involved in any criminal activity, among other stipulations.
How Wholesale Reverse Mortgage Lenders Help Brokers Adjust to FA—As the reverse mortgage industry moves further into Financial Assessment territory, wholesale lenders are taking several initiatives to help their broker partners better adjust to the new guidelines. Urban Financial of America and American Advisors Group both shared their strategies for acclimating their wholesale partners with the new guidelines.
Written by Jason Oliva
