Finance of America Reverse Review

Item: Finance of America Reverse
Rating: 4.4
Author: ConsumersAdvocate

ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 4.4 / 5 (Excellent)

80 Customer Comments & Reviews - see all comments

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Finance of America Reverse is a direct lender focused solely on reverse mortgages. Founded in 2003, FAR operates in 50 states and is based in Oklahoma.

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Finance of America Reverse is the reverse mortgage arm of Finance of America. Finance of America is recognized as one of premier mortgage lenders in the United States and has a substantial lending history of nearly 20 years in business.

Most Flexible Proprietary Loan

Among lenders currently offering proprietary reverse mortgages, Finance of America Reverse stands out for a number of reasons. For starters, its proprietary loan, the HomeSafe® reverse mortgage, is more a suite of tools than a single, one-size-fits-all type of loan.

There are three versions of the HomeSafe® proprietary loan: HomeSafe Standard, For Purchase, and Select. The biggest difference between them is how funds are disbursed to borrowers. HomeSafe Standard offers single, lump sum payments; and HomeSafe Select is an adjustable-rate option that functions as a line of credit. No other proprietary reverse mortgage shows this much versatility in terms of payment options.

Requirements for FAR’s HomeSafe® products are quite reasonable. There is no minimum property value and non-borrowing spouses are protected under specific circumstances.

HomeSafe® is also the proprietary reverse mortgage with the greatest regional availability in the market. HomeSafe Standard loans are available in a total of 26 states (the average is around 15), HomeSafe Select is available in the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Utah. FAR has expressed its desire to keep adding states to this list, with some already on the way.

Widest Selection of Products

We found that Finance of America Reverse had one of the largest product portfolios in the industry, with six different available options: HomeSafe®, HECM, Reverse for Purchase (H4P), Refinancing, and Silvernest. Most reverse mortgage companies only offer FHA-insured loans, with only a few lenders having a proprietary option.

FAR’s Refinancing options are unique in the industry. The latter is an HECM-to-HECM refinancing program that works similarly to regular loan refinancing. The program can help those whose homes have significantly appreciated in value, who want to take advantage of lower rates, and who want to add another borrower to the loan—a spouse, for example.

Finally, FAR borrowers have another option to consider thanks to the company’s partnership with Silvernest. A room and house-sharing service, Silvernest matches users with potential housemates in their area for a fee. It does this via detailed profile analysis and can provide aging homeowners with extra income and companionship. Those with an active FAR loan are provided with a one-year subscription and have the cost of matching with a housemate covered.

Top-Notch Online Experience

Finance of America Reverse’s website is straightforward and offers a good amount of learning resources, including a handy loan calculator and retirement personality quiz.

Information on FAR is easy to access, with one tab dedicated to exploring the options available through the lender, and another focused on how to be ready for retirement. FAR also has an articles and news section, where users can find numerous writeups not only about retirement products, but also about retirement living as whole. The company’s retirement personality quiz can also help pinpoint the right product for a consumer depending on what their outlook on retirement is.

FAR’s reverse mortgage calculator is simple but can provide a good projection of how one’s equity will translate into funds. After inputting just four values—age, home value, mortgage balance, and state of residence—users are redirected to a pie chart showing the total amount of proceeds, mortgage payoff, proceeds available after paying off your mortgage, and remaining equity. A second chart will appear with the same fields but based on a HomeSafe® loan, for qualifying homes in states where it’s available.

Finance of America Reverse LLC NMLS ID # 2285 (www.nmls.consumeraccess.org)

What We’re Hearing From Our Readers

Customer Comments

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KATHRYN

8/14/2018

WE ARE VERY FRUSTRATED --- WITH FINANCE OF AMERICA ! WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING A REVERSE MORTGAGE...MAYBE --- HOWEVER, THE REQUESTS FOR DOCUMENTATION COMES FROM FOUR (4) DIFFERENT ENTITIES AND ARE "ENDLESS" --- NY, TEXAS, INDIANA, OKLAHOMA ET AL UNDERWRITING HAS PUT NEVER ENDING BARRIERS IN OUR PATH TO A REVERSE MORTGAGE --- ASKING DAY AFTER DAY FOR MORE INFO --- OUR CREDIT SCORE IS ABOUT 700 --- WE OWN OUR HOME OUTRIGHT ABOUT $500,000 FREE & CLEAR ! WE HAVE A CHECKING ACCOUNT AND IDENTIFICATION GALORE ! MY HUSBAND IS A MEMBER OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND WE ARE "NOT" CONVICTED FELONS ! IF YOU DO NOT WANT US --- JUST SAY SO AND WE WILL GO SOMEPLACE ELSE --- THIS EVERY DAY ANOTHER... Read More

118 People found this helpful.

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Javiera M

Official Response

Digital Marketing Manager of Finance of America Reverse

Dear Kathryn, We understand your frustration and will have someone contact you for further explanation. We would like a chance to review your situation and get a better understanding of what happened. We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you, FAR

David R

2/11/2019

It took over 3 months to complete the process. 2 appraisals on a $900K property for a $600K mortgage; 2 closings because someone couldn't be bothered to check for the correct dates; despite having 3 months to check paperwork having to sign 2 deeds to get the phrasing correct, the second during the 3-day right of rescission. My salesperson was great - it appears everyone else was less than competent. It will be very difficult to recommend FAR based on my experience.

68 People found this helpful.

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William S

9/27/2018

I came to Finance of America from AAG. They had dragged their feet for months, then told us they couldn't help us, then said they can. But we had already started looking for a new company after they said they couldn't help us. We also found out AAG was going to circumvent the lien on the solar panels which meant that if they got caught we would be without coverage. Unbelievable.. Andrew was on top of things all the time, explaining everything, emailing or returning calls. It was a real pleasure dealing with him during the month it took to close our loan. I would recommend you to everyone I know!

57 People found this helpful.

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Craig H

7/25/2018

My experience was positive. I started with Lending Tree and got like 4 referrals. Finance of America proved to be the one I felt most comfortable with. As we got closer to finalizing, the computers changed some numbers, but my contact Carol got everything back where it belonged. She was the prime reason that I chose this company.

36 People found this helpful.

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Javiera M

Official Response

Digital Marketing Manager of Finance of America Reverse

Craig, We work hard to find the best people to provide a great experience for our customers. We are glad that you think so highly of your loan officer Carol and that she was able to help you understand all the details of a reverse mortgage. We are happy that you chose to work with Finance of America Reverse to help you achieve your goals. We value your feedback. Feel free to reach out with questions. Thank you, FAR

VIRGINIA m

7/30/2018

Prior to selecting your firm for my reverse mortgage, I compared five different proposals. My financial advisor, Scott Zmikly was the differentiating factor. My financial situation had some extenuating circumstances (victim of identity theft, fraud, and robbery), and I shared all information up front with Scott. He assessed areas where he thought underwriters may have some concerns, and we made sure I provided adequate documentation to ensure a timely close of my loan. Scott was very informative and patient, and kept me up to date on progress at each phase. I would highly recommend FAR to anyone seeking a reverse mortgage. VIRGINIA mccarthy

31 People found this helpful.

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Javiera M

Official Response

Digital Marketing Manager of Finance of America Reverse

Virginia, We work hard to find the best people to provide a great experience for our customers. We are glad that you think so highly of Scott and that he was able to help you understand all the details of a reverse mortgage. We are sorry to hear about your extenuating circumstances and hope that your reverse mortgage will be helpful in achieving all the goals. We appreciate you choosing to work with Finance of America Reverse. Feel free to reach out with questions. FAR

Thomas M

9/6/2018

Matthew always kept me abreast of current details. Any wrinkles were anticipated before they happened and headed off before they became a problem. We really felt that you made the process as easy as possible. I really don’t like doing reviews like this by the way, but Matthew’s performance was just so exceptional I feel the need to make an exception in this case. A+++++!

24 People found this helpful.

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Bob H

9/1/2018

This was my second experience with Finance of America Reverse. I am glad to say that the second time was equally as pleasant as the first. Joe Deangelis does an excellent job guiding through the process. I will gladly recommend Joe and your company to anyone going through the Reverse Mortgage process. Thank you very much!

21 People found this helpful.

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Javiera M

Official Response

Digital Marketing Manager of Finance of America Reverse

Bob, We value your feedback and glad to hear that you continue to receive excellent customer service. We work hard to find the best people to provide a great experience for our customers. We are glad that you think so highly of Joe and that he was able to help you understand all the details of a reverse mortgage. We appreciate you choosing to work with Finance of America Reverse again for your needs. Feel free to reach out with any questions. FAR

Keith L

12/24/2018

I'm 67 and was in need of retirement and needed to pay off the first new vehicle I have owned in 25 years and give me a financial cushion for unforeseen expenses. Ellen was the first to contact me and was very pleasant to work with and put me at ease as to what it meant to give up the security of a paid-for house. I will look forward to the second half of my money this coming year, I'm still getting used to the idea that , even though I can still stay here for as long as I live, the property belongs to someone else. R Keith Lincicum

19 People found this helpful.

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Brion M

2/28/2019

I have to say that I picked the right company to do this thing. I knew I wanted to do a reverse mortgage but I didn’t know what to expect. Hats off to Olivia Shinavar. She was super helpful in guiding me through the process. She happily answered every question I had and made it clear that she would help me understand everything I was seeing. And she did just that. I am glad I worked with Finance of America Reverse and can now look forward to a much better and worry free retirement.

16 People found this helpful.

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Linda H

7/17/2018

Sherman was wonderful! He always kept me up to date on everything. This was quick and easy. I would definetly recommend Sherman to anyone I know. Thank You Linda

12 People found this helpful.

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Javiera M

Official Response

Digital Marketing Manager of Finance of America Reverse

Linda, We work hard to find the best people to provide a great experience for our customers. We are happy to hear that Sherman was able to help answer any questions about the product and that you had a great experience. Feel free to reach out with questions. Thank you for choosing Finance of America Reverse. FAR

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