In case you missed it, here’s what happened in reverse mortgage news this week:
FHA Updates Condo Approval Guidelines, Includes Reverse Mortgages—Last Friday, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published new guidelines intended to increase the number of condominium projects that are eligible for FHA insurance, heeding the calls of lawmakers and mortgage industry groups who have long pushed for easier condo requirements.
Economic Value of FHA’s Reverse Mortgage Portfolio Grows $7.9 Billion—The financial condition of FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund gained $19 billion in Fiscal Year 2015, driven by a $7.9 billion increase in the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) portfolio, according to FHA’s annual report to Congress released Monday. For the first time since 2008, the Fund’s capital ratio has exceeded its 2% required threshold.
HUD Official Applauds Reverse Mortgage Industry for FHA’s ‘Solid’ Footing—The $7.9 billion climb in the economic value of FHA’s HECM portfolio for Fiscal Year 2015 gave the reverse mortgage industry much to relish at this year’s annual gathering in San Francisco this week, with one Department of Housing and Urban Development official in attendance applauding the performance of both the Fund and the HECM program.
How Tenure Payments Trump the Reverse Mortgage LOC in Retirement Planning—While the line of credit option has garnered considerable attention in financial planning discussions, in certain situations reverse mortgage tenure payments can significantly improve a portfolio’s success rate even further, according to a recent study published in The Journal of Retirement.
Reverse Mortgage Industry Enters New Era of Stability—Also a focus of discussion at an annual reverse mortgage industry conference last week, industry leaders are bullish for the tailwinds laying ahead now that the most critical policy changes are in the rearview mirror and the HECM program has finally found “solid” ground.
Written by Jason Oliva
