Step 5 - Reverse Mortgage Lenders
This page contains Very Valuable information on Reverse Mortgage Lenders and explains how to find, evaluate and choose a Lender.
Should you chose a Big Bank like Wells Fargo or Bank of America (BofA is not doing Reverse Morgages as of Feb, 2011) or choose a Medium to Small Broker/Lender? In most cases all of these will offer you the same Government HECM Reverse Mortgage program so if the HECM program is the same, you need to look at other factors to help decide which one to choose.

Bigger: Is bigger better? Don't automatically think that your local Big Bank will give you a smooth Reverse Mortgage experience just because they are big. They often offer only a few program choices and some will shy away from hard to do loans or deny a loan that can actually be done. You may not even deal with the local branch because their Reverse Mortgage operations may be located in a different part of the country. This may lead to less personal service during the loan process. Even if you choose to get a quote from a Big Bank we highly recommend you get quotes from small and mid-sized Broker/Lenders as well.
Medium: Mid-sized reverse mortgage brokers can offer you more program choices because they work with many banks and often have the most competitive rates. Because of their higher loan volume they tend to be real experts on Reverse Mortgages. They may not have a local office however, if that is important to you. Make sure to ask if they are licensed in your state.
Smaller: Finally there are a lot of small local broker/lenders out there that give great personal service and attention and are more likely to stick with you if you have a problem loan. It will be much easier to contact the person approving your loan here. Be careful though, as some of them do less than 10 Reverse Mortgages a year. That should tell you that Reverse Mortgages are not the focus of their business and they may not be experts. Be prepared for possibly longer loan processing times, especially if the loan has any issues at all.
- - - - - - FINDING LENDERS - - - - - -
1) An easy way to find a reverse mortgage lender in your area is to use a search engine tool such as Google or Bing. Simply type in a search term such as "Reverse Mortgage Lender" and you will get a variety of results. The results however are often skewed to larger lenders that pay to advertise on the various search engines. Try adding your city or state to the search term to find more locally focused broker/lenders. For Example: "Chicago Reverse Mortgage Lenders". In this search you might find an on-line yellow page or other directory results with maps showing lender locations.
2) Another way to find Reverse Mortgage Companies in your area is to use a trusted on-line resource search tool. Try the following lender search tool from NRMLA (National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association). It gives results by state and includes links to Lender websites in a very convenient format. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND trying this tool. To access click the following link.
NRMLA Lenders Search Tool (Click Here)
3) For an unbiased comprehensive list of HUD approved Reverse Mortgage Broker/Lenders use the HUD Lenders Search Tool located in the link below.
INSIDER TIP! Make SURE to check the box that says "HECM" before hitting the "search" button. Type in your "zip code" and pick a "mile" radius for results closest to you.
HUD Lenders Search Tool (Click Here)
4) To see a free insider list of the Top 100 Reverse Mortgage Lenders click this link
FREE list of Top 100 Reverse Mortgage Lenders (Click Here)
- - - - - - - EVALUATING LENDERS - - - - - -
Before you call the 3 or more lenders you found above please take a moment to read the following advice when contacting Lenders for the first time:
Before you contact any Lender we suggest that you visit their website. Look in the "contact us" or "about us" area of their site to see where their office is located.
Look for a NRMLA (National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association) or BBB (Better Business Bureau) logo on the website. On some websites clicking on the BBB logo will take you to their rating details.
INSIDER TIP! If a Lender is a member of NRMLA or the BBB you will have somewhere to complain if there are any problems during the loan process! Both of these entities take consumer complaints very seriously!
TAKE ACTION! Your action item for "Step 5 - Lenders" is to find at least 3 Reverse Mortgage Lenders to begin getting quotes from. Write down their names and contact information, then click the link below to go to "Step 6 - Quotes"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - SEARCH THIS SITE NOW - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>> Go to Step 6 - Quotes (Click Here)
<< Go to The Home Page (Click Here)
Use the form below to ask for a referral to one of the nations best lenders. We never share your information with anyone!
Call us Toll Free at (800) 801-1375
|