“If you think you’ll have trouble covering a future long-term care need, you can get a reverse mortgage now, when home values are high,” Ashford writes. “An unused line of credit grows over time, so your balance will have increased by the time you need the money.” Read the full article at bit.ly/3OUCMYV. Reverse Mortgages Provide Cushion With the stock market getting volatile but the housing market still hot, reverse mortgages have become a more attractive tool for older Americans who need cash for retirement but want to stay in their homes, according to an article by CNBC.com writer Andrew Osterland. “This is still a great opportunity to consider a reverse mortgage,” says Wade Pfau, Ph.D., a principal and adviser with Tysons Corner, VA-based McLean Asset Management. “There’s been a big increase in housing prices, and interest rates are still low, historically speaking.” Osterland adds that reverse mortgages have developed a strong following in the financial planning profession, with advisers like Pfau recommending them as a potentially useful option in retirement distribution management. Read the full article at cnb.cx/3ODsMUa. In Washington, they’re talking about … FHA Announces More Relief for HECM Borrowers The U.S. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued these waivers to provide mortgagees with expanded flexibility to help senior homeowners with HECMs who continue to experience significant financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • 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 December 31,” according to FHA. • Temporary partial waiver of Mortgagee Letter 201607: “This waiver permits mortgagees to seek assignment of a HECM immediately after using their own funds to pay unpaid property taxes and insurance on or after March 1, 2020, by temporarily eliminating the three-year waiting period for such assignments. The waiver is effective through December 31,” according to FHA. “As the nation continues its recovery from COVID19, these waivers offer relief to HECM borrowers who were unable to make timely property charge payments due to financial hardships resulting from the pandemic,” FHA says in FHA INFO 2022-64. Senate Confirms Julia Gordon at FHA By a vote of 51-50, the U.S. Senate on May 11 confirmed Julia Gordon as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Assistant Secretary for Housing and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner. Vice President Kamala Harris provided the tiebreaking vote. “We congratulate Julia Gordon on her confirmation vote. Given her impressive housing background, she’s ideally suited to lead FHA. We look forward to working with the incoming commissioner and her key staff on several critical issues that need to be addressed in the HECM program over the coming weeks and months,” says NRMLA President Steve Irwin. Most recently, Gordon was president of the National Community Stabilization Trust, a nonprofit organi- zation that supports neighborhood revitalization and affordable homeownership. And now you’re up to date. What’s News continued from page 9 LET US KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT. This forum is the place for readers to share their opinions with fellow colleagues about the direction of the reverse mortgage business and other retirement trends. Submissions should be limited to 100 words or less and submitted to Associate Editor Darryl Hicks at dhicks@dworbell.com. 10 REVERSE MORTGAGE / SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2022
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