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New Zealand mayor slammed for recommending reverse mortgages

Housing Wire

A mayor in a region of New Zealand, who recently suggested using reverse mortgages to fund various cost-of-living increases faced by the nation’s retirees, is pushing back against the backlash his comments created. property taxes. That’s when Cadogan made his reverse mortgage suggestion. “A

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Mortgage rates inch closer to 7%

Housing Wire

Mortgage rates rose slightly this week ahead of the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee ‘s rate hike. Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which focuses on conventional and conforming loans with a 20% down payment, shows the 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.81% as of July 27, up from last week ’s 6.78%.

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California HAF requirements extended in bid to entice more beneficiaries

Housing Wire

The state of California has extended the eligibility rules for its mortgage relief program, funded by the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) allocation in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. In the latest extension, assistance is available to qualified homeowners who’ve missed at least two mortgage payments by Feb.

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Property taxes have been rising. Here’s what it means for housing

Housing Wire

In many communities, homeowners and homebuyers have been hit with eye-popping property tax increases. And homes in many communities have shot up in value in recent years, leading to tax increases through reassessments. But opinions differ on how much impact higher taxes are having on local housing and mortgage markets. “I

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CFPB proposes rule to bolster PACE loan borrower protections

Housing Wire

With a residential PACE loan, renovations are financed and are then paid back by the borrower as property tax payments to their local government, resulting in higher property tax payments for borrowers. “We are proposing new rules that would require sensible safeguards on these clean energy loans.”

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How reverse mortgages could improve financial stability for older homeowners

Housing Wire

HousingWire recently spoke with Christian Mills, head of Financial Advisor Relations at Reverse Mortgage Funding, about the ways a reverse mortgage can create a stable cash flow for homeowners in the midst of a volatile housing market. CM : Firstly, reverse mortgages, whether government-insured or proprietary, are non-recourse loans.

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Homeowners are staying in place twice as long as they did 20 years ago: Redfin

Housing Wire

Older Americans also have financial incentives attached to staying in their homes, since 54% of the baby boomer cohort own their homes free and clear without making monthly mortgage payments. Census Bureau ’s one-year American Community Survey in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available.