Reverse Mortgage News & Articles


Over the weekend I was reading an article by a writer from the Wall Street Journal, Kelly Greene, about reverse mortgages and possible alternatives. Ms. Greene's premise of her article was that it is much less expensive for families with at least one adult child with a nest egg to fund their...
I still get a call about once a week with borrowers asking when they will be able to do a reverse mortgage on their unit in a cooperative project. After all, co-op's were included in the list of acceptable properties when the Home Economic Recovery Act (HERA) pass...
Carol wrote: Regarding the rule that the homeowner has to reside in the home: how long could that homeowner be absent (e.g. on an extended vacation) before they would be considered not residing in the house. Would they be allowed to have someone else living in the house to care take? ...
Today we received a question that came across one of my blog posts "The Pros and Cons of the Reverse Mortgage" This is an excellent question that I'm sure most heirs have when families may be considering the reverse mortgage. "My grandma is 76, retired once but had to start working again t...
Should I get my Reverse Mortgage from Wells Fargo? We hear this question quite often. After all, Wells Fargo Bank is one of the nation's largest banks and does more reverse mortgages every year than any other lender in the United States. And since they are already handling many borrow...
Over the last year we have had many opportunities to rebut various articles which didn't quite get all the facts right about reverse mortgages. It never ceased to amaze us when an author completely mis-stated the facts of the reverse mortgage program or the same erroneous "facts" popped up i...
One of the most important benefits that reverse mortgage borrowers receive at closing is the freedom of no longer having to make required monthly mortgage payments to their lender. It is this feature of the reverse mortgage product that makes it so unique - and as such - so difficult for those o...
The Reverse Mortgage must be too tempting of a subject these days.  It's one of those subjects that with just a very small amount of research some journalists feel like they are "experts" and ready to take on the perceived injustice of the product.  Unfortunately, too many do not spend th...
The rules are changing. Soon the days of borrowers going to a lender or a broker and the local lender or the broker ordering the appraisal from the appraiser of their choice will be gone. HUD is now going to require that lenders require brokers to follow a similar procedure as the convent...
Welcome to the phenomenon in the mortgage world known as the reverse mortgage. Well, maybe my photoshop skills are a little off today but I think anyone reading this article has seen at least one of these images. The ads that tout how they can improve quality of life are everywhere and if ...
Michael Branson (CEO - ARMC)  
  Seems that one of the most popular questions we get is what happens with my reverse mortgage and my home after death.  After all, the reverse mortgage is intended to be the last loan that borrowers will ever need, so this is a question many Mature Americans and their heirs have on their ...
Borrowers and their families looking at the possibility of obtaining a reverse mortgage are understandably concerned about the fees / costs of the loan.  Because this is one of the most regulated loan programs, most of the fees are heavily regulated as to what can and cannot be charged by...
Governor Schwarzenegger has signed into law AB 329, which amends provisions of the California Civil Code currently regulating reverse mortgages, to enact the Reverse Mortgage Elder Protection Act of 2009. Reverse mortgage loans are currently regulated under existing California law.  Am...
I had a long conversation with a potential borrower yesterday.  He said that he had spoken with a couple of loan originators and had a few concerns.  One of the originators told him that there were no downsides to a reverse mortgage and the other worked for the largest reverse mortgage comp...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
Almost two months ago we wrote about the monies being spent in the stimulus package that went to things like tunnels for turtles, guard rails for dried lakes, rehabs for airports that saw very few customers, repairs to train stations that had been closed for decades and much more, but w...
Explanation of Terms: 1. Statement Date: The time period that the statement represents. In the sample statement, it is displaying all of the loan activity that occurred during the month of October 2007. 2. Payment Plan: This is the current payment plan type that has been sel...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
Yesterday I wrote an article titled Reverse Mortgage Stigma after a news item that appeared on KABC. Since then, we started talking and re-reviewed the news item.  The original news item that ran can be found online here.  When we originally saw the report, we were struck by many things that...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
They're at it again! Did anyone see the report done by KABC news in which Ric Romero does a segment with an 83 year old borrower and totally misses the whole point?  And to make matters worse, they use Consumer Reports as their expert investigative source, a source that is decidedly against...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
I cringe every time I read an article about a reverse mortgage where the author is doing his or her level best to try to show how bad the program is, usually with faulty information or by citing how someone found a way to help the senior borrower part with their funds (which really isn’...
The Senate and House have both put forth different approaches to cover the request from the Federal Housing Administration’s for a $798 Million subsidy for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM of "Heck-um") reverse mortgage program. The House version requires HUD to operate without any...
As the Dow tops 9,000 for the first time since January. Senior Homeowners are met with a mixed bag of news. The Dow Industrials rose meaning many are seeing a return of some of the value of their retirement accounts. Home sales rose and some markets have shown that the values are levelin...
I was contacted recently by a freelance writer who wanted to get some dirt on reverse mortgages.  He said he could find people all over the place who could sing the praises of the reverse mortgage, but he wanted to find someone who could give him the pitfa...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
Many senior homeowners feel like they've lost their independence to the high cost of living on a fixed income. Even those who planned carefully are finding that the pension and savings they thought would carry them through their retirement years just didn't do all they thought they would, the social...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
One of the first questions it seems I always get after people are comfortable with the program itself is “Okay, now what are the actual steps to getting the reverse mortgage?”.  There are a few different answers depending on to whom you’re talking, some lenders make different requirements ...
On June 1, 2009, FNMA announced that they were going to discontinue the purchase of the CMT-indexed Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or “Heck-um”) According to FNMA Senior Vice President and single family risk officer Michael A. Quinn, “Fannie Mae’s decision to discontinue to purchase CMT...
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) granted authority to add individual manufactured housing units located in condominium projects to HUD for FHA insurance. This property type had always been ineligible prior to this legislation for loan programs insured by FHA, which ...
The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or “Heck-um”) which is the HUD reverse mortgage, went for many years with just a couple of different options, and a margin that stayed constant.  You basically had a choice between a monthly adju...
The line of credit reverse mortgage is still the most popular option for senior borrowers when choosing how to access their funds with their reverse mortgage. According to AARP, borrowers have recognized this choice at about 66% of the time when obtaining a reverse mortgage as being the right...
In their continuing efforts to try to protect seniors, HUD continues to update and refine their reverse mortgage counseling protocols and requirements.  In HUD’s Mortgagee Letter 2009-10 which they issued on March 27, 2009, HUD clarified some policies outlined in their earlier Letters and al...
Michael Branson (CEO - ARMC)  
We have put several articles out regarding the differences between different options that borrowers have when receiving their cash under the HUD Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or “Heck-um”) reverse mortgage program.  There are benefits and drawbacks to both the fixed rate reverse m...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
In an ever-vigilant effort to protect seniors and the reverse mortgage process, HUD has just released Mortgagee Letter 2009-10 to clarify counseling issues. HUD has 4 reasons for issuing the new Mortgagee Letter; to be certain that all borrowers initiate their own counseling; to delineate t...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
I always have people asking me which option is better, a fixed rate or an adjustable rate for their reverse mortgage.  Both have benefits and both have drawbacks.  And what about now while the margins keep moving and since lenders just announced another round of margin increases.  The answer I...
HUD put out a Mortgagee Letter in October of 2008 in which they outlined a method by which they were going to calculate benefits under the purchase reverse mortgage program.  Later, they indicated that they were going to further clarify that Mortgagee Letter and the HUD Website does in fact cla...
Regardless of which economist you listen to, no one disagrees with the fact that we are in a recession.  It seems that the only argument now is how long it will last and what is the best way to get out of it.  Millions of American families faced with the uncertainty of the economy and ...
HUD has acted extremely quickly in putting out the new HECM reverse mortgage limits of $625,500 as established as a result of the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).  This limit is effective for all loans which receive credit approval in the calendar year 2009 ...
I spoke with Judy Nash Ellis of the Atlanta Home Ownership Center (HOC) just minutes ago.  Ms. Ellis confirmed that HUD has now posted guidelines on their website to supersede Mortgagee Letter 2008-33.  Those guidelines posted as “HECM Reverse Mortgage for Purchase Frequently Asked Questions” ...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
02/25/2009 - Official $625,000 Reverse Mortgage Loan Limit Mortgagee Letter 2009-07 Raises Limits to $625,500 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published Mortgagee Letter 2009-07, which officially raises the national limit for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages from $417,00...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
We keep getting calls from would be borrowers, their families and from other interested parties about the home purchase reverse mortgage program asking if we know anything yet.  We have more information than we did last December, just not all the information we really need and not all the infor...
2/25/2009 - Official $625,000 Reverse Mortgage Loan Limit Mortgagee Letter 2009-07 Raises Limits to $625,500 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published Mortgagee Letter 2009-07, which officially raises the national limit for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages from $417,00...
Click on Banner to get your copy today!   Covered in our free guide... A Reverse Mortgage is a Big Decision but Is it The Right Decision For YOU?! Frequently Asked Questions and Common Misconceptions. Who Is All Reverse Mortgage Company and What Will We Do For You? OK, How Do I ...
02/25/2009 - Official $625,000 Reverse Mortgage Loan Limit Mortgagee Letter 2009-07 Raises Limits to $625,500 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published Mortgagee Letter 2009-07, which officially raises the national limit for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages from $417,00...
Call (888) 801-2762 Ext 1. to learn more 02/17/2009 News Following this Post: Implementing the New $625,500 HECM Loan Limit As most NRMLA members know, the economic stimulus bill signed into law by President Obama today raises the single national loan limit for HECMs to 150% of the Fre...
02/25/2009 - Official $625,000 Reverse Mortgage Loan Limit Mortgagee Letter 2009-07 Raises Limits to $625,500 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published Mortgagee Letter 2009-07, which officially raises the national limit for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages from $41...
Michael Branson (CEO - ARMC)  
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was signed into law by President Bush on July 30, 2008.  Of the sweeping provisions and changes contained within the legislation, one of the long awaited changes was the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or “Heck-um”) for purchases.  The provis...
NRMLA Status: Pending Mortgagee Letters 12/17/2008 Update from NRMLA (National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association) As part of our ongoing conversations with HUD, we want to alert you to a few new developments.HUD is indicating that new Mortgagee Letters (Mortgagee letter) r...
Michael Branson (CEO - ARMC)  
Many people get very confused when they try to grasp the reverse mortgage and how they work. They look at the different interest rates, the mortgage insurance, the servicing fees, principal limits, net principal limits and before long, they just want to know the bottom line as they're so ...
Michael Branson (CEO - ARMC)  
I can almost hear it now, "This is an article written by a guy who does reverse mortgages"  There probably won't be any con's"!  As passionate as we are about the reverse mortgage product, there are some drawbacks in some instances and we make certain that we point out the pro's and con's t...
Michael Branson (CEO - ARMC)  
According to the Mortgage Bankers association, there are now a record 1.35 million homes in foreclosure.  The delinquency rates also rose to 6.99% which is up from 5.59% a year ago.  Sub-Prime loans which started the real estate delinquency problems, are still leading the delinquencies at ...
We specialize in Reverse Mortgages for both Purchase & Refinances. A reverse mortgage enables senior homeowners to sustain their retirement while living in the home and community they love. Contact us for reverse mortgage purchase information and our no obligation reverse mortgage informationa...
Michael G. Branson (CEO ARMC)  
Content provided in this article includes: HUD issues Purchase Reverse Mortgage Eligibility Key Notes from NRMLA - National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association Link to Purchase Reverse Mortgage Calculator 10/29/2008 Many senior buyers and real estate agents ha...
Michael G. Branson (CEO ARMC)  
03/02/2009 Many senior borrowers who start looking into reverse mortgages are not aware of it, but there is a fixed rate reverse mortgage (HECM) available.  The HECM or “Heck-um” as you may hear it called, is the government insured reverse mortgage program ...
Michael G. Branson (CEO - ARMC)  
10/10/2008 Many senior homeowners have been anxiously waiting for HUD to issue the Mortgagee Letters so that lenders could implement the changes in the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or “Heck-um”)program that came about as a result of H.R 3221. This legislation was passed on July 30, 2...
Over the last 8 days, the Dow Jones Industrial Stocks have lost 13.6%, which is roughly 1,500   points.  While this does not qualify as the largest drop in stock prices in history, it is hurting Americans who have money in the stock market and in pension and 401K plans.  According to the Associa...
10/02/2008 - "This morning, FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery announced that the new HECM nationwide loan limit (maximum claim amount) will be $417,000. The target effective date is November 1" This is a target date right now, not a set deadline. We still expect FHA to increase the “f...
Michael G. Branson (CEO - ARMC)  
There is a new scam out involving reverse mortgages that everyone needs to be aware of as it doesn’t affect just senior borrowers.  It seems that in their effort to constantly find a way to beat the system, there are some who are looking for ways to use senior borrowers and reverse mortgage...
Michael G. Branson (CEO - ARMC)  
By now, if you have been watching the news at all you’ve either read or heard all about the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the Sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America.  Many senior homeowners can find relief in the fact that any of the funds that they may have had on deposit with Lehma...
The passage of HR 3221 will bring many welcome and positive changes to senior homeowners as they relate to reverse mortgages.  However, there are other things happening in the marketplace that are not as welcome that can catch an unaware consumer or Loan Officer by surprise.  Reverse Mortgages h...
Key Components of the Housing Bill 1.)  Lending Limits*   Maximum HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) Loan Limits have not been resolved yet.  HUD lawyers are currently working with legislators to interpret the language in the new law.   There are 3 possible scenarios that could b...
Today, President Bush signed HR 3221 into law which has many significant effects on homeowners. The Bill, in its final form, covered a number of subjects that Congress had been trying to resolve from the modernization of FHA, to foreclosure assistance for homeowners, to the shoring up for Fannie Ma...
NRMLA (reversemortgage.org)  
Late yesterday, the House passed HR 3221, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, by a floor vote of 272 (yes) to 152 (no). This House version includes amendments that were negotiated since the passage of the Senate version two weeks ago. The Bill will now go back to the Senate for a vote an...
Life doesn't hold too many real guarantees anymore. Seniors work hard their whole lives and expect to receive a pension and often those pension funds aren't available or the company closes and the individual is left looking for work late in life with no pension at all, starting over. Borrowers go ...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke again today, this time about inflation, economic growth and the possibility of future rate hikes. A full story on the speech can be found on Wall Street Journal's Market Watch and basically what Bernanke is saying is that although the weak dollar is driving costs up a...
ATTENTION: SINCE THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED INDYMAC BANK OFFICIALS HAVE MADE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS "Customers of IndyMac's reverse mortgage subsidiary will retain unfettered access to their funds, Bovenzi said. Reverse mortgages provide elderly homeowners with either regular payments or a line o...
On July 5th 2008, Robert Powell of the Wall Street Journal online posted an article which quotes the Chief Executive of The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Mary Schapiro, entitled Three Warnings for Hard Times¦Beware of Strategies That Put Nest Egg at Risk. I really must admit tha...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
What better day to talk about obtaining your financial independence than on Independence Day?! I don't think our forefathers ever considered the right to a reverse mortgage when framing the Bill of Rights and our Constitution, but ever since 1988 when Ronald Reagan signed the bill authorizing the D...
If you have been reading the articles about jumbo or proprietary reverse mortgages available, you may be wondering what is going on. A jumbo or proprietary reverse mortgage is any program that is not the FHA, government insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or "Hek-um") or the Federal Nation...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
Many people are not aware of all the opportunities available to senior borrowers with the Reverse mortgage program. For example, did you know that HUD does not require any title seasoning or seasoning for time off the market when doing a Reverse Mortgage? What exactly does this mean to senior borr...
reversemortgage.org (NRMLA)  
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a comprehensive housing package comprised of two separate bills. The first bill, H.R. 3221, has as its centerpiece, an authorization of $300 billion in FHA refinancing to help homeowners facing trouble meeting their mortgage payments. New FHA-insur...
www.reversemortgage.org (NRMLA)  
HUD Permits Borrower-Paid Counseling Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published Mortgagee Letter 2008-12 to permit counseling agencies to charge seniors a fee for counseling services. HUD said the counseling fee should be reasonable and customary for the service provided ...
Being the age I am and having more than 32 years experience in the mortgage banking industry, I always choose fixed rate mortgages for my own financing needs. When the first fixed rate reverse mortgages came out, we received a lot of phone calls from borrowers who were very interested in also gettin...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
As industry professionals, we often have an opportunity to sit in on conference calls on market trends and other things that affect reverse mortgages and the senior borrowers who get them. We were on one today that echoed something that we have been saying so it seems that it’s to a point where w...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
Reverse Mortgage Loans are unlike traditional loans or forward mortgages in many ways. Even the costs are figured differently. Because a Reverse Mortgage is often paid to the borrower in monthly payments or in the form of a line of credit that the borrower can access as they choose, the origi...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
I just finished reading yet another article on the internet by AP Economics writer, Martin Crutsinger, in which he states Sales of existing homes fell to the lowest level in nearly a decade in January while the median price for a home dropped for the fifth straight month. His article quotes t...
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)  
Reverse Mortgages are a very good tool for many senior borrowers to enable them to access the equity in their home while never having to make another payment as long as they live in those homes. However, a Reverse Mortgage has always been a fairly expensive proposition, usually carrying a price tag...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
One of the things that we always explain to senior borrowers when they ask about reverse mortgages is that they are non-recourse loans. The next question is always, "What is a non-recourse loan?" This is a very important feature of the reverse mortgage and I want to take a moment to explain jus...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
Many senior homeowners have lived in their homes for a very long time, have no desire to move and have gotten reverse mortgages so that they can continue to live in their homes payment free for life while accessing their equity to help supply them with income or cash to meet their living needs. St...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
Reverse Mortgages are a very good tool for many senior borrowers to enable them to access the equity in their home while never having to make another payment as long as they live in those homes. However, a Reverse Mortgage has always been a fairly expensive proposition, usually carrying a price tag...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
Reverse Mortgages are not short term, hard money, bridge or balloon loans normally associated with the type of loans people are forced to get to stop a foreclosure proceeding. But for seniors aged 62 and over, a reverse mortgage can be a life-line that rescues the seniors in danger of losing t...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
I just finished reading an article about a network news program that did a negative report on reverse mortgages, citing an incident in Los Angeles of a senior borrower who was talked into buying annuities that did not mature until the year 2033 without a substantial penalty. I saw the actual N...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
I received a call from the son and daughter of a senior borrower today and they wanted to know if their mother could refinance her reverse mortgage loan. I answered them honestly that yes, she could, but had to ask why was she thinking about refinancing. The reason I asked for the borrower's m...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
You've made the decision to get a reverse mortgage and you've heard that there is no income or credit qualifying so you think you will have no issues getting your loan. All you have to do is get your counseling, sign all the paperwork and you're set, right? Not exactly. There are some things...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
Are you currently thinking about a reverse mortgage? Have you been told that with your property value, you really might be better off going with a jumbo or proprietary reverse mortgage, but you really wanted to get the government insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or "Heck-um")? Ha...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
Did you know that if you are a senior borrower, aged 62 and over you can use a reverse mortgage to purchase a home as well as just to refinance your existing home? Many senior borrowers have heard about the benefits of paying off an existing mortgage with a reverse mortgage, that they never hav...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
As I talk to borrowers and their families, I'm often asked what restrictions there are on the use of the funds from a reverse mortgage. The answer is simple, there are no requirements or restrictions on what you can do with your money, only restrictions against what you must do with the proceed...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
I have seen a lot of good that Reverse Mortgages have done for senior borrowers. I've seen them change lives and living situations for the better. I've seen people come out of foreclosure with a reverse mortgage and never have to make another mortgage payment. But is there a time when a...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
Since first offering reverse mortgages, I've often been asked, "How do I/we know if a reverse mortgage is right for me/us?" This is a question that has a different answer for different people. I always start with the same first response, "The first thing I would recommend is ...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
You've made the decision to get a reverse mortgage and now you talk to a bank or mortgage broker and the representative is telling you that you have a choice of the Government Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or "Heck-um") or a Jumbo or "Proprietary Program". Is one better than the other?...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
Many senior borrowers who start looking into reverse mortgages are not aware of it, but there is a fixed rate Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) available. The HECM or "Heck-um" as you may hear it called, is the government insured reverse mortgage program offered by lenders and insured by ...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
Have you been considering a reverse mortgage but are just afraid of some of the negative things you've heard? There are some negative "myths" that senior borrowers have heard about this type of financing that simply aren't true and we're going to expose some of those here. Myth #1 The...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
There seems to be a new phenomenon in the mortgage world known as the reverse mortgage. The ads touting how they can improve quality of life are everywhere and if you're a homeowner, age 62 and over, you receive them in the mail almost daily. Then there are the articles warning that reverse m...
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)  
Many senior borrowers who start looking into reverse mortgages are not aware of it, but there is a fixed rate Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) available. The HECM or "Heck-um" as you may hear it called, is the government insured reverse mortgage program offered by lenders and insured by ...