Kristen Sieffert, president of Finance of America Reverse, speaks during The Gathering by HousingWire on Monday, April 21, 2024. Photo credit: AJ Canaria Reverse mortgages became an unexpectedly prominent topic during certain parts of The Gathering by HousingWire, held earlier this week in Scottsdale, Arizona. The reverse lending industry’s most prominent attendee — Kristen Sieffert of Finance of America Companies (FOA), parent company of industry-leading lender Finance of America Reverse (FAR) — offered insights into various topics about the reverse mortgage product category. Among these topi ..read more

Older adults and people with disabilities are often prone to financial distress, and they may require more resources to better understand their circumstances and options, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Among a series of 24 examples of federal financial literacy programs for these groups, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) counseling program was cited as an example. “This program provides counseling to all applicants of the federally insured reverse mortgage program, the Home Equity Conv ..read more

As any professional involved in it will know, bringing new people into the fold of the reverse mortgage business can be a difficult task. Reputational challenges, the narrow focus of the product and low mortgage market penetration are just a few of the reasons why. With the right ambassador, that task is made simpler. The partner engagement program at Finance of America Reverse (FAR) aims to bring new people and professional relationships into the orbit of the nation’s top reverse mortgage lender, and it is spearheaded by Ryan Schmidt, FAR’s vice president of partner engagement. After learning ..read more

Seniors could choose to employ home equity through a reverse mortgage or other equity-tapping product to manage a series of expenses in retirement, but when it comes to managing their tax burden, it can get more complicated. Steve Resch, vice president of retirement strategies at industry-leading lender Finance of America Reverse (FAR), told Financial Advisor that the utility can vary when it comes to tax savings. “It depends on an individual’s tax bracket and their priorities, but there are several options for higher-net-worth individuals,” Resch said. “One option is using home equity to fund ..read more

New York-based multichannel lender US Mortgage Corporation previously announced that it was renewing its efforts in the reverse mortgage industry, having hired industry veteran Ken Krajewski to serve as managing director and head of reverse mortgage lending. To go deeper into the company’s renewed efforts in the space, RMD sat down with Krajewski and US Mortgage Corp. President Scott Milner about the groundwork the company is laying in the reverse space today, and what it hopes to achieve from it tomorrow. Investor interest, product offerings When asked about investor interest, Krajewski said ..read more

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Tuesday announced a new rule that governs retirement advice, requiring more financial advisers to follow stricter fiduciary standards when dispensing advice about retirement-focused investments. The rule is designed to “protect the millions of workers who are saving for retirement diligently and rely on advice from trusted professionals on how to invest their savings,” DOL said in its announcement. “This final rule will achieve this by updating the definition of an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Intern ..read more

Earlier this month, California-based multichannel mortgage lender CMG Financial announced that it had acquired Norcom Mortgage’s retail assets to expand its operations in the Northeast. The deal, however, will not include core members of Norcom’s well-known team of reverse mortgage professionals, including John Luddy, Norcom’s senior vice president of reverse lending. In interviews with RMD, Luddy and other core members of his team — including vice presidents and branch managers Garrett Duffy and Robert Filippone — explained that they will aim to find a more optimal fit for their continuing ef ..read more

Even homeowners who have paid off their mortgage may be finding that their available equity is not enough to downsize, according to a story published Saturday by The New York Times. The article also notes that reverse mortgages are a potentially valuable tool for seniors in the current housing environment. Roughly 80% of older adults live in the homes they own, but housing costs and interest rates have combined to create a challenging scenario for some older people seeking to downsize into a more manageable home. The prices for smaller townhouses or condominiums can, in some cases, outweigh th ..read more

Ginnie Mae has filed a point-by-point response to the initial complaint of the case brought against it by Texas Capital Bank (TCB), which alleges that the government-owned company “extinguished, in return for no consideration, TCB’s first priority lien on tens of millions of dollars in collateral” stemming from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-sponsored Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program. Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Ginnie Mae largely deny any allegations made against the company in the original complaint. They have admitted ..read more

Retirement at 65 has been a longstanding norm for U.S. workers, but older investors believe that not only is such an outcome unfeasible, but they’re likely to face more challenging retirements than their parents or grandparents. This is according to recently released survey results from Nationwide, with a respondent pool that included 518 financial advisers and professionals, as well as 2,346 investors ages 18 and older with investable assets of $10,000 or more. The survey follows other ongoing research into the baby boomer generation as it approaches “Peak 65.” The investors included a subset ..read more