Reverse Mortgage (HECM) Counseling

A "Reverse" mortgage (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) is a loan against your home that you do not have to pay back for as long as you live there. With a reverse mortgage, you can turn the value of your home into cash without having to move or to repay a loan each month. The cash you get from a reverse mortgage can be paid to you in several ways:

• all at once, in a single lump sum of cash;
• as a regular monthly cash advance;
• as a "creditline" account that lets you decide when and how much of your available cash is paid to you; or
• as a combination of these payment methods.

No matter how this loan is paid out to you, you typically don't have to pay anything back until you permanently move out of your home. To be eligible for most reverse mortgages, you must own your home and be 62 years of age or older.

Homeowners aged 62 and over who apply for a federally-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) must receive reverse mortgage counseling and a certificate of completion through a national network of HECM counselors approved by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). AAA Fair Credit Foundation is HUD-approved housing counseling agency. Our HUD-certified housing counselors provide expertise to help you through a variety of issues and concerns--including homebuyer education, pre-purchase counseling, mortgage delinquency/default resolution counseling, loss mitigation and money/debt management counseling.

During your Reverse Mortgage session, you will learn about reverse mortgages, tell us about yourself, send us your information and speak with a Housing Counselor to complete the session. If you are considering applying for a Reverse Mortgage and ready to complete the required counseling session please call 1-800-351-4195 to speak with a Certified Housing Counselor or email housing@faircredit.org.

Prior to completing your reverse mortgage counseling session, HUD requires that you read and review several publications about reverse mortgages and that you prepare and review some reverse mortgage loan value comparisons.Click on the links below to review those materials.

• Preparing for Your Counseling Session
• Use Your Home to Stay at Home