| Age limits on reverse mortgages drop to 60
Sixty-two, 61, 60. The age requirements for one reverse-mortgage product just got younger.
Melville, N.Y.-based Lender Lead Solutions (www.lender leadsolutions.com, 888-775-3631) recently introduced Simple60, a new reverse-mortgage product available to homeowners aged 60 and older. Reverse mortgages offered to date require that borrowers be at least 62 years old.
"For every 100 people I talk with about reverse mortgages, I lose 20 to 30 of them because one spouse is younger than 62 or they don't want to pay the higher closing costs attached to the entire value of the home,'' said David Peskin, Lender Lead Solutions' chief executive officer. "We do not anticipate the Simple60 to be a substitute for (home-equity conversion mortgages). Rather, we look at it as an add-on for borrowers fitting in a specific niche.
Respite's Over
The respite from Credit crisis came to an abrupt end. For the week, the Dow was hit for 4.1% (up 8.5% y-t-d) and the S&P500 3.9% (up 5.8%). The Transports fell 2.8% (up 5.3%), and the Utilities were clobbered for 4.1% (up 7.4%). The Morgan Stanley Cyclical index was slammed for 4.6% (up 16.3%), and the Morgan Stanley Consumer index dropped 3.4% (up 4.8%). The broader market was weak. The small cap Russell 2000 sank 5% (up 1.4%), and the S&P400 Mid-Cap index dropped 3.7% (up 9.3%). The NASDAQ100 declined 2.2% (up 21.3%), and the Morgan Stanley High Tech index fell 3.4% (up 17.1%). The Semiconductors declined 2.5% (up 1.5%). The Street.com Internet Index dropped 3.7% (up 19.1%), and the NASDAQ Telecommunications index sank 3.8% (up 21.3%). The Biotechs fell 2.7% (up 9.1%). Financial stocks were hammered.
Harry Gross | Note to ARM wrestler: Find yourself another lending ...
Dear Harry: A few years ago, we bought a home in Philly and got an adjustable-rate mortgage. Like a lot of other people, we never considered the possibility that our interest rate would go up and so would our payments. That happened in October when our payments were hiked by $212 a month. That's more than we can afford. We went to our bank to try to arrange for some relief. They said that their policy was to do nothing with mortgages where the payments are not delinquent. I couldn't believe my ears! However, a neighbor got the same answer from another bank. Are these vultures out to ruin my credit first? There has to be some way to get them to adjust our payments so we can afford to pay them. If they're going to do it when we get delinquent, why not now? That will help keep us above water with other debts because they'll raise their rates if our credit score tanks.
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