Nov/Dec 2021 RMM

FHA Announces Temporary Partial Waivers The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued temporary partial waivers that provide mortgagees with expanded flexibility to help senior homeowners with Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) who are struggling financially due to COVID-19. Details were provided in FHA INFO #21-70 published on September 2 and include: • Temporary partial waiver of Mortgagee Letter 2015- 11. This waiver allows mortgagees to offer repayment plans to HECM borrowers with unpaid property charges regardless of their total outstanding arrearage and is effective through June 30, 2022. • Temporary partial waiver of Mortgagee Letter 2016- 07. This waiver permits mortgagees to seek assign- ment of a HECM immediately after using their own funds to pay unpaid property taxes and insurance on or after March 1, 2020. Additionally, it eliminates the three-year waiting period for such assignments. The waiver is effective through June 30, 2022. “We commend FHA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for exploring all available options to assist senior borrowers who have been impacted by this pandemic,” says Gail Balettie, senior vice president of client satisfaction at Celink and co-chair of NRMLA’s Servicing Committee. “These temporary waivers will give mortgagees the flexibility to further assist impacted bor- rowers to avoid having their loans called due and payable, and potentially having to foreclose on their homes, as a result of life events beyond their control. We applaud this People are talking about ... flexibility and look forward to continue working with FHA and HUD to further improve the HECM program.” Senior Home Equity Tops $9.2 Trillion Homeowners 62 and older saw their housing wealth grow by 3.4 percent or $305 billion in the first quarter to a record $9.23 trillion from Q4 2020, according to the latest quarterly release of the NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI). The NRMLA/RiskSpan RMMI rose in Q1 2021 to 322.89, another all-time high since the index was first pub- lished in 2000. The increase in older homeowners’ wealth was mainly driven by an estimated three percent or $329 billion increase in home values, offset by a 1.2 percent or $23.9 billion increase in senior-held mortgage debt. “New research from Fidelity forecasts the average 65-year-old couple will spend $300,000 on healthcare in retirement, while single women will spend $157,000 and single men $143,000,” says NRMLA President Steve Irwin. “As the Baby Boomer generation grows older, and the strain on government resources tightens, the strategic use of home equity can help retirees cope with these potential challenges. NRMLA Updates Servicing Consumer Guides Working in coordination with subject matter experts from the Servicing Committee, NRMLA updated two of its most popular consumer guides: What You Need to Know About Your HECM After Loan Closing and What Happens When My Loan Becomes Due? What You Need to Know About Your HECM After Closing explains the important role of the loan servicer and the rules, guidelines and timelines that apply to the loan while it remains active. What’s News EVERYTHING NEW YOU NEED TO KNOW 8 REVERSE MORTGAGE / NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2021