Home / Tag Archives: Reverse Mortgage (page 4)

Tag Archives: Reverse Mortgage

Reverse Mortgage Lenders Commit to Help Settle Confusion

Following a CFPB report that linked foreclosures to confusion over reverse mortgages, the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) is seeking to help seniors make responsible decisions about their mortgages. NRMLA announced that it has developed a series of tools designed to help seniors better understand the facts about reverse mortgages before they choose to use them. A common misconception about reverse mortgages, the CFPB revealed, is that they are a government benefit rather than a financial product.

Read More »

Reverse Mortgages Put Confused Homeowners at Risk of Foreclosure

A reverse mortgage is a type of home loan that lets older homeowners access the equity they have built up on their homes and defer loan payment until they sell the home, move out, or pass away. The original purpose of reverse mortgages was to allow these homeowners to convert home equity into an income stream or line or credit to use in retirement. Reverse mortgages require no monthly mortgage payments, but borrowers must still pay property taxes and homeowner's insurance. The CFPB released a report that showed nearly 10 percent of reverse mortgage borrowers are at risk of foreclosure because they failed to pay those costs.

Read More »

Ocwen Looks to Increase Market Share

Ocwen Financial continues to make moves to expand its portfolio. The special servicer disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has agreed to purchase $15 billion in mortgage servicing rights from JPMorgan Chase. It's the latest in a string of transactions bolstering Ocwen's portfolio, and the company's not stopping there. Ocwen says a new venture will allow it to compete for the servicing rights of newly originated FHA loans. It is also looking to expand into reverse mortgages and home equity lines of credit.

Read More »

Celink Rolls Out SPOC Technology for Reverse Mortgage Borrowers

Celink, a reverse mortgage subservicer, has implemented a single point of contact (SPOC) module for its clients' borrowers who are in default status. The company's servicing platform auto-assigns a borrower in default to a Celink associate. This associate works exclusively with the borrower until they remedy the default. They will remain the borrower's SPOC through the remediation or foreclosure process. Celink SPOCs are only assigned to a small number of accounts so that associates can provide personalized service.

Read More »

Default Risk in Reverse Mortgage Sector Prompts Lender Exodus

Reverse mortgage businesses accounted for a bigger share of industry casualties during the first half of 2011. Data released Tuesday shows that three lenders, which together made up 46 percent of the market for FHA's reverse mortgage program, called it quits earlier this year. The study noted that one factor impacting the dwindling sector is the possibility that borrowers will miss insurance or tax payments, which can trigger default on federally insured loans.

Read More »

Congress Eliminates $88M in Funding for Housing Counseling

The budget resolution approved by Congress to keep the federal government running through September includes a package of cuts to federal agency budgets, one of which is HUD's Housing Counseling Program. In lawmakers' efforts to trim agency expenditures, $88 million slated to fund counseling efforts on foreclosure and reverse mortgages has been zeroed out. A HUD spokesperson described the curtailment as ""painful cuts,"" noting that the program provides grant funding to about 2,000 agencies across the country.

Read More »

AARP Sues HUD over Reverse Mortgage Foreclosure Actions

AARP, the nation's largest nonprofit membership organization established to support the social wellbeing of individuals over the age of 50, filed a lawsuit this week against HUD on behalf of three surviving spouses of reverse mortgage borrowers who are now facing foreclosure. The lawsuit names HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan as the defendant and alleges that the federal agency has made changes to federal rules that offer protection for surviving spouses to allow its lenders to initiate foreclosure and eviction actions against the plaintiffs.

Read More »

FHA Moves to Protect Reverse Mortgage Borrowers from Foreclosure

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) aims to assist senior borrowers with its newly released guidance on reverse mortgages, or the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program. According to the federal agency, some elderly homeowners are struggling with outstanding property taxes and unpaid hazard insurance premiums. Those who neglect to pay these expenses may face foreclosure, even in instances where the homeowner's mortgage is paid in full.

Read More »

FHA’s Annual Single-Family Business Down 10% from Last Year

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured 1.74 million single-family mortgages during fiscal year 2010, which for the agency ended in September. The collective value of the loans endorsed was $318.8 billion. FHA's loan volume for the year was down 10.3 percent from 2009, and came in below the 1.87 million mortgages it had previously projected would be endorsed in the 2010 fiscal year. The agency's serious delinquency rate stood at 8.4 percent at year-end. At the same time in 2009, the rate was 8.3 percent.

Read More »