Feds announce changes to reverse mortgage program
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 10 months AGO
A home for sale in Moses Lake. The Federal Housing Administration announced changes Wednesday to its Home Equity Conversion program.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | November 3, 2023 1:30 AM
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Housing Administration released new proposed policy updates to its Home Equity Conversion Program, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“At HUD, we’re constantly working to enhance, update, and streamline our key programs to make them accessible and easy to navigate for those we serve,” HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge wrote in the statement. “We urge the public to provide us feedback on our new proposed changes to Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, so we can best benefit seniors, their families, and lenders.”
Home equity conversion mortgages, also called reverse mortgages, can be a boon for seniors who own their homes but whose income has dropped. With a HECM, the lender makes payments to the borrower based on the equity in the home. The loan does not need to be repaid until the borrower no longer lives in the home or fails to meet the obligations of the loan. When the loan becomes due, it can be repaid by selling the home or using other assets. If the home is sold, the proceeds are used to repay the loan, and any remaining equity goes to the borrower or their heirs.
The proposed changes would streamline certain requirements and reduce operational challenges associated with servicing an HECM portfolio, according to the statement. Key changes include:
• Allowing mortgage servicers to contact borrowers by phone to verify occupancy for the program’s required annual occupancy certification;
• Allowing outstanding homeowner’s association dues to be included in the calculation of a repayment plan for borrowers who are behind on their HECM financial obligations;
• Expanding the ability of mortgage servicers to work with borrowers who are behind on their property tax or hazard insurance by an amount up to $5,000 without calling the mortgage due and payable;
• Allowing mortgage servicers to assign a HECM to HUD after the servicer has funded a cure for a borrower’s delinquent financial obligations so long as the borrower has made all property charge payments for one year and all other assignment eligibility criteria are met;
• Streamlining requirements for executing alternatives to foreclosure and updating existing incentive payments for successful completion of loss mitigation options; and
• Providing a new incentive payment to mortgage servicers for completing these alternatives.
“The HECM program remains one of the cornerstone programs on the market to help seniors who want to stay in their own homes as they age,” Federal Housing Commissioner Julia R. Gordon wrote in the statement. “These proposals benefit seniors with HECM mortgages as well as their families, and they also facilitate participation in the program by HECM lenders.”
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.