Congrats on making it to another Friday. The weekend is almost here, but before you take off, here’s what happened in reverse mortgage news this week.
How HUD Policy Changes Impact Reverse Mortgage Take-Up, Default Rates —There have been numerous changes to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) in the last few years and there are already new proposals for 2016. A recent study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College summarizes some estimated effects of the new HECM program changes, which include the Financial Assessment and initial draw limitations.
Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association Unloads Comments on FHA Proposals — Before the comment period for the Federal Housing Administration’s latest round of proposed changes closed, the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) voiced its concerns about the changes in a 30-page document sent to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this week.
Chicago Man Ordered to Pay Reverse Mortgage Scam Victims $2.4 Million — A Chicago businessman, Mark Diamond, was ordered to pay $2.4 million to the victims of a reverse mortgage scam he allegedly perpetrated for decades. A lawsuit was filed against him in 2009, accusing Diamond of bilking senior homeowners living in Chicago’s south and west side neighborhoods out of more than $1.3 million through the scam.
Retirement Journal Details Reverse Mortgage Strategies in New Paper — A recent paper published in the Summer 2016 issue of Retirement Management Journal looks at research on various retirement strategies that reverse mortgages can be used for. The central theme of the paper focuses on sequence-of-return risk and reverse dollar-cost averaging.
As Reverse Mortgage Volume Fades, These Cities Shine Bright —Reverse mortgage volume has been on the decline for most of this year, aside from a slight increase from January to February. In the most recent HECM endorsement numbers through June 2016, there were however a few a few states that did see increases in volume.
Written by Alana Stramowski
