In order to qualify for a U.S. Government-insured reverse mortgage, a borrower must receive reverse mortgage counseling from a counseling agency that is approved and certified by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

The counseling session usually cost $125 and is paid directly by the borrower to the counseling agency. In some cases this fee can be paid out of the proceeds of the reverse mortgage at closing. If you can show the agency that there is a hardship and cannot afford to pay and prove this with documentation, you can get free counseling.                                                                                                                                                            You will receive a Certificate of Counseling in the mail once you have completed the counseling.
Once you receive your certificate, please sign it and forward the original signed copy of the counseling certificate to us at Residential Reverse Mortgage so that we can include it in your loan application package and verify that you have completed this federal requirement.
We can not steer, direct, recommend, or otherwise encourage a client to seek the services of any one particular counseling agency, so here are some resources to use:

Money Management International (MMI) 877-908-2227
http://www.moneymanagement.org/Programs/HousingAdvising.asp

National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) 866-698-6322
http://www.debtadvice.org/takethefirststep/locator.html

AARP 800-209-8085
http://www.aarp.org/money/revmort/revmort_decisions/a2003-03-26-choosingcounselor.html

HUD also maintains a list of counselors at the link below
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hecm/hecmlist.cfm;

CCCS of Greater Atlanta (CCCS) 800-251-2227

National Council on Aging (NCOA) 800-510-0301

Consumer Credit Managment Services (CCMS) 866-213-8522

Hancock Community Development Corp. 877-800-8570

Family Guidance Center Corp. 609-585-2574 Hamilton, NJ www.cccscentralnj.com

CCCS of New Jersey 973-267-4324 Cedar Knolls, NJ www.cccsnj.org

CCCS of Delaware Vally 800-989-2227 Cherry Hill, NJ www.cccsdv.org

CCCS of South Jersey 800-873-2227 Egg Harbor Township, NJ

CCCS of New Jersey 888-726-3260 Montclair, NJ

Senior Citizens Unites Community of Camden County 856-456-1121 Ephraim, NJ www.scucs.org

These local and national agencies usually offer 3 convenient and flexible options for completing the reverse mortgage counseling:

• An in-person counseling session at one of their local locations
• A telephone interview session
• An internet-based live chat session online

The counseling generally takes less than one (1) hour and during the session the counselor will explain the various reverse mortgage programs, help you evaluate your financial needs, and provide information on other programs that may meet your needs.

Please feel free to call us with any questions regarding counseling and we will be glad to help 800-987-7740

New Jersey Residential Reverse Mortgage
800-987-7740