Recent program updates to government-insured reverse mortgages include the elimination of a form and the addition of a new reverse mortgage agreement. A Maryland firm claims to be the biggest reverse mortgage lender in that state and the 10th biggest U.S. reverse lender, while a lead generation firm has increased the quality of its reverse mortgage leads.
The Federal Trade Commission supports a measure proposed in December by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council that would protect prospective reverse mortgage borrowers from deceptive claims and help them make better-informed decisions, an announcement last month indicated.
The agency highlighted its efforts to clean up bad practices like with its consumer brochure, Reverse Mortgages: Get the Facts Before Cashing in on Your Home’s Equity.
In Mortgagee Letter 2010-07, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced revisions to the model home-equity conversion mortgage loan agreement. In addition, several data fields were revised on Fannie Mae Form 1009, Residential Application for Reverse Mortgages.
Another change involves Freddie Mac Form 65/Fannie Mae Form 1003, Uniform Residential Loan Application, which will no longer be permitted for use with HECMs.
The updates are effective on cases assigned on Aug. 1 or later.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said in written testimony that HECM volume during fiscal 2009 was $30.2 billion. He was speaking at a hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.
Great Oak Lending Partners claimed in a March 16 announcement that it was the tenth biggest U.S. reverse mortgage lender during February. The standing was reportedly determined from HECM endorsement reports. Great Oak also said it ranked as the biggest reverse mortgage lender in Maryland.
The average value of homes owned by prospective reverse mortgage borrowers have stopped falling, Golden Gateway Financial reported last month. The national average, self-reported, home value for seniors rose to $381,895 in the fourth-quarter 2009 from $369,762 in the third quarter. The findings were based on usage data from Golden Gateway’s online reverse mortgage calculator.
Mortgage lead generator Reverse Mortgage Directory LLC said in an April 6 statement that new loan-to-value filters help weed out unqualified prospects. The company noted that one recent improvement addressed the lowering of principal amount factors by HUD — a change that cut loan limits on HECMs by 10 percent.
Los Angeles-based Reverse Mortgage Directory noted that a 2009 partnership with TARGUSinfo “dramatically improved lead quality.”
