Sun West and PenFed Announce Joint Reverse Mortgage Initiative

Last Updated on Friday, 19 March 2010 15:35 Friday, 19 March 2010 15:32

Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) and Sun West Mortgage Company (Sun West) today announced a joint initiative that allows PenFed to offer reverse mortgage services to its members. Under this new initiative, PenFed will initially market the federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) reverse mortgage to its members located in Washington, D.C.; Maryland and Virginia. PenFed expects to launch this product nationwide after the initial pilot is complete.

This development will be particularly beneficial to PenFeds members because the PenFed Reverse Mortgage eliminates the upfront origination fee - two percent of the adjusted property value - and the $35 monthly servicing fee, which are customary in the industry. Consequently, PenFed's competitively priced reverse mortgage will make additional home equity available to the homeowner.

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Genworth Financial Launches Zero Servicing Fee Reverse Mortgage

Last Updated on Friday, 19 March 2010 16:04 Friday, 19 March 2010 15:21

Genworth Financial Home Equity Access, Inc. (“Genworth Equity Access”) has taken another step to making reverse mortgage loans more affordable for senior homeowners nationwide. This week, Genworth Equity Access eliminated the monthly servicing fee for all of its fixed rate reverse mortgages. “By eliminating the monthly servicing fee, our analysis shows that our average client can now gain access to an additional $3,500-$4,500 of their home’s equity,” said Pete Engelken, President of Genworth Equity Access.  “For many of our clients, this additional cash access can make a huge difference in their lives –and we are committed to helping more seniors remain in their homes through this lower cost reverse mortgage.”
 
Combined with a low, fixed rate of 5.56%, Genworth Equity Access’ zero servicing fee reverse mortgage is changing the way clients look at reverse mortgages. Michael Fullam, a reverse mortgage broker with Trinity Mutual in Oakland, Ca, stated, “I had a client that had done a lot of research into reverse mortgages. It wasn’t until they found out that Genworth introduced its zero service fee reverse mortgage that they were ready to move forward. They were elated that they could now access enough equity through a reverse mortgage for it to make sense for them. They have already submitted their application and are on their way to being mortgage payment free!”

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Security One Lending Hires Tane Cabe to Head Credit Union and Community Bank Division

Last Updated on Friday, 19 March 2010 16:00 Friday, 19 March 2010 15:19

Security One Lending has secured Tane Cabe, the former owner of Security Reverse, based in Gig Harbor, WA. The combination of the two organizations will bring together "best of breed" origination forces, mortgage banking expertise and marketing/fulfillment systems as they relate to the underserved Credit Union and Community Bank sector. The mortgage banking operation, which is based in San Diego, will continue to handle all underwriting, document, and funding/insuring responsibilities.

"We believe the combined entity will be well positioned to compete for market share as the industry, in my opinion, experiences consolidation during the next 18 months," said Torrey Larsen, President of Security One Lending. "Tane has built a scalable business model that is very intriguing to us. We believe both credit unions and community banks have been an underserved market. Security One Lending has also acquired the systems and work flow architecture, including a dedicated CRM tool, designed to focus exclusively on this business segment. The leadership and proven track record of success that Tane brings to our organization are impressive and will enable Security One Lending to grow during a year of business consolidation," said Larsen.

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HECM for Purchase: Waiting on Texas

Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 14:40 Written by W. Scott Norman Wednesday, 17 March 2010 14:31

Since the days of the Republic of Texas, the Texas Constitution prohibited the forced sale of homesteads except for nonpayment of the mortgage, property taxes, home improvement loans or for property settlements in certain divorce and probate proceedings.



After 154 years, the voters of Texas finally approved reverse mortgage lending in 1999.  Since then, over 32,000 senior homeowners have obtained a reverse mortgage.  After ten short years, Texas now ranks third in the United States in total reverse mortgages originated.



According to the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending, in the last 12 months, the Commissioner has not issued any disciplinary action based on complaints against a reverse mortgage broker or banker.


 

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