Several working groups have been formed and are busily convening and discussing the draft HECM Handbook that the Department of Housing and Urban Development released late last month.
Subject matter experts from these working groups are carefully reviewing guidelines related to origination/counseling, closing/post-closing/endorsement, underwriting/Financial Assessment, HECM for Purchase/HECM Refinance and servicing.
Members can review the Handbook on their own by visiting the member site, NRMLAonline.org. The deadline to submit comments is November 15, although NRMLA is seeking an extension through December 31 given the vast amounts of information that need to be reviewed.
On today’s Teams call with the industry, HUD officials noted that a final version of the handbook could be published as early as spring 2022, although it will depend on the number of comments received and the number of changes that need to be implemented in response to industry comments.