FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Update

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) counseling services are being offered through the FHA to provide guidance for senior homeowners aged 62 or older to use FHA-insured mortgages to convert their home into equity. According to FHA, a clarification on this issue states that prospective HECM borrowers are currently prohibited from paying for counseling services until FHA issues guidance. Lenders, however, may continue to pay for services through a lump sum contribution to a HUD-approved HECM counseling agency, or on an individualized basis.

For more information regarding the FHA’s HECM program and counseling services, please visit http://www.fha.gov/reverse/index.cfm and http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcc_home.cfm