Over the last several years we have seen HUD reshape the landscape of reverse mortgage lending. Reduced principal limit factors, first year distribution limits and the upcoming financial assessment leave some wondering if we will be able to serve senior homeowners who will truly need our services…
Continue readingNew HECM Products Nixed
There was a rush to market by a handful of lenders to offer fixed rate variant products which still fell within the guidelines of the federally insured reverse mortgage or HECM program. While FHA has not directly addressed these new products Ginnie Mae has.
Continue readingEvery Problem Once was a Solution
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What once worked may be problematic today
Oddly our topic that every problem once was a solution reminds me of the now extinct standard fixed rate HECM. It was a solution to borrowers seeking maximum funds or a guaranteed interest rate which became a problem loan for FHA when assessing risk and performance. This is a prime example of how behaviors, business models or marketing may become problems once they are not up to date anymore. On a personal level we can become angry with ourselves wondering why we act a certain way in a given circumstance. On the surface it may appear to be irrational. But is it? It’s not so much that a current behavior or pattern is irrational but rather that it no longer works. What was once a solution is now a problem.
You may have adapted a new strategy or way of doing business based on…
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Back to Basics
If you look at the federally insured reverse mortgage one could say we have come full circle coming closer to the program’s original intent. What intent?
Continue readingIt’s Not About You!
Children who become caregivers for their aging parents often find themselves facing behavioral changes. Sometimes seemingly overnight, or perhaps occurring more gradually, their once calm, loving parent becomes blunt, even mean — or possibly quite fearful.
Continue readingToo Much Too Soon?
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Reexamining Product Design and Use of Proceeds
The recent overhaul of the HECM program was a watershed event for both the reverse mortgage industry and senior homeowners. The elimination of the Standard Fixed Rate, consolidation to one product, two-tiered upfront FHA premiums and first year distribution restrictions all were born from FHA’s attempt to reign in the HECM program back to its original intent while reducing the risk of defaults and payouts from the MMI fund. The idea was to prevent borowers from using all of their proceeds in the first or early years of the loan which could leave them with little or no financial options once they’ve exhausted all their funds. Also, lower upfront withdrawals and deferred or tenure payments or a line of credit reduce the likelihood that the loan balance would exceed the home’s value in the early years of the loan or when the loan ultimately terminated. Most program changes were spurred by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s report to Congress…
A Bright Future
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Professor Sees Reverse Mortgages as a Cornerstone for Retirement Planning
It’s no small endorsement. Well known Columbia Business school professor Christopher Mayer not only sees a bright future for reverse mortgages but he’s going into business himself. Mayer is tapering his teaching responsibilities at Columbia to serve as CEO of the startup reverse mortgage lender Longbirdge Financial….
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2013: A Turbulent Year
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A Look Back at a Bumpy 2013
For reverse mortgage professionals 2013 will go down as a bumpy ride. And what a ride it has been. In the last ten years I cannot recall a year with more substantial and industry-changing developments. 2013 was rang in with HUD’s announcement they would be ceasing the problematic Standard Fixed Rate Product. While it helped many borrowers who needed maximum proceeds to payoff existing mortgage balances it also added to FHA’s risk of future insurance payouts from its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) fund. One look at the amortization chart of a fixed rate loan with the full upfront distribution and it didn’t take a mathematician to figure out substantial risk was baked into the fixed rate loan. Unfortunately generous payouts in loan compensation unduly influenced some originators where a more flexible adjustable rate loan may have been more fitting.
While politicians may be adept at spending money they are also politically astute knowing a faltering FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program required some painful changes lest they incur the wrath of watchful policymakers and voters. HUD asked for and received the authority needed to make program changes witht the passage of the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act which led to product consolidation. After eliminating the standard fixed rate in April HUD moved to eliminate the standard adjustable and both saver loan programs altogether in favor of one two-tiered product.
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Are HECM Changes Paying Off?
HUD states the turnaround of the HECM portion of the fund is attributable to three primary factors: the economy, mandatory cash appropriation from the treasury and a transfer from the forward loan portfolio.
Continue readingWhat Have We Learned from 2013?
Beyond the top reverse mortgage stories for this year there are some greater lessons to be gleaned from what is sure to be noted as a watershed year for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program. Here are a few take aways for us to consider…
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