Here’s everything you need to know to catch up on this past week in reverse mortgages, which brought more analysis on the relaxing of rules regarding Home Equity Conversion Mortgage for Purchase transactions, the departure of a familiar name, and some commentary on the program from the man at the top.
New Guidance Releases HECM-for-Purchase Market Handcuffs — The Department of Housing and Urban Development quietly made changes that the industry had been demanding for years: HECM for Purchase borrowers will no longer have to wait for a certificate of occupancy to apply for a loan. Here’s what that means for your business.
CIT to Sell Financial Freedom, $900M Reverse Mortgage Portfolio — The CIT Group offloaded Financial Freedom to an unnamed buyer, ending a short relationship that began with CIT’s purchase of OneWest bank back in 2015. The company said the move will allow it to focus more on its core business; Financial Freedom had existed as a servicing arm only since 2011, when it shuttered both its retail and wholesale origination channels.
Carson: New Reverse Mortgage Rules Will ‘Stop the Bleeding’ — HUD Secretary Ben Carson faced several questions about the HECM program while testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, expressing support for removing the loans from the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund and allowing owners of co-ops to receive HECMs.
HUD Cites Reverse Mortgages As Solution to Senior Housing Stress — HUD talked up the potential for reverse mortgages to solve the growing senior housing crisis in its quarterly Evidence Matters publication, and called on researchers to further explore the potential uses of the products as Americans age.
AAG Opens New Operations Center in Austin — Industry leader American Advisors Group continued its expansion push by christening a new office in Austin, Texas, which will eventually house 175 employees. AAG has also recently sent out feelers to launch a forward-mortgage entity and a real estate brokerage arm.
Nationwide Equities supports charity
The Mahwah, N.J.-based Nationwide Equities raised $10,000 for the North Jersey chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which supports breast cancer research. Nationwide human resources director Danielle Concolino led the matching fundraising drive, which collected $5,000 from employees and a matching $5,000 from Nationwide.
“We are often caught up in our own concerns, and forget there are more devastating issues facing many of us today,” Nationwide resident Glenn Wallace said in a statement.
Written by Alex Spanko
