NRMLA annual meeting leaves its impact on the Windy CityDarryl HicksReverse Mortgages,NRMLA,Chicago,Weicher
Addressing the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association
(NRMLA) 2004 Annual Meeting in Chicago, the government's top
housing official, Dr. John C. Weicher, said the average homeowner
using a reverse mortgage today is somewhat younger compared to
those a decade ago, and more couples are taking advantage of the
program, representing a dramatic shift in demographics since the
program's creation in 1990.
NRMLA is pleased to announce that a record-breaking crowd of
nearly 400 people attended the conference at the InterContinental
Chicago, to discuss business and regulatory trends in reverse
mortgage lending and network with industry peers.
Key to the meeting's success was the dynamic group of speakers
who volunteered their time to discuss engaging topics, ranging from
the "New Science of Wealth Span Planning," to "A Daughter's
Perspective on Getting Her Mother a Reverse Mortgage" and "The
Power of Networking to Gain Additional Reverse Mortgage
Business."
Dr. Weicher, Deputy Assistant Secretary/Federal Housing
Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
commented that until a few years ago, the typical reverse mortgage
borrower was a 76-year-old female.
Today, the average borrower is 74 years old, and females
represent 48 percent of the market compared to 57 percent in 1990,
according to Weicher. Couples now account for 36 percent of all
reverse mortgage transactions, compared to 30 percent in 1990.
"These enlightening statistics support some of the recent trends
we've been seeing, namely that a greater number of couples in their
early- to mid-70s are using reverse mortgages either as a lifestyle
enhancement tool or to build a standby cash reserve that they can
use at their discretion to pay for future expenses," said NRMLA
president Peter Bell. "This is a different profile from the
76-year-old widow who needed a reverse mortgage to supplement her
daily living expenses."
Weicher attributed the surging popularity of reverse mortgages
to several factors, including effective marketing by lenders,
strength of the housing market with steady increases in property
values and record low interest rates.
HECM program update
During his keynote address at the NRMLA Annual Meeting, Dr.
Weicher provided the following updates on proposed Home Equity
Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program changes approaching within the
next several months:
†reduced borrower signatures required, a change
anticipated to be implemented in October,
†streamlined number of loan documents required, probable
November implementation date,
†updated IACS loan servicing system, probable May 2005
implementation date, and
†proposed regulation establishing new HECM counseling
standards. This includes developing protocols dictating how a
counseling session must be conducted. HUD also plans to convene
regular meetings with lending and counseling partners to address
problems. This change will probably be implemented in 2005.
NRMLA Web site expansion
Also at the Annual Meeting, NRMLA's director of Internet
operations, Jean Gordon, announced a split of NRMLA's Web site into
two areas: one for consumers and the other as a separate business
Web site for lenders and vendors. Advertising opportunities will be
available on the business Web site. To help promote NRMLA's
National Aging in Place Week campaign, from Sunday-Saturday, Nov.
7-13, and the new Aging In Place Council, Gordon is also developing
a new site at www.ageinplace.org.
The planned launch for all three Web sites was set for
October.
Darryl Hicks of the National Association, of Reverse
Mortgage Lenders, may be reached by phone at (866) 264-4466, by
e-mail via
[email protected] or visit
www.reversemortgage.org.
