National HUD Approved Counseling

HUD certifies housing counselors around the country to give homeowners impartial education about reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgage counseling is a mandatory part of the reverse mortgage application process and is typically completed just before or after completing an application for a reverse mortgage. Reverse mortgage counseling can be done over the phone with one of the national counseling agencies or it can be done face-to-face with a regional agency.

After the counseling session, the counselor will mail a signed copy of the HECM Counseling Certificate to the homeowner. This certificate is presented to the lender with the reverse mortgage application.

Many counselors have dropped their service charge from $125, to $89. Lenders are not permitted to pay this fee for applicants. However, under certain circumstances the fee can be reimbursed to the applicant at closing.