The History of Reverse Mortgages
When I speak to people just learning about reverse mortgages, they are often surprised when I tell them that FHA reverse mortgages, known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM), have been around since 1989. But that is only the “recent” history. They actually date back to 1961.
Nelson Haynes of Deering Savings & Loan in Portland, Maine designed
the very first reverse mortgage loan to help Nellie Young, the widowed wife of his high school football coach to stay in her home after losing her husband.
Through the 60’s 70’s and most of the 80’s, interest in the program was growing and the private market attempted to fill the need. While many loans were helpful and allowed retired people to stay in their home and access their equity, there were also some shady programs and scams to steal people’s equity as well.
One such program was an “equity sharing” scheme that allowed the lender to share in the appreciation of the home, as well as charging fees and interest on the actual money loaned.