Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Reverse mortgage industry leader Finance of America (FOA) announced updates on Thursday to the interest rate for HomeSafe Second, its proprietary second-lien reverse mortgage product. FOA President Kristen Sieffert said the product allows the company to address gaps in the existing HELOC and traditional home equity loan market.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

APRIL 15, 2025

More than $700 billion in home equity is effectively trapped and inaccessible to homeowners due to a variety of economic circumstances, including employment shocks and shifts in the market that negatively impact their credit scores. This exacerbates existing barriers to credit and access to home equity.

Equity

Housing Wire

MAY 8, 2025

homeowners would consider tapping their home equity via products like a home equity line of credit ( HELOC ) due to ongoing concerns about the economic climate, stemming from a rise in volatility and uncertainty over the past three years. Still, the rise in the potential use of home equity lending comes with caveats.

Lending

Housing Wire

JUNE 20, 2025

Welcome back to Tech Pulse — a new weekly series rounding up the latest in technology , including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Chief technology offficer Jason Bressler shares how these tools boost speed, accuracy and client engagement — ushering in a smarter, more automated lending era.

Lending

Housing Wire

JULY 28, 2025

Total originations of open-ended home equity lines of credit ( HELOCs ) and closed-end home equity loans increased in 2024 by 7.2% That’s according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s 2025 Home Equity Lending Study. The reasons for tapping home equity are shifting. 31, 2024, analyzed $24.8

Equity

Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

Real estate investment trust Redwood has expanded its home equity platform, Aspire, to include alternative loan products amid affordability challenges in the housing market, the company announced Tuesday. Through Aspire, launched in September 2023, Redwood directly originates home equity investments (HEIs).

Equity

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 4, 2024

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced last week that the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage ( HECM ) limit for 2025 will be $1,209,750. The recently announced increase to the HECM limit is exciting news for reverse mortgage borrowers,” she told RMD in a statement.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

California-based mortgage lender loanDepot on Wednesday announced the expansion of its equityFREEDOM portfolio to provide nearly 50 million U.S. homeowners with access to their tappable home equity. loanDepots home equity loan lets customers access the equity in their homes in a lump sum in one of three, fully amortizing loan terms.

Equity

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

Finance of America (FOA), the leading reverse mortgage lender, presented a robust outlook last week in its third-quarter 2024 earnings and is aiming to hit the ground running with business in 2025. The product was first introduced in 2018, marking the industry’s first-ever second-lien reverse mortgage option.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

MARCH 25, 2025

Global investment bank Cambridge Wilkinson today announced the closing of a forward flow agreement up to $100 million for a private real estate lending platform specializing in short-term bridge , fix-and-flip, construction and land development loans.

Lending

Housing Wire

APRIL 16, 2025

Home equity levels among U.S. Among the lesser anticipated consequences, high amounts of home equity can limit the amount of financial aid that some prospective college students are eligible for. Generally speaking, homeowners also appear reluctant to tap into their home equity despite its meteoric growth over the past five years.

Equity

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 20, 2024

House of Representatives proposes to relieve Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers of mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs) once they reach a certain level of home equity , aligning FHA policies with those of conventional loans. Mortgage insurance exists as protection from foreclosure on low equity loans.

FHA loan

Housing Wire

APRIL 8, 2025

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. announced the incorporation of hybrid e-closings for reverse mortgages on Tuesday, aiming to incorporate its experience with the technology on the forward side of the mortgage business into its reverse mortgage division for the first time. Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.

Closing

Housing Wire

JANUARY 3, 2025

Reverse mortgage professionals made more inroads into the forward mortgage industry in 2024. This happened through dedicated conversations, partnerships between reverse and forward mortgage companies, and expanded activities in reverse that stemmed from acquisitions and expansions of existing divisions.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

Tim Nelson, a longtime reverse mortgage industry professional and reverse department manager at VIP Mortgage in Scottsdale, Arizona , spent 20 years in the home lending arena before shifting his focus entirely to reverse. Nelson is now a reverse mortgage borrower in addition to being an industry professional.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Reverse mortgage business and mortgage business generally is not where people want it to be. That was a repeated idea shared by a group of reverse mortgage professionals when asked to assess what they see as the biggest industry challenges of the year. I think that’s true from an industry standpoint.

Industrial

Housing Wire

APRIL 28, 2025

billion deal to acquire digital real estate brokerage firm Redfin , industry observers are still trying to understand the future of one key asset: Bay Equity Home Loans. While the companies remain quiet on their plans, some Bay Equity employees arent waiting for answerstheyre already looking for new jobs. They will be a great fit.

Loan Officer

Housing Wire

JUNE 13, 2025

Mortgage veteran Glenn Stearns is taking a different approach with his latest venture. Kind Lending , a national wholesale mortgage lender and his second brainchild, is built on lean operations and a focus on efficiency — a contrast with his first company, Stearns Lending, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

Guild Mortgage CEO Terry Schmidt said during a third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday that Guild’s reverse mortgage division continues to contribute to companywide strategies, and that additional interest in reverse has been observed. The aging and demographics [provide] great opportunity.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JUNE 3, 2025

While reverse mortgages in the U.S. Lenders in other countries who make use of home equity tapping in a similar way can have different perceptions and market activity in their territories and some U.S. But as the world keeps spinning, reverse mortgage players in other countries are making moves. based lenders have taken notice.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JANUARY 28, 2025

Last week, business-purpose residential mortgage lender Dunmor announced that it received a minority equity investment from Newfi Lending , a nonagency mortgage lender owned by funds managed by Apollo Global Management. Apollo has 16 lending platforms in the U.S. and one of them is Newfi, which is a non-QM lender.

Residential

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 10, 2024

Mortgage lenders can also benefit from these projects through a variety of products, including home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). The vast amount of home equity accumulated across the country could be a path to addressing these issues. And there are now 32 million borrowers who have at least $100,000 in tappable equity.

Renovation

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

There is constant movement in the mortgage industry with the desire for growth and expansion. Thus, it has never been more important to focus on due diligence in analyzing a mortgage industry acquisition target. Regulatory compliance The mortgage industry is heavily regulated and subject to scrutiny by both State and Federal agencies.

Due diligence

Housing Wire

APRIL 10, 2025

Reverse mortgage professionals have long sought financial advisors as referral sources, but might find that those professionals are not particularly willing to entertain the notion that the product would be right for their clients.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

A bill introduced into the Oregon Senate that seeks to limit the amount of equity a reverse mortgage lender can receive after the sale or transfer of a property could potentially halt the availability of proprietary product offerings in the state. The proposal was introduced by Sen. Deb Patterson (D-Salem) and is co-sponsored by Sen.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

Describing the modern-day mortgage market as challenging would be an understatement, to say the least. Mortgage interest rates have steadily ramped up throughout 2024. The average rate throughout 2024 for 30-year fixed mortgages was 6.72% higher than it was during the 2008 market crash.

Loans

Housing Wire

JUNE 13, 2025

Non-QM lending allows borrowers with nontraditional income sources, such as self-employed individuals, freelancers, and gig workers, to qualify for mortgage financing. Mortgage market expectations are projected to favor the non-QM model for the next two years and beyond. debt-to-income (DTI) ratio (33.3% percent and 6.2

Due diligence

Housing Wire

MARCH 10, 2025

billion in equity. ” Rocket and Redfins approaches to lending and brokerage service have always been two halves of one vision to make the whole home-buying process magical, said Glenn Kelman , CEO of Redfin.

Purchase and sale agreement

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 23, 2024

UWM has debuted a new cash-out refi product without mortgage insurance. United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has the mortgage industry abuzz over its latest product, a higher-risk, cash-out refinance at a time of economic uncertainty. Cash-out refis have gained popularity due to record-high home equity levels in recent years.

Equity

Housing Wire

MAY 20, 2025

Kind Lending today announced the appointment of Geri Farr as its senior vice president of West retail sales. Farr, who has over a decade of leadership in the mortgage industry, will focus on helping the company grow its expansion across the West and is tasked with strengthening teams and driving performance across the region.

Lending

Housing Wire

MAY 13, 2025

Late-cycle lending risk is always a factor in every economic cycle we experience in the housing market. FICO score data The FICO score data for housing has been impressive since the Qualified Mortgage (QM) laws were implemented after 2010. With rising wages, cash flow for most homeowners has been stable for the past 14 years.

Bankruptcy

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 29, 2024

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced this week that the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage ( HECM ) limit for 2025 will be $1,209,750. The HECM limit is unique when compared to FHA limits that govern Title II forward mortgage lending programs. Recent data estimates that U.S. Recent data estimates that U.S.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 9, 2024

The reverse mortgage division of Rate formerly known as Guaranteed Rate recently announced the hiring of reverse industry veteran Jesse Allen as the president for Rates reverse lending division as the company heads into 2025. Naturally, this includes reverse mortgages, he explained. That role is an active one, Allen said.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JUNE 9, 2025

Unlike the pre-2008 era, stricter lending standards and robust regulations have kept mortgage delinquency rates low, significantly lowering the odds of a catastrophic collapse. In 2008, DTI ratios averaged 43%, leaving borrowers vulnerable to payment shocks from risky adjustable-rate mortgages as home values plummeted.

Marketing

Housing Wire

JANUARY 24, 2025

Business-purpose residential mortgage lender Dunmor announced Thursday that it has received a minority equity investment from Newfi Lending , a nonagency mortgage lender owned by funds managed by Apollo Global Management. Established in 2021, Dunmor operates nationwide in the consumer direct and broker channels.

Equity

Housing Wire

APRIL 4, 2025

Following other recent proprietary product development news, Longbridge Financial announced on Friday the launch of a new variation for its private fixed-rate reverse mortgage offering. Platinum Peak is now available in at least two reverse mortgage loan origination systems (LOS) for brokers.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

Feldman & Feldman began working with clients throughout Texas to file lawsuits under the truth in lending act against EasyKnock in 2021. According to Feldman & Feldman, EasyKnocks defamation suit forced the law firm to withdraw from the truth in lending suits it was involved in.

Lending