How do you fix the reverse mortgage and expand its availability? Researchers presented their ideas last week
There’s no shortage of ideas when it comes to just how to strengthen the federally-insured reverse mortgage and expand its reach to older homeowners. Last Monday, the Brookings Institution hosted a symposium entitled “Reverse mortgages: Promise, problems, and proposals for a better market”. Participants included AARP’s Debra Whitman, Stephanie Moulton of Ohio State University, University of British Columbia professor Thomas Davidoff, Longbridge CEO Chris Mayer, and Laurie Goodman from the Urban Institute. The event is part of the Brookings Institution & the Kellogg School’s meetings on retirement security. These are not pending proposals for the Home Equity Conversion mortgage, nor are they being debated by lawmakers. However, these policy think tanks play an important role in our federal government and help shape public policy.
Despite improvements, Secretary Carson pushes for 3 key changes
While we’ve seen no official mortgagee letter or Congressional action on recently-proposed reforms to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage- some key changes were restated last week in HUD Secretary Ben Carson’s written remarks to the House Financial Services Committee. Legislative proposals such as the elimination of a national lending limit and the removal of the HECM from FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund may hinge on next month’s Actuarial report to Congress. The report details the financial health of the program. However, the potential elimination of HECM-to-HECM refinances could be enacted outside of Congress by the FHA as an administrative change that doesn’t require Congressional approval. While opposed by key industry stakeholders, such a change could be held forth to lawmakers as confirmation of the agency’s continued commitment to the stewardship of the program should next month’s report reveal increasing financial liabilities.
The water is not quite under the bridge
Truth be told, recent fiscal year insurance claims provide little if any insight as to how effective previous policy changes may have been. Think of the reverse mortgage program’s financial liabilities as a large river. Notable incidents upstream will not be felt
Political gridlock, proposed changes & CFPB finding on HECM APRs
We’re in the full swing of the political season as the 2020 presidential race is underway. In a recent LGBTQ Town Hall hosted by CNN on October 10th, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro called out the agency’s head Ben Carson for his remarks during an internal meeting while visiting HUD’s San Francisco office.
The Washington Post reported in September “Carson also lamented that society no longer seemed to know the difference between men and women, two of the agency staffers said”. During the LGBTQ Town Hall candidate, Castro said, “The comments that Secretary Carson, my successor, made a couple of weeks ago are shameful. When you’re housing secretary, you’re there to serve everybody. And his comments made clear that he’s not able to serve everybody”. A HUD spokesperson denied the use of any derogatory language. It’s reported that Carson plans to leave HUD after the 2020 presidential election to return to the private sector should Trump be reelected.
And in other news, distraction and gridlock in the nation’s capital may be a good thing- at least when it comes to proposed additional changes to the federally-insured reverse mortgage. Two changes that remain unsettled are the return to geographic or county lending limits instead of the current national lending limit, and the removal of the HECM from FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Both reforms were promoted in the Trump Administration’s Housing Finance Reform plan released earlier this year in March.
In his prepared written statement for last month’s hearing on the HECM NRMLA President & CEO Peter Bell wrote, “Area-by-area’ loan limits penalize homeowners who have improved and maintained their homes over the years and have accumulated more equity as a result of higher home values. Applying the forward mortgage concept of ‘area limits’ to a financial resource (HECMs) created for a completely different population at a completely different time of their life would be ill-advised”.
Proposed changes linger after Congressional hearing
As one commenter on HECMWorld put it ‘The HECM program got through the hearing all but unscathed’. Very true considering our long history of continued reductions in Principal Limit Factors and restrictions on how proceeds are distributed. That being said, we have several significant HECM changes that have yet to be finalized or announced with an implementation date which has many of our viewers asking when if these changes will be finalized, and if so when.
Of the three most notable changes, two are legislative requiring Congressional approval. The first is an unnamed pending House resolution which would eliminate the national lending limit for HECMs and instead revert back to county-by-county lending limits- or the FHA area maximum loan limit. How such a change would reduce FHA’s risk exposure from HECM loans remains to be seen. Homeowners with higher valued homes in rural counties stand to be impacted the most.
The second would be the removal of the HECM from the
Despite the positive development in Condo approvals for HECM loans, there’s one catch when it comes to spot approvals that have gone largely unnoticed. Plus: the GAO recommends 9 changes to the HECM program…
Recent improvements, racial targeting, and some surprising suggestions
Despite the impeachment drama in our nation’s capital, the House Financial Services Committee’s hearing on the HECM was held as scheduled. It shows that some Congress members view of the HECM has evolved and some interesting proposals were put forth from the expert witnesses…
Younger borrowers are taking longer mortgages- then comes a reverse?
When debt is king and aging populations are exploding across developed countries, more are finding themselves with a mortgage throughout their adult years. Lifelong mortgages may soon become the rule rather than the exception. Overall baby boomers are not doing too badly when compared to younger generations, but they have challenges as well. Fannie Mae reports over 51% of baby boomers are still paying a mortgage. CNBC columnist Bob Pisani writes that 45% of baby boomers born between the years 1946 to 1964 have zero savings for retirement…
While we can debate the exact percentages one trend is emerging. Fewer older American will be paying off their homes before retirement, or for that matter before they die.That should come as no surprise as only…
Secretary Ben Carson’s prepared remarks for recent Senate hearing confirm HUD’s mission to enact key HECM reforms
While politicians squabble over the government’s role in making homeownership a reality, older homeowners who wish to use their home’s value to age in place were left out of the debate in the hearing room. That doesn’t mean the HECM program is not facing some significant changes. In his prepared remarks, Secretary Carson outlines three changes- two which would require Congressional approval, and the third a mere policy change by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)…
First the good news- there are no indications of further HECM principal limit factor (PLF) reductions or dropping the current interest rate floor. Second- you may want to watch the current national lending limit for federally-insured reverse mortgages. HUD is recommending Congressional approval to…
I’ll never forget it. As I drove down the wooded driveway I saw it- a 40-foot used RV. I was a bit perplexed as I approached the front door of the couple who had inquired about a reverse mortgage the week before. There was no application submitted or even completed for that matter. I quickly learned they assumed their loan would go through and decided to buy the RV to treat themselves for an upcoming family reunion. Sadly they didn’t qualify.
The lesson? The poor spending habits of older homeowners not only continue after they get a reverse mortgage, but are often one of the largest contributing factors why they needed to eliminate an existing mortgage payment in the first place...
