Washington State Accidentally Bans Reverse Mortgages

by Peter G. Miller
June 12th, 2008

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It is now difficult or impossible to get a reverse mortgage in the state of Washington.

According to a report in The Olympian, “as of today, some Washington brokers will not be able to offer reverse mortgages, in which senior citizens can draw down the equity in their houses in monthly payments.”

The problem, says the Olympic, WA paper, is that “by all accounts, the ban is unintentional. Legislators voted unanimously this year to move unregulated mortgage brokers under the scrutiny of the Department of Financial Services.

“But by making those businesses subject to the Consumer Loan Act effective today, they ban them from offering the reverse-mortgage style of loan.”

Because the prohibition is in the form of a law and not a regulation, the matter will have to be resolved by the state legislature. When that will happen is unclear, but state residents are advised to contact state lawmakers. You can reach state lawmakers by using this contact page.

For the full story, see: Popular type of mortgage victim of new broker law.

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2 Responses to “Washington State Accidentally Bans Reverse Mortgages”

Dave Says:
June 13th, 2008 at 9:44 am
How on earth can this be an accident if banks and credit unions can still do them? Our government local and national are so corrupt and transparent its not even funny. This is just the start of banks and credit unions monopolizing the mortgage industry.
Ken Lindberg, CSA, CMC Says:
June 29th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Brokers can still originate and submit loans to lenders who are exempt, and there is no shortage of wholesale lenders to whom you can broker: Liberty Reverse, Financial Freedom, MetLife (FKA Everbank), Countrywide and B of A are still working with brokers. Because of the licenses that some lenders held, (Nutter, Generation & some others) they have suspended operations. I have been invited to serve on a task force to address this problem, which may need a new law to get it fixed.
Garry A Housden Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Who in the hell can tell me what to do with the equity I have in my house? Most of the politicians in office seem to think I need protection. I’m in my 70’s and I think little by little our freedoms are taken away by young, career oriented, out of step politicos.