Get Educated: Homeowners find out additional details from a reverse mortgage lender or use tools like the internet to get more details on reverse mortgages. The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association may also have some insight into reverse mortgage lenders in your area.
Independent Counseling: Before being able to be approved for a reverse mortgage, the borrower will need to work with independent counselors through either the AARP or through a local HUD-approved counseling agency. This counseling can be done in person or over the phone. Counselors will review other options including housing, social services, health and financial alternatives as well as other home equity conversion options including property tax deferral. The counselors will also discuss the financial implications of a transaction like this and the potential consequences including tax liabilities.
Application Process: Homeowners will then work with their loan officers to complete an application and choose their payment plan in the form of either a lump sum or monthly payments, a line of credit, or a combination of all three. The lender will disclose all of the details about the loan and the loan amount and all estimated costs as dictated by the federal truth in lending act. The application will also include verification data including social security information, deed to the home, information on existing mortgage (if any), and counseling certificate.
Processing: The lender will order an appraisal of the home to determine the value and the appraiser will also make sure the home meets the FHA guidelines for the physical condition of the home. Repairs may be required if any component of the home doesn’t meet the guidelines for the physical condition of the home. Repairs are the responsibility of the homeowner and any expenses occurred in this case are the responsibility of the homeowner as well.
Underwriting: Once the application and all necessary paperwork required to accompany the application are submitted, the process of underwriting the loan begins. By this time, the loan parameters have been agreed to by the lender as well as the borrower and include things like payment options, frequency of loan interest rate adjustments, and loan amounts. The underwriting process takes about 4-8 weeks to underwrite the loan package. Some underwriting may be done faster, some slower.