Finance of America Reverse Review

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)