As building owners and managers today push hard to increase the total value of their facilities, they’re looking for new ways to save money, cut resource consumption, improve building health and enhance competitiveness.
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The FHA reverse mortgage program is popular with seniors who want to convert the equity they have in their home for cash. As underwriting guidelines have changed over the last few years with regards to people doing cash-out refinances, the FHA reverse mortgage guidelines have remained somewhat unchanged.
As long as a senior meets the age requirements and has equity in their property, they are eligible.
One of the rules of the FHA reverse mortgage program is that the senior agrees to pay their property taxes and keep the home in good condition – but apparently many seniors have fallen behind their property taxes and FHA is planning on addressing the issue with some upcoming changes. A
According to both anecdotal evidence and statistical data, strategic default (when a borrower purposefully defaults on a mortgage despite having the financial ability to continue making payments) is on the rise.
Precise figures are hard to come by. Morgan Stanley estimates that strategic defaults represent 12% of all defaults in February, while research from the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index has yielded 31%. On a nominal basis, it is estimated that 600,000 borrowers strategically defaulted in 2008.
FHA became the loan of choice for Eugene/Springfield buyers after the housing bubble burst. Those that didn’t have high credit scores and/or large down payments could get a low down payment mortgage insured by FHA at a lower overall cost than with private mortgage insurance. (PMI)
That has already changed for some buyers. Those with at least 5% down and a high credit score can often get better overall payment through private mortgage insurance carriers than they can from FHA since the UFMIP (up front mortgage insurance premium) that is charged on every FHA loan increased from 1.75% to 2.25% last year. This