Happy 2009!
We have made it to another year. I look forward to brining you even more great insights into the Reverse Mortgage Industry.
If you are an optimist that could be a good thing but if you are a pessimist you are doomed!
by The Mortgage Psychic December 29, 2008
As much as some banks want brokers out of business (CW/BOA), other banks and lenders make money off of us, money they won´t make if they kill the wholesale industry. Fannie/Freddie/and Ginnie are still buying loans, and will as long as the Treasury keeps printing money for them. Brokers are here for the foreseable future, 2009 is not the end.
by Vinnie The Leg Breaker December 29, 2008
Just relax folks. Until the day comes when homebuyers pay cash for their homes, a smart, hard working mortgage broker will always make great living in the mortgage business.
by Kevin CA December 29, 2008
Biggest Advantage of a Reverse Mortgage
As I shift through the internet to find solid information related to reverse mortgages to present on this site, I often find a lot of noise. Noise meaning meaning many people make claims regarding advantages and disadvantages but there is very little information that is universally standard. As I usually advice on this blog, before you take the reverse mortgage plunge, do your homework to find the situation that works best for you.
When I find good information I like to highlight it.
Sue Hunt, a housing counseling programs manager for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta, says reverse mortgages tend to make the most sense for people who want to spend the rest of their lives in their homes and whose total income, including the loan, will be sufficient to cover all their future expenses, she says.
With any type of loan, it’s important to understand the fees, interest rates and repayment terms.
For instance, an important safety feature of an HECM is that your payments from the lender are guaranteed by the federal government. Plus, if your home is sold for less than the loan’s value, neither you nor your heirs will be liable for the balance, which isn’t always the case with proprietary products.
For more information regarding Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta visit them online.
IndyMac’s Reverse Loan Unit May Be Sold Before 2009
In a recent article in Forbes a group of private investors are fast approaching a deal that could place IndyMac back into private hands before the New Year. While many of IndyMac’s assets were poor performing, the reverse mortgage unit is one of the crown jewels remaining of the now defunct bank.
IndyMac Bancorp assets may be back in private hands before the end of the year, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation appears close to a deal with a group that includes a hedge fund and private-equity firms.
Over the weekend,TradeTheNews said a consortium including investment firms J.C. Flowers and Dune Capital Management and the hedge fund Paulson & Co. may buy IndyMac bank, its 33 branches, the reverse-mortgage unit and a $176.0 billion loan-servicing portfolio.
Refinancing Existing Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) and Revision
TO: ALL APPROVED MORTGAGEES
ALL FHA APPROVED HOUSING COUNSELING AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Refinancing Existing Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) and Revision
to the HECM Calculation Software–Single Family
This Mortgagee Letter informs Mortgagees and Housing Counseling Agencies that provide HECM Counseling of statutory changes to the Federal
Read the rest of this entry »
Properties Not Eligible for Reverse Mortgages
- Cooperative units
- Newly constructed residence where a Certificate of Occupancy or its equivalent has not been issued by the appropriate local authority
- Boarding houses
- Bed and breakfast establishments
- Existing manufactured homes built before June 15, 1976; and
- Existing manufactured homes built after June 15, 1976 that fail to conform to the Manufactured Home Construction Safety Standards, as evidenced by affixed certification labels (e.g., data plate and HUD certification label) and/or lack a permanent foundation as required in HUD’s Permanent Foundations for Manufactured Housing Guide.
Reverse Mortgages Used To Pay For Retirement
As America braces for yet another round of mortgage meltdowns, the equity that many seniors depended on to retire is fast shrinking. But as retirement account values fall, seniors need to find a way to fill in the gap.
Even more seniors struggling to pay their bills may consider reverse mortgages next year. A survey of 800 age 65 and older homeowners released this week found that one quarter are either borrowing against their home or trying to sell it in order to generate income to survive the economic crisis, Crestwood Associates and Golden Gateway Financial found. The Oakland, Calif.-based Golden Gateway Financial also reports a 200 percent increase in calls to its reverse mortgage help center involving senior citizens facing foreclosure in the past three months.
Additional Retirement Reading Resources:






