The Reverse Mortgage Industry

Reverse mortgages are an increasingly popular way for seniors to live off the equity from their homes and stop making mortgage payments. Reverse mortgages almost seem to have come out of nowhere. This isn’t the case. Reverse Mortgages have actually been around since the 1960’s. They really came onto the scene in 1987 when the Department of Housing and Urban Development introduced the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or HECM. This product is federally insured. FannieMae, shortly thereafter in 1989, began to purchase reverse mortgages. Since 1987, reverse mortgages have grown in popularity. Over 200,000 home equity conversion mortgages have been funded to date. (HECM’s account for about 90 of the reverse mortgage market.) To demonstrate the growth – nearly 45,000 of those were in fiscal 2005. The history of reverse mortgages before the last twenty years had stories of unscrupulous lenders and a lack of quality regulation and enforcement. That has changed dramatically. Many of the nation’s top lenders are involved in reverse mortgages. There is an industry trade organization which has set a code of conduct. In general, today’s reverse mortgage lenders are kind and courteous. There are over 20 million senior households with approximately 2 trillion dollars in home equity. As incomes become fixed and retirement funds become increasingly hard to find, seniors are discovering a reverse mortgage may be the perfect solution. The growth of reverse mortgages, it seems at this point, is limited only by consumers’ understanding of the product. Reverse mortgages, at their core, are not more complicated than most any other kind of loan. There are certain basic facts that both the borrower and the reverse mortgage originator must be aware of. The Reverse Mortgage Page.com is a good source for reverse mortgage information. What is the potential for reverse mortgages? Over 20 million households could potentially use the product and that number is growing everyday. Moreover, the baby boomers are about to begin turning 62. Many believe reverse mortgages are for completely paid off, moderately priced homes. While these homes certainly are a good fit, reverse mortgages have many more uses. Reverse mortgages can be used to eliminate the existing mortgage, can be used on houses up to 20 million dollars and beyond, and can even be used to purchase a home. Find out more at www.reversemortgagepage.com.

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