In case you missed it, here’s what happened in reverse mortgage news this week:
Reverse lender launches new HECM product. Reverse Mortgage Funding announced it will release a new, fixed rate Home Equity Conversion Mortgage called the “HECM Choice,” which will be made available immediately to correspondent lenders and brokers. The loan allows a borrower to take an upfront draw, with additional funds available after year one in the form of tenure or term payments.
Live Well Financial followed suit with another product launch. Days after the announcement of RMF’s HECM Choice product, Live Well Financial said it will begin offering its own reverse mortgage, the HECM Fixed Advantage. This loan allows the borrower to take the upfront draw and a subsequent draw after 12 months post-closing.
Ocwen was slammed with $2 billion settlement. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Ocwen Financial Corp. to provide $2 billion in principal relief to homeowners, alleging the mortgage servicer committed “systemic mortgage misconduct” toward consumers.
The top reverse mortgage stories of the year covered a range of topics. The scope of the most popular RMD stories of 2013 included news ranging from product changes to mergers, as well as new entries into the reverse field.
NRMLA sought to sidestep Dodd-Frank reverse mortgage counselor requirements. The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association submitted comments to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, asking that reverse mortgage counselors be excluded from new rules relating to homeowner competency assessments.
Written by Jason Oliva
