Steve Ranson, President and CEO of HomEquity Bank, provider of the CHIP Home Income Plan, spoke candidly with PJ Wade about current challenges as a reverse mortgage provider and future potential for the reverse mortgage industry. << MORE >>

1600 mortgage professionals from across Canada met in Toronto last week at MORTGAGE FORUM 2011 to exchange ideas and information on mortgages and industry trends, however, reverse mortgages--with the potential to drive a multimillion dollar industry--were not on the agenda. When I spoke with individual mortgage professionals, they were intensely interested and usually spoke of growing interest in this home equity conversion tool. Expect to hear more about reverse mortgages on this professional front...<< MORE >>

"HELP FOR SENIORS: Reverse mortgages expected to draw more interest" by FP Mortgages journalist Paul Barker (page SR 1 and 3). The lead story in the National Post's "Special Report on Mortgages" stressed the tremendous business potential in reverse mortgages. This is not news (my first book 1993). It is news that this potential may become mainstream...To paraphrase a common mis-definition of reverse mortgages, will the Canadian reverse mortgage market be exactly the same as the current mortgage industry, just backwards?<< MORE >>

What will happen and what could happen over the decades the reverse mortgage may exist? Here’s an actual example of how these two issues can combine. One that you can follow in the news and can contribute your comments to...According to Reuters’ Corbett B. Daly, “The lawsuit alleges that the Bush administration in late 2008 changed HUD practices so that a surviving spouse who is not on the mortgage would be required to pay the full loan balance, even if that balance was for more than the home's value ... << MORE >>

Education Notice: National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association NRMLA West

NRMLA West: New Requirements, New Relationships
Fairmont Newport Beach Hotel
Newport Beach, California
March 15-16


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A reverse mortgage is not a desperate last resort although it should be the last choice taken when other acceptable options are available.

Best friend when the fit is perfect, a reverse mortgage can be a worst enemy in two situations...How are you sure advisors fully understand your point of view on staying in the home you know and love?
1. When it is the best solution and is not considered fully, so lesser options, like selling and moving when you don’t want to or need to, are taken.

2. When a reverse mortgage is taken out, and it is ... << MORE >>

What’s one big mistake that can be made in deciding to arrange or avoid a reverse mortgage, as well as when you’re planning your future ("retirement" or whatever you call your decades-long extended living)?
Confusing this thinking about your future with vacation planning.

Thinking outside the box means leaving "retirement" and "aging" stereotypes behind, and broadening your horizons to visualized extended productive living decades and decades into your future ... << MORE >>

Reverse mortgage issues are the issues of life and money.

Even when reverse mortgages are not mentioned, topics relevant to finance, lifestyle, and home equity management are usually relevant. Get in the habit of reading reverse mortgages into what you read, watch, hear about and talk about, and you’ll discover why I say, "Reverse mortgages (RMs) are not as complex as the financial, lifestyle, wealth management issues involved." For instance, the American Association of Retired Persons (www.aarp.org) publication, AARP The Magazine, doesn’t mention RMs, but it features many topics relevant to home equity conversion and management... << MORE >>

Understanding mortgages is an important step toward understanding reverse mortgages.
Merely, having been a mortgage borrower at some time, and even paying one or two off, may not mean you understand the contractual terms and responsibilities involved.

What you don't understand and what you unconsciously assume about mortgages, can make the subtle differences of reverse mortgages harder to appreciate:
The differences are where advantages lie. The similarities are where liabilities and responsibilities lie. For instance, qualification for a mortgage is based on income...not a reverse mortgage, it's based on... << MORE >>

How did you learn about mortgages and home equity management? Traditional education rarely touches on mortgages—the greatest debt that most Canadians will willingly, if not eagerly, take on. Reportedly, mortgages represent approximately two-thirds of total household debt in Canada. Would you like to raise your level of financial understanding, so you'll know how to lower the balance owing on your mortgage? For more on this subject and The "Canadian Mortgage Market Primer" ...<< MORE >>