Pennsylvania’s top Reverse Mortgage Lenders

Pennsylvania’s top reverse mortgage lenders thru April 2007 according to American Community Survey. The following table shows Pennsylvania’s top 10 originators of HUD HECM (Reverse Mortgage) loans.

Written by charles dennis on August 30th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on education.

Senior’s Money International goes to Canada

The growing demographic category of elderly homeowners has drawn a New Zealand-based reverse mortgage company to Canada to compete with Canadian Home Income Plan, which has a monopoly in the market.

Canadian Home Income Plan is a subsidiary of publicly traded Home Equity Income Trust, which also operates CHIP Mortgage Trust.

Privately held Senior’s Money International operated in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, Headquartered in Mississauga, Seniors Money Canada will initially offer its reverse mortgage product in Southwestern Ontario, with lower interest rates than its rival. (more…)

Written by charles dennis on August 30th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Banks & Lenders and News.

Pat Summerall to pitch Reverse Mortgages

August 29, 2007 — In an attempt to expand their already growing image as the pros in the Reverse Mortgage industry, Fidelis Mortgage signed an agreement with Radio Advantage in Dallas, representing broadcasting legend Pat Summerall.  Mr. Summerall recorded a new 60 second radio spot which is currently airing in the Baltimore, Maryland area.  “The partnership with Mr. Summerall will ensure that we gain a much larger share of the Reverse Mortgage market than we already have in Maryland” says Eric Rittmeyer, President of Fidelis Mortgage.

With Reverse Mortgages continuing to break records year over year, it is important that homeowners 62 and over understand how they work.  With rising healthcare and energy costs, many senior homeowners are finding it more and more difficult to stay in the home they love.  In response to the apparent financial problem’s seniors are facing, the U.S. government created a solution to help seniors enjoy their retirement years.  The solution is the Reverse Mortgage.  Insured by the Federal Government, the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), enables homeowners 62 and over to convert part of their homes’ equity into tax free income without having to sell their home, give up the title, or take on monthly mortgage payments. (more…)

Written by charles dennis on August 30th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Press Release and News.

Delaware’s Top Reverse Mortgage Lenders

Delaware’s top reverse mortgage lenders thru April 2007 according to American Community Survey. The following table shows Delaware’s top 10 originators of HUD HECM (Reverse Mortgage) loans.

Written by charles dennis on August 27th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on education.

Reverse Mortgages fees higher than Subprime Loans

After a decade of retirement, John and Stella Dohrer were increasingly feeling squeezed financially as living costs edged upward year after year.

The Mesa couple weren’t starving, but their Social Security payments weren’t always enough to meet monthly insurance costs.

So earlier this year, they tapped into the equity built up in their modest townhouse on University Drive using a reverse mortgage.

“It’s just been something good for us that gets us over the hump every month,” said Stella Dohrer, 78. (more…)

Written by charles dennis on August 27th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Market News and education.

Press Release: American Reverse Mortgage

There seems to one business not very fazed by the recent onslaught of mortgage whoas…..

American Reverse Mortgage® is the only reverse mortgage lender included in the Hot 500 list and is the fastest growing exclusive reverse mortgage lender in the United States. The company is America’s number 120 fastest-growing business according to the August, 2007 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine.

August 19, 2007 — Safe, U.S. Government Reverse Mortgage, began on October 19, 1989 when the first one was granted to a Kansas woman. Since that date, 329,290 FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) have been provided to Americans age 62 and over. Major organizations have offered positive, informative, advice that assures seniors are protected with the complete and accurate facts about reverse mortgage. These organizations include the AARP, American Bar Association, Better Business Bureau, Federal Housing Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association (FannieMae), National Counsel on Aging, National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association. Specific reverse mortgage literature is available from these organizations on request.

American Reverse Mortgage was founded in 2000 to become America’s reverse mortgage lender and is well on its way to achieve that goal. Operating nationally from a home office in Ocala, Florida, ARM has grown to be America’s sixth largest reverse mortgage lender, according to a HUD report dated August 1, 2007. ARM has grown from three employees in 2000 to over 3,000 in 2007. About 50 reverse mortgage advisors are also certified senior advisors.

Since the reverse mortgage requires a minimum age of 62, ARM felt that its reverse mortgage advisors would be more effective if they were seniors themselves. The average age of ARM advisors is 57 with the age range being from 20 to 92 years old. Also since the FHA reverse mortgage is the most highly regulated FHA mortgage, comprehensive training is required to become a reverse mortgage advisor. ARM has created the most extensive training in the reverse mortgage industry.

American Reverse Mortgage provides all three types of reverse mortgage. The best and most popular is the FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) of which over 329,290 have been written since 1989. In 1996, FannieMae created the Home Keeper Reverse Mortgage. Proprietary Jumbo Reverse Mortgage is also available for higher value homes.

Written by charles dennis on August 20th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Press Release.

Costs and Interest Rates of Reverse Mortgages

The cost of getting a reverse mortgage from a private sector lender may exceed the costs of other types of mortgage or equity conversion loans. Exact costs depend on the particular reverse mortgage program that the borrower acquires. For the most popular type of reverse mortgage in the U.S., the FHA-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), there is an insurance premium of 2% of the loan and a 2% origination fee in addition to normal closing costs, which are typically several thousand dollars, but vary depending on the third-party costs (appraisal fees, title searches, etc.) that must be undertaken. Thus a $200,000 loan would have $8,000 in costs beyond the normal closing costs added onto the loan at the outset. Other programs skip the insurance premium but still require the origination fees and closing costs, and some programs waive the initial costs if the borrower borrows all or most of the maximum amount that he or she is eligible to receive. In addition, a monthly service charge (between $25 and $35) is usually added to the total amount of the loan.In all of these cases, the costs of a reverse mortgage can typically be financed with the proceeds of the loan itself, with the costs and fees being rolled directly into the principal balance of the loan, rather than paid by the borrower in cash. While this does permit borrowers with little or no available cash to get a reverse mortgage, it means that the initial loan principal will be increased, and consequently, that the fees will begin accruing interest.

Interest rates on reverse mortgages are determined on a program-by-program basis, but are typically similar to interest rates offered by Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs). All major reverse mortgage programs have adjustable interest rates that are adjusted on an annual, semi-annual, or monthly basis. Because reverse mortgages have no fixed duration, typically there are no reverse mortgages with fixed interest rates. There are now some new reverse mortgage programs that have fixed interest rates.^[4] Since there are no payments made during the course of the loan the interest accrued on the principle is then added to the principle of the loan.

Some state and local governments offer low-cost reverse mortgages to seniors. These “public sector” loans generally must be used for specific purposes, such as paying for home repairs or property taxes^[3], but most of them are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and often have more favorable interest rates and fewer or no fees associated with them. These programs are typically very restrictive in terms of qualification and location, and many regions, states, and areas do not have such programs at all.^[5]

Written by charles dennis on August 17th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Terms.

« Older articles

No newer articles