After a nearly three-year delay, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has finally released an update to its FHA condominium rules. The new rules, which take effect October 15, 2019, allow for FHA insurance approval on individual condominium units and ease burdensome FHA-insured reverse mortgage application requirements on condos, expanding access
Eleventh Circuit Rules Reverse Mortgage Companies Not Prohibited from Foreclosing on Non-Borrowing Spouses
Mortgagees of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (“HECMs,” more commonly known as reverse mortgages) obtained a significant victory in an important federal appellate court, which ruled last month that non-borrowing spouses are not protected from foreclosure by the statute authorizing the HECM program. In Estate of Jones v. Live Well Financial, Inc., the United States
Florida Third District Court of Appeal’s Ruling in Favor of Reverse Mortgage Lender Signals New Positive Outlook for Non-Borrowing Spouse Issue
Reverse mortgage lenders received a significant victory in Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal last week when the court issued its decision in OneWest Bank, FSB v. Palmero. After previously ruling in Smith v. Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. and Edwards v. Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. that the surviving spouses of borrowers who had taken
Oregon Regulates Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Originators and Servicers in New Law
Oregon’s legislature continues to add state level regulations to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (“HECM,” more commonly known as a reverse mortgage) marketplace. In 2015, the state imposed a series of content and presentation requirements on any “advertisement, solicitation, or communication” HECM lenders used to induce potential borrowers to apply for a HECM loan. When
HUD Publishes Final HECM Rule
Last year, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) released a set of proposed rules affecting Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) for notice and comment. After receiving 83 comments and responses, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its final rule on January 19, 2017. The final rule, entitled “Strengthening the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage
HUD Proposes Mandatory Assignment of HECMs
As part of a broader push to update its regulations regarding Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs, more commonly known as reverse mortgages), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on August 11, 2016. HUD is seeking comments on a regulatory change that would require mortgagees to assign
FHA Issues Proposed Rules Related to Home Equity Conversion Mortgages
Last week, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) released for notice and comment a set of proposed rules affecting Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM), more commonly known as reverse mortgages. Below are highlights of the major changes.
On the origination side, the proposed rules revise the definitions of expected average mortgage interest rate and Initial
HUD Reverses Course (Again) on Non-Borrowing Spouses
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) continues to grapple with how mortgagees and servicers of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), commonly known as reverse mortgages, should proceed where a spouse that is not a party to the loan agreement or mortgage (a “Non-Borrowing Spouse”) survives a recently deceased borrower. In an August 24,