A recent article from Bankrate noted that the “housing market bust correlated strongly with a sharp decline in reverse mortgage origination.” However, with federally insured programs due to make some changes, the product could experience a resurgence. Data from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) indicated a significant volume increase during the height of the housing […]
Seniors have used reverse mortgages as a lifeline to deal with urgent financial needs, causing them to fall into a financial crisis. The National Council on Aging says one-third of its counseling clients have mortgage debt that exceeds 50% of the value of their home. When using a reverse mortgage to pay off existing mortgages […]
The House Appropriations Committee passed a spending bill this week that can extend a suspension on the cap placed on the number of government-insured reverse mortgages. This cap was initially set to 2,500 loans in 1987, but was increased to 275,000 in 2006, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association. The cap has not […]
President Barack Obama recently announced that the Federal Housing Administration may need a bailout to the tune of $943 million in taxpayer money to keep the agency afloat. If this were to happen, it would the first time in FHA’s 80-year history that the government-based mortgage insurer would need a bailout. The FHA is taking […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently came out with a report that the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) reverse mortgage program experienced a $2.8 billion shortfall last year as the result of falling home prices. Because of falling home prices, GAO says, those who have a house owe more than what it is worth. As a […]
The Federal Housing Administration has announced that it will be implementing changes to its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program by the end of the month. These changes include a moratorium on the Standard Fixed Rate HECM reverse mortgage and creating guidelines for conducting financial assessments of borrowers and an escrow account to pay for […]
The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the recent fall of mortgage rates. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of mortgage rates, this week saw a decline in mortgage rates with the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropping to 4.80% the week of April 21, compared to 4.91% the week before. A 15-year […]