With the October 4th deadline approaching, what can be done to help your Reverse Mortgage clients obtain an FHA Case Number and be locked in under the current HECM guidelines?

The most important piece of the puzzle will be counseling.  We have been speaking with many Reverse Mortgage Counseling Agencies and they are definitely starting to see a rush of business with the upcoming changes.  Some HECM Counseling Agencies that used to schedule appointments within 2 days, are now reporting that their earlist dates are at least 2 weeks out. 

We strongly recommend that you to speak with your clients about the urgency involved and encourage them to call every counseling agency on their HUD compliant list to find out which agency is scheduling the quickest.  There are still agencies that are scheduling within 1 to 3 days (sorry we can't tell you who they are) so please insist that your clients call every agency on their list to get the earliest possible appointment.

In addition, you will need to provide your clients with the new documenation requirements as of Sept. 11 (Details can be found in our last blog post).   Most lender's software make these items available to you, and some also add a counselor's access code.  This access code will enable the counselor to review the Reverse Mortgage Documents that you provided to your client.  This is very helpful to have the counselor explaining the exact Reverse Mortgage numbers that you presented to your client.

If you fail to provide these documents to your client prior to counseling, the counselor will terminate the session, and mail out a copy of the documents to your client.  This will only delay the process, and hinder your ability to obtain an FHA Case Number before Oct. 4th.

All of us here at Reverse Pipeline Management will be working diligently on every file to ensure that we have an FHA Case Number assigned for every client that has the necessary documentation submitted. If you are not a current client of ours, and would like to learn more about our Reverse Mortgage Contract Processing services, please give us a call.  You'll be glad you did!   

HUD has published its new Counseling Handbook which contains information on the new HECM Counseling Protocol which becomes effective on September 11, 2010.

Counselors are now required to:
Review the client's level of understanding
Discuss the client's needs
Revew the features and costs of reverse mortgages
Examine the borrower's obligations in a reverse mortgage and alternatives to reverse mortgages
Provide the client wit information regarding purchasing annuities with reverse mortgage proceeds
Review the client's level of understanding of the information covered in the counseling session

To Accomplish this, counselors must provide clients with the following documents:
HUD's Preparing for Your Counseling Session
Total Annual Loan Cost Disclosure
Amortization Schedule
Loan Comparison
The NCOA's booklet, Use Your Home to Stay at Home

Please notify your clients about the new changes, and be prepared with the documents that the counselors will be providing.  It is always best practice to review these documents with your clients prior to their counseling session.  Most lenders make these documents available through their Origination Software.  For the State Specific Disclosure "HUD's Preparing for Your Counseling Session" and the NCOA Booklet, please see the "Forms" page, in the "Client Login" section of our website.

It seems to be official now, according to yesterday's Reverse Mortgage Daily, there will be a decrease in borrower proceeds, and an increase to the annual MIP charge.  This will take place on October 4th of this year, and the decrease in proceeds will be anywhere from 1% to 5%. 

Typically, any borrower with an assigned FHA Case Number, will be protected under the current policy, so this change should be no different.  We will notify you, if we hear otherwise.  This will be a great time to speak with borrowers who are on the fence, or are considering a refinance.  

We will be ready for the rush of submissions prior to October 4th, to ensure that all of our client's borrowers have an FHA Case Number assigned prior to the deadline.  

Read the entire Reverse Mortgage Daily Article Here. 

Hi, and thanks for stopping by our blog at rpmreverse.com. Check back here often for important news and updates for the Reverse Mortgage industry, as well as Reverse Pipeline Management.