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| A host of new reverse mortgage offerings aim to increase originations and inform originators and their prospective borrowers about the fast-growing sector. A recent magazine article about a reverse mortgage lawsuit was attacked by at least one reverse mortgage lender.MortgageDaily.com has launched a new reverse mortgage news section. The offering includes coverage of home-equity conversion mortgage originations, reverse-mortgage litigation and other issues and activity. It also includes links to reverse mortgage statistics.
An article entitled Money Mistakes: Risks to Watch Out For published by Consumer Reports Magazine was called “irresponsible, misleading and poorly researched journalism” by Generation Mortgage Co. Chief Executive Officer Joe Morris. He noted in an announcement Tuesday that it was “not the first unfair representation of our industry” and suggested that some seniors who are facing serious financial challenges might be deterred from reverse mortgages by such reporting. Generation said it originates reverse mortgages from retail and wholesale channels. The article, published in the March 2009 edition of the magazine, said reverse mortgages should only be used as a last resort despite advertisements that recommend using the loans for splurging on travel or paying off credit cards. It cited a lawsuit filed by Betty Adcock against Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp. alleging the IndyMac Federal Bank FSB subsidiary pushed its business partners to maximize proceeds accessed by reverse borrowers so fees and interest charged could be maximized. Even insurance policies were allegedly pushed on seniors to maximize draws. Consumer Reports said Financial Freedom denied the allegations. Real Estate Mortgage Network Inc., which originates a range of loan products including reverse mortgages, will utilize Fiserv Inc.’s servicing platform. The Brookfield, Wis.-based mortgage banker reportedly said it wanted to service all of its loan types on a single platform. HECM purchase loans are now available through MLS Reverse Mortgage, a press release today said. The program enables the purchase of new home without monthly payments or income verification. HUD originally launched reverse mortgages for home purchases last month under Section 2122(a)(9) of H.R. 3221, The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. Golden Gateway Financial, which enables banks to offer reverse mortgage programs, said last month that it launched an online downsizing calculator for reverse mortgage purchase prospects. It is also trying to drive more traffic to its reverse mortgage resource Web site with the addition of two program features, a news release last week said. One enables borrowers to have critical monthly bills paid directly from monthly disbursements, while the other enables monthly proceeds to be disbursed through prepaid cards instead of checks. An integration of the Web sites of SeniorLeadsOnline.com and ReverseVision is expected to improve the delivery and management of reverse mortgages leads, according to a statement yesterday. SeniorLeads generates reverse mortgage leads, while ReverseVision provides a platform for purchasing, uploading and managing reverse leads and originations. LendingTree and GetSmart.com last month said they added pre-screened reverse mortgage leads to their loan lead offerings. LendingTree, a MortgageDaily.com advertiser, said that loan fundings from the 25 million leads it has generated since launching in 1998 total $185 billion. Customizable reverse mortgage newsletters are available at Lead Contact Solutions, a recent announcement indicated. The newsletter is designed to help originators maintain an ongoing presence with loan prospects, prior customers and referral sources. |
