National Aging in Place Week

NRMA reports that activities the commemorate National Aging in Place Week are starting to take shape in communities around the country. It was first celebrated in 2003 and is scheduled this year from October 8-14.
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Is There A Cost For Couseling?

Currently, there is no cost to the consumer for counseling. However, HUD is considering a proposal to make counseling a borrower-paid expense to be disclosed on the HUD-1 (escrow closing statement).

Who Provides HECM Counseling?

According to the NRMLA Summer publication, HUD has approved approximately 800 non-profit organizations nationwide to provide HECM counseling. There are counselors who do mostly face-to-face counseling,and then there are individuals who are part of HUD's nationwide telephone counseling network.

Either type of counselor can advise a prospective borrower in-person. Except in special circumstances, only counselors who are part of the telephone counseling network can conduct nationwide (except North Carolina which permits face-to-face only) phone counseling.

Non-network counselors may only counsel over the phone if the client resides in the same state as the counselor or a contiguous state, and if the client has a mobility or medical problem which restricts travel, or if no counseling is located within 50 miles of the client's home.

Most telephone counseling is conducted by one of three entities approved by HUD in Mortgagee letter 2005-44: National Foundation for Credit Counseling, Money Management International and AARP.

When a senior calls AARP, a he/she is given a list of counselors and their telephone numbers. The other agencies automatically route the senior to the next available telephone counselor, no matter where that counselor is located, or to the nearest branch if the person requests a face-to-face counseling session.