subscribe to this page via rssReverse Mortgages, Use a Bank or a Broker?
All Reverse Mortgage Company
5/29/08 7:12pm
After 31 years Mortgage Banking experience working for large banks and Mortgage Bankers, we decided it was time to start serving our senior clients as mortgage brokers. When asked why we chose to do this rather than accepting positions with large banks, we tell people it was an easy decision to ma...
To Sell or To Reverse?
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)
5/20/08 6:03pm
Many people are not aware of all the opportunities available to senior borrowers with the Reverse mortgage program. For example, did you know that HUD does not require any title seasoning or seasoning for time off the market when doing a Reverse Mortgage? What exactly does this mean to senior borr...
House Passes FHA Modernization
reversemortgage.org (NRMLA)
5/12/08 7:03pm
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a comprehensive housing package comprised of two separate bills. The first bill, H.R. 3221, has as its centerpiece, an authorization of $300 billion in FHA refinancing to help homeowners facing trouble meeting their mortgage payments. New FHA-insur...
HUD Permits Borrower-Paid Counseling
www.reversemortgage.org (NRMLA)
5/12/08 7:02pm
HUD Permits Borrower-Paid Counseling
Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published Mortgagee Letter 2008-12 to permit counseling agencies to charge seniors a fee for counseling services. HUD said the counseling fee should be reasonable and customary for the service provided ...
Fixed Rate Vs Adjustable Rate Reverse Mortgages
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)
3/6/08 10:04pm
Being the age I am and having more than 32 years experience in the mortgage banking industry, I always choose fixed rate mortgages for my own financing needs. When the first fixed rate reverse mortgages came out, we received a lot of phone calls from borrowers who were very interested in also gettin...
Is It a Good Time for a Reverse Mortgage?
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)
3/6/08 6:38pm
As industry professionals, we often have an opportunity to sit in on conference calls on market trends and other things that affect reverse mortgages and the senior borrowers who get them. We were on one today that echoed something that we have been saying so it seems that it’s to a point where w...
Reverse Mortgage Costs Explained
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)
3/5/08 11:06pm
Reverse Mortgage Loans are unlike traditional loans or forward mortgages in many ways. Even the costs are figured differently. Because a Reverse Mortgage is often paid to the borrower in monthly payments or in the form of a line of credit that the borrower can access as they choose, the origi...
Comfort in Your Reverse Mortgage
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)
3/5/08 11:05pm
I just finished reading yet another article on the internet by AP Economics writer, Martin Crutsinger, in which he states “Sales of existing homes fell to the lowest level in nearly a decade in January while the median price for a home dropped for the fifth straight month.” His article q...
No Cost Reverse Mortgage!
Michael Branson (CEO ARMC)
2/25/08 2:01am
Reverse Mortgages are a very good tool for many senior borrowers to enable them to access the equity in their home while never having to make another payment as long as they live in those homes. However, a Reverse Mortgage has always been a fairly expensive proposition, usually carrying a price tag...
Non-Recourse Explained
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
2/20/08 7:01pm
One of the things that we always explain to senior borrowers when they ask about reverse mortgages is that they are non-recourse loans. The next question is always, "What is a non-recourse loan?" This is a very important feature of the reverse mortgage and I want to take a moment to explain jus...
Purchase your home with a Reverse Mortgage
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
2/8/08 10:58pm
Many senior homeowners have lived in their homes for a very long time, have no desire to move and have gotten reverse mortgages so that they can continue to live in their homes payment free for life while accessing their equity to help supply them with income or cash to meet their living needs. St...
No Closing Cost Reverse Mortgage
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
2/4/08 11:14pm
Reverse Mortgages are a very good tool for many senior borrowers to enable them to access the equity in their home while never having to make another payment as long as they live in those homes. However, a Reverse Mortgage has always been a fairly expensive proposition, usually carrying a price tag...
Stop Foreclosure with a Reverse Mortgage
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:19pm
Reverse Mortgages are not short term, hard money, bridge or balloon loans normally associated with the type of loans people are forced to get to stop a foreclosure proceeding. But for seniors aged 62 and over, a reverse mortgage can be a life-line that rescues the seniors in danger of losing t...
Reverse Mortgage Rip-Off?
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:18pm
I just finished reading an article about a network news program that did a negative report on reverse mortgages, citing an incident in Los Angeles of a senior borrower who was talked into buying annuities that did not mature until the year 2033 without a substantial penalty. I saw the actual N...
Can You Refinance a Reverse Mortgage?
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:16pm
I received a call from the son and daughter of a senior borrower today and they wanted to know if their mother could refinance her reverse mortgage loan. I answered them honestly that yes, she could, but had to ask why was she thinking about refinancing. The reason I asked for the borrower's m...
What Does the Lender need to Know?
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:13pm
You've made the decision to get a reverse mortgage and you've heard that there is no income or credit qualifying so you think you will have no issues getting your loan. All you have to do is get your counseling, sign all the paperwork and you're set, right? Not exactly. There are some things...
FHA Modernization Bill, What It Means To You
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:12pm
Are you currently thinking about a reverse mortgage? Have you been told that with your property value, you really might be better off going with a jumbo or proprietary reverse mortgage, but you really wanted to get the government insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or "Heck-um")? Ha...
Using a Reverse Mortgage to Purchase a Home
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:11pm
Did you know that if you are a senior borrower, aged 62 and over you can use a reverse mortgage to purchase a home as well as just to refinance your existing home? Many senior borrowers have heard about the benefits of paying off an existing mortgage with a reverse mortgage, that they never hav...
Common Use of Reverse Mortgage Funds
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:10pm
As I talk to borrowers and their families, I'm often asked what restrictions there are on the use of the funds from a reverse mortgage. The answer is simple, there are no requirements or restrictions on what you can do with your money, only restrictions against what you must do with the proceed...
When is a Reverse Mortgage NOT Right?
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:10pm
I have seen a lot of good that Reverse Mortgages have done for senior borrowers. I've seen them change lives and living situations for the better. I've seen people come out of foreclosure with a reverse mortgage and never have to make another mortgage payment. But is there a time when a rev...
When is a Reverse Mortgage RIGHT?
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:09pm
Since first offering reverse mortgages, I've often been asked, "How do I/we know if a reverse mortgage is right for me/us?" This is a question that has a different answer for different people. I always start with the same first response, "The first thing I would recommend is that you seek the ...
Difference between HECM
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:08pm
You've made the decision to get a reverse mortgage and now you talk to a bank or mortgage broker and the representative is telling you that you have a choice of the Government Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or "Heck-um") or a Jumbo or "Proprietary Program". Is one better than the other?...
Fixed Rate Reverse Mortgages
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:07pm
Many senior borrowers who start looking into reverse mortgages are not aware of it, but there is a fixed rate Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) available. The HECM or "Heck-um" as you may hear it called, is the government insured reverse mortgage program offered by lenders and insured by ...
Reverse Mortgage Myths
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 4:05pm
Have you been considering a reverse mortgage but are just afraid of some of the negative things you've heard? There are some negative "myths" that senior borrowers have heard about this type of financing that simply aren't true and we're going to expose some of those here.
Myth #1
The Lender...
Stay at home with a Reverse Mortgage
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/30/08 5:05am
There seems to be a new phenomenon in the mortgage world known as the reverse mortgage. The ads touting how they can improve quality of life are everywhere and if you're a homeowner, age 62 and over, you receive them in the mail almost daily. Then there are the articles warning that reverse m...
Reverse Mortgages and Their Growing Popularity
Michael Branson (CEO All Reverse Mortgage Company)
1/29/08 10:14pm
Many senior borrowers who start looking into reverse mortgages are not aware of it, but there is a fixed rate Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) available. The HECM or "Heck-um" as you may hear it called, is the government insured reverse mortgage program offered by lenders and insured by ...
