Open Mortgage's CEO Scott Gordon has announced the opening of a new Branch in Honolulu, Hawaii. This new Branch is represented by Branch Manager, Wendy Oshiro. Wendy's expertise focuses on helping seniors maintain their independence with a loan product known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), or reverse mortgage products. They can be for equity purposes or for purchasing a new primary residence.Click to continue

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has announced the availability of the 2013 version of Use Your Home to Stay at Home, the official reverse mortgage consumer booklet approved by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).

Use Your Home to Stay at Home is a user-friendly guide to help older homeowners understand the pros and cons of a reverse mortgage. Federal law requires that all individuals who are considering a reverse mortgage receive unbiased counseling by a HUD-approved counseling agency and receive a copy of the NCOA guide.Click to continue

As part of its continuing effort to help families find decent housing and to prevent future foreclosures, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has announced more than $42 million in housing counseling grants to 468 national, regional and local organizations. As a result of this funding, hundreds of thousands of households will have a greater opportunity to find housing or keep their current homes.Click to continue

A new study from the MetLife Mature Market Institute shows the age of those seeking a Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) has plummeted in the four years since the collapse of the housing market in the U.S. The study also finds that reverse mortgages have evolved into a way for many older Baby Boomers to help manage urgent financial needs. Boomers, age 62–64, currently represent one-in-five prospective borrowers of the product, which was once associated with a much older age group.Click to continue

LTC Global Inc. has announced that it has acquired a controlling equity interest in EquiPoint Financial Network Inc., a national distributor of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) reverse mortgages. EquiPoint, based in San Diego, Calif., is a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-approved direct endorsement lender. EquiPoint principal Bruce D.Click to continue

Reverse mortgages are national security assets. They are part of the solution to America’s escalating entitlements and mounting national debt. They are national debt-busters. A fresh narrative crafted around the above ideas is needed if we are to build champions for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) and reverse mortgages at a time of deep anxieties about our national debt.

On June 22, White House Budget Chief Peter Orszag resigned, in part, because of frustration over Congress and the Obama Administration’s inaction on our looming national debt crisis.Click to continue

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has announced that it is postponing implementation of its premium changes until Monday, Oct. 4. Originally, it was announced by FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens that a target date of Tuesday, Sept. 7 had been set for implementation of its premium changes. FHA will lower its upfront premium simultaneously with the increase to the annual premium.Click to continue

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in Mortgagee Letter 2010-14 has announced the acceptance of electronic signatures on third party documents included in the case binder for mortgage insurance endorsement as long as they are in accordance with Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), as applicable. This policy will apply to forward mortgages and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs).Click to continue

In the beginning, there were 50 lenders chosen by lottery in a pilot program. The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) authorized each lender to make just 50 Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), a novel home equity loan without monthly repayment obligations.Click to continue

Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) and private reverse mortgages gave birth to a new asset class, but the sharp financial minds on Wall Street missed this seminal event for almost a decade. Then in 1998, Lehman Brothers tapped a young investment banker to start its reverse mortgage business, the first on Wall Street.Click to continue