Updates on New Reverse Mortgage Loan Limit
It’s official, the reverse mortgage loan limits are now at 5,500 for the remainder of 2009. I’ve received a bunch of questions about it, so here is a quick summary of readers questions:
Q. Will Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands operate under a single HECM loan limit of 625,500?
A. Yes.
Q. When can we [...]
Are Reverse Mortgage Proceeds Really Income?
On February 12, 2009, two commentators on this website initiated a discussion of the appropriateness of using the word “income” to describe RM proceeds. Having waited for well over three months to opine on this issue, it seems now is the appropriate time to do so.
In November 2006, a well respected and long-time reverse mortgage [...]
IRS Denies Koko Taylors Request To Pay Back Taxes With Reverse Mortgage
Grammy winning blues singer Koko Taylor is running into trouble with the Government for failing to pay 0,000 in back taxes, penalties, and interest. The government is threatening to grab most of her income, which includes royalties, social security, and maybe her home.
In May 2008, Taylor offered to use a reverse mortgage to [...]
California Introduces Reverse Mortgage Elder Protection Act of 2009
Earlier this week, California Assembly member Mike Feuer introduced three different bills designed to help protect seniors vulnerable to abuse in nursing homes and exploitation in the marketplace. "Especially in this economy, we need to take every step we can to protect seniors who may be at serious risk of abuse or exploitation," said Feuer. [...]
Huffington Post Describes How Housing Crisis Is Hurting Seniors Looking To Move
Mark Miller is one of my favorite journalists who covers all things Baby Boomer on websites like Retirement Revised, 50+ Digital, and he also contributes to the Huffington Post. Over the weekend, Miller wrote about how the housing crisis is hurting seniors who are unable to sell their homes when they decide to move [...]
Generation Responds To Consumer Reports Reverse Mortgage Article
Generation Mortgage released a statement earlier this week in response to Consumer Reports Money Mistakes: Risks to Watch Out For article. Consumer Reports listed reverse mortgages as one of five financial “come ons” and Joe Morris, chief executive officer of Generation called the article, “Irresponsible, misleading and poorly-researched journalism.”
Morris continued, “Most experienced financial professionals [...]
NRMLA Releases their Guide to Medicaid and the National Aging Services Network
The National reverse mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) is making strides in their quest to become an educational resource for Seniors beyond just reverse mortgages. Today they released their guide on Medicaid and the National Aging Services Network. I haven’t seen a copy yet, but I imagine it is pretty comprehensive as they are using if [...]
HUD Provides More Information About HECM For Purchase
All reverse mortgage Company just informed me that after speaking with HUD’s Atlanta Home Ownership Center, HUD has posted new guidelines regarding the HECM for purchase that supersede Mortgagee Letter 2008-33.
The big question on everyone’s mind has been how is the benefit calculated for the HECM for purchase? According to HUD’s new HECM for purchase [...]
Fitch Affirms Financial Freedoms Servicing Operations
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corporation’s (Financial Freedom) U.S. residential servicer ratings as follows:
Residential primary specialty-reverse servicer rating affirmed at ‘RPS3.’
Fitch also removes the ratings from Rating Watch Evolving.
According to the press release, Fitch completed its operational review of Financial Freedom in January 2009 and found that while they [...]
Griffin Financial Adds New Experienced Reverse Mortgage Professional
Griffin Financial Mortgage recently announced that it added Kristen Ellis as its newest reverse mortgage Loan Officer Support person. “We are honored to have Kristen join our team. It is energizing to add experienced people to our staff that are dedicated to help build our company,” said Robert Griffin, President, Griffin Financial Mortgage.
Ellis brings [...]