Posted on PJ's "Decisions & Communities" column:

Solvency is the big attraction these days—for businesses and consumers alike. PJ Wade takes a close look at the impact of the credit crisis on Canada’s emerging Reverse Mortgage Marketplace...

For full article, click on: Crisis Has Long Term Reverse Mortgage Impact

Gone is the frenzied interest in bling and overspending. Solvency is the big attraction these days—for businesses and consumers alike.
               
Even if things are manageable now, there are tough times ahead. Access to credit and capital will remain hot wealth topics for a while. Reverse mortgages offer an example of the relevance of solvency and of the lasting impact of the credit crisis from two important perspectives.

Property owners reeling from shrunken investment portfolios, lowered credit limits and reduced property values may have still have one resource to call on, especially while interest rates are low. Owners above the qualifying age of 60 may be eligible for a reverse mortgage. Whether you ever use a home equity conversion (HEC) loan or not, understanding how they work and how to arrange one, teaches you a lot about managing and increasing the value of your real estate. To prepare for the unexpected, investigate this alternative before you need one...

AND FURTHER ON IN THE ARTICLE...
An essential step toward CHIP becoming a federally-regulated bank, involves the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) finalizing a reverse-mortgage-oriented amendment to an existing banking guideline, the Capital Adequacy Requirements (CAR) Guideline for Banks and Trust and Loan Companies.

The resulting OSFI advisory will also formalize the reverse mortgage definition so that it applies to all OSFI-regulated banks and trust & loan companies.

For full article, click on: Crisis Has Long Term Reverse Mortgage Impact