just trying something in HTML - 06/29/09 04:25 PM
… (0 comments)

Reverse Mortgages for Purchase are starting to take off - 06/29/09 09:02 AM
Reverse Mortgages for Purchase have been available for years, but only as a "Jumbo" propietary loan. Last year, the govenment finally started allowing it for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM's) which was good timing, considering that most of the Jumbo products were discontinued late last year.
The first HECM for purchase closed in March because it took HUD a while to get the guidelines staright (we're all still waiting for the guidelines for the HECM for Co-op's)
The Reverse Mortgage for purchase is starting to take off. Although very little data is available at this point, from speaking to lenders and … (0 comments)

"Selling and Moving Out" is not an alternative to a Reverse Mortgage - 06/26/09 08:51 AM
I hear all the time from elder law attorneys and financial planners who don't understand how Reverse Mortgages work, that "the client should just sell the property."
What they fail to comprehend is that over 89% of seniors want to stay in their home (according to AARP) and many have told me that they hope to die in the home that they have lived in for so much of their lives. Telling them to sell their property is not only inconsiderate and won't happen, but in today's environment where much of their value has diminished lately, is probably a bad move … (10 comments)

Still Waiting for Reverse Mortgages for Co-ops - 06/25/09 11:14 AM
I know I've posted about this before, but it has now been almost eight months! since the government announced that the Federally Insured Reverse Mortgage, the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) would be allowed for Co-ops and we still have no idea when thsi will actually be put into effect.
This may not apply to most of the country, but here in the NorthEast, it is becoming a big problem. Teh problem is that a lot of borrowers (I have about a dozen) got caught when all of the propietary (Jumbo) Reverse Mortgage products that allowed for Co-ops, stopped last year … (5 comments)

Reverse Mortgages are Non-Recourse loans - Right? - 06/24/09 03:14 PM
Atare Agbamu is a Reverse Mortgage veteran who has recently discovered that there is a problem in a recent mortgagee letter that limits the non-recourse aspect of a Reverse Mortgages to sales only.
What this means is that HUD and everyone in the Reverse Mortgage business have been saying that Reverse Mortgages are non-recourse loans for many years. This was interpreted as the fact that when the loan terminates because of sale or after the death of the last borrower, the lender would accept whatever the home is worth, even if the loan balance is higher.
A slight change in the … (0 comments)

Reverse Mortgages are getting more press - 06/22/09 03:58 PM
I was going to put some links up for the recent articles and Television pieces on Reverse Mortgages, but there were too many!
Most of them were pretty good, but there are still so many uneducated people out there that still call Reverse Mortgages "loans of last resort" and who think that anyone taking a Reverse Mortgage is deperate. This is clearly not the case.
Many Reverse Mortgage borrowers have many other options and choose a Reverse Mortgage because of the many benefits.  
… (2 comments)

CNBC Interview of WSJ Reverse Mortgage writer - 06/15/09 03:43 PM
Nick Timiraos who wrote a very good piece in the WSJ last week was interviewed along with a CNBC Real Estate Consultant about Reverse Mortgages. Although his article was very good, he comes off as not so happy about the product. It's a pretty short clip. I think if they gave him more time, he would have been able to articulate a little more. … (1 comments)

Jumbo Reverse Mortgages (continued) - 06/15/09 03:36 PM
I am trying to determine when one of the Jumbo products that I mentioned last week (Bank of America's Platinum and First Reverse's Jumbo) make sense.
It looks like the proprty value has to be close to or over two million dollars to see any real benefit over the ususal FHA insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)
Both Lenders told me that their products don't work for a co-op and are basically for very high priced homes. LTV's are miniscule at between 16-26, depending on age. So take the middle of that  (21) for a 75 year old borrower who could get … (0 comments)

Follow up on Jumbo Reverse Mortgages - 06/12/09 02:49 PM
Just to reiterate, there are some Jumbo Reverse Mortgage products available. The products don't make sense unless the property is HUD inelligible or if it is worth close to Two Million dollars or more.
Bank of America offers the product in AZ, CA, DC, DE, FL, GA, NC, SC, TX & VA.
First Reverse offers the product in AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IL, MI, MA, MD, NY, NC, NH, NJ, NM, MD, NV, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, WA, VA, WI.
… (0 comments)

Believe it or not, There are some Proprietary "Jumbo" Reverse Mortgage Products Out There - 06/12/09 02:42 PM
After John Dugan's speech about the dangers of propietary (Non-FHA) Reverse Mortgages, I decided to look deeper in to what Proprietary (also knows as Jumbo) Reverse Mortgages are available out there. I thought they were gone, but new products are sprouting ("Green Shoots.")
Before I say what's out there, first a caveat: These products are at VERY LOW LTV's (15-30) What that means is that they ONLY make sense at very high home values (Well over $1 million, maybe even $2 million.) I am not sure what other advantages they provide, but I am still learning as much about them as I can.
… (0 comments)

After a speech about Reverse Mortgages by John Dugan the Comptroller of the currency, there is some debate on CNBC - 06/11/09 08:50 AM
John Dugan gave a speech two days ago and said that there were soem inherent risks in "propietary" Reverse Mortgages. Some large newpapers picked up on some of his comments. I think everyone would agree that there are soem inherent risks in propietary Reverse Mortgages. However, they represent less than One Percent of the Reverse Mortgage loans today, with over 99% being insured by the government. Here is the twelve page speech below "Consumer Protections for Reverse Mortgages" "Consumer Protections for Reverse Mortgages" jry1938 Publish at Scribd or explore others: Research Business & Economics Magazines & Newspape Finance magazines 10k Yesterday, … (0 comments)

Great article in The Wall Street Journal today - 06/10/09 09:15 AM
The Wall Street Journal published a great article about Reverse Mortgages today entitled: "Seniors Drawn to Mortgages That Give Back." In it, Nick Tirimaos writes that many people are taking Reverses and how they have helped so many. He also writes that the potential for government losses from loans that are woth more than the value of the home are possible in the future, but unknown today. It is a great piece and, as I have said before, the general tone in the media has improved greatly since last November when Reverse Mortgage provisions were included in the stimulus bill. The link … (5 comments)

Reverse Mortgages are non-recourse loans - 06/09/09 10:53 AM
Most people do not understand that Reverse Mortgages are Non-Recourse loans. That means that if the loan grows larger than the value of the home when the loan terminates (because of sale or death) the lender has to eat the difference. If the opposite occurs and the loan balance is less than the value of the home, the borrowers or their heirs keep the difference.
The lender can only collect the value of the property (upon termination,) they cannot come after the borrowers or their heirs for one dollar, once the property is sold.
… (0 comments)

Using a Reverse Mortgage to Save a home from Foreclosure - Part 3 - 06/04/09 10:53 AM
Now that we've established that Reverse Mortgages can help many people in foreclosure and that for many of them, a Reverse Mortgage may be their only option to save their homes, the big issue is how to deal with the shortfall between what they qualify for and what they owe.
Right now, I am actively negotiating with several lienholders (both first liens and second liens) to accept a short pay-off that they will get from the proceeds of a Reverse Mortgage. This is not an easy process and every lender is different. Some are much more amenable and some are very difficult. … (4 comments)

Using a Reverse Mortgage to Save a home from Foreclosure - Part 2 - 06/02/09 07:57 AM
Continuing the theme of using a Reverse Mortgage to save a home from foreclosure - the first issue is really the fact that for many people in foreclosure who should be helped (you can read my earlier posts to see why I believe over 80% of the current foreclosures should not,) a Reverse Mortgage is the ONLY viable option that they have.
Most homeowners in foreclosure cannot qualify for any kind of refinance. Most modifications do not really help anyone out.
Any homeowner 62 or over automatically qualifies for a Reverse Mortgage. The only question is: How much do they qualify for? This brings us to the biggest issue that … (10 comments)

 
Pinter

Michael Pinter

Brooklyn, NY

More about me…

First Meridian Mortgage

Office Phone: (718) 906-6132

Cell Phone: (917) 701-5666

Email Me

Everything you ever wanted to know about Reverse Mortgages.


Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog