rid of her credit card and student loan debt and make the repairs she wants.” Read the full story at https://wapo.st/3wektHe. In Washington, they’re talking about … NRMLA Submits Comments on Revised Appraisal Validity Period On behalf of its members, NRMLA submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that recommended recent changes to the appraisal validity period should apply to HECM servicers and that the FHA Connection’s automatic case number cancellation procedures be updated to reflect the extended time frames. Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2022-11, published July 12, extends the initial appraisal validity period from 120 days to 180 days and the appraisal update validity period from 240 days to one year for most Federal Housing Administration Title II mortgages and HECMs. In its comments, NRMLA says the policy changes detailed in ML 2022-11 are very welcome, as increasing appraisal validity periods decreases the administrative and financial burdens associated with obtaining appraisal updates, which in turn help mitigate mortgage origination and servicing costs incurred by borrowers. “Unfortunately, the Mortgagee Letter does not address the extension of appraisal validity periods in the context of the servicing and loss mitigation of HECMs,” NRMLA says. “We believe that HUD’s failure to specifically address the extension of ‘as-is’ appraisal reports required for HECM short sale and HECM liquidation claim transactions may be an oversight.” NRMLA requested that HUD clarify the matter. HECM Cap Language Included in THUD Appropriations Bills Language that allows the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to continue insuring HECMs was included in a package of six appropriations bills that passed the U.S. House of Representatives on July 20. The package, H.R. 8294, includes the fiscal year 2023 Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations (THUD) bill. Earlier that same day, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee released its version of the THUD appropriations bill that includes the same HECM cap language. NRMLA and its legislative team played a critical role in getting the HECM cap language added to both bills. Under the current HECM statute, there is a limitation on the number of HECMs the FHA is authorized to insure. Since 2007, Congress has approved suspensions of the authorization cap. Ryczek Joins NRMLA Board Stephen Ryczek NRMLA’s board of directors unanimously voted to have Stephen Ryczek, president of Constellation Mortgage Solutions (CMS), Southfield, MI, join the board for the remainder of calendar year 2022 to fill the vacancy created by the departure of former ReverseVision President and CEO Joe Langner. CMS announced in early February that it had acquired ReverseVision. Ryczek joined Mortgage Builder in 2017. He was promoted to president and general manager in 2020 when Constellation Software acquired Mortgage Builder. He has a diversified background in technical program management and product development for large-scale, enterprise-hosted software solutions for the financial industry. He joined Mortgage Builder after working for Fiserv for more than a decade as an executive and managing director in its mortgage technology division. 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 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 / NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2022
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