Latest news with #HomeSafe
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Finance of America reverse mortgage review 2025
When larger banks stepped out of the reverse mortgage market in the 2010s, Finance of America gobbled up much of the demand to become one of the biggest names in the field. Today, FOA is the second-largest reverse mortgage provider after Mutual of Omaha. In 2024, it originated 8,995 loans, worth a total $1.9 billion. We like that the Tulsa-based lender focuses exclusively on reverse mortgages, offering government-insured home equity conversion mortgages (HECMs), the proprietary HomeSafe loan available for up to $4 million and HomeSafe Second, a reverse mortgage that operates like a HELOC. It also stands out for customer service, with each client paired with a borrower care team member who guides them through the application process and manages their loan HECM, HomeSafe Standard, HomeSafe Second 50% Up to $4 million (HomeSafe), $50,000 and $1 million (HomeSafe Second), 62 for HECM, 55 for HomeSafe Second, 60 for EquityAvail, 55 for HomeSafe (60 in Massachusetts, New York and Washington, 62 in North Carolina and Texas), Finance of America doesn't issue reverse mortgages in California, New Mexico, New York or Oklahoma Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent out a short form online questionnaire and a representative will contact youHECM, HomeSafe Standard, HomeSafe Second Terms applyHECM, HECM for purchase, Longbridge Platinum$4 million for Longbridge Platinum62 for HECM, 55 for Longbridge Platinum in most statesLongbridge Financial lends in all 50 states Terms apply A reverse mortgage is a home loan that allows homeowners to access cash by borrowing against their home equity. Backed by the Federal Housing Authority, HECMs are available to seniors 65 and older. Some lenders have proprietary reverse mortgages, typically accessible to owners 55 and older. In both cases, the loan and any interest do not come due until the borrower moves out of their house, stops using it as their primary residence or dies. The lender can also require full payment if the borrower doesn't stay current on property taxes, homeowners' insurance or household are no credit score or income requirements but applicants: Finance of America offers standard HECMs and a proprietary jumbo loan, HomeSafe, in all 50 states. HomeSafe Second, a second-mortgage product, is available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington. The most common type of reverse mortgage, HECMs are insured by the Federal Housing Administration and available to homeowners 62 or older. Borrowers must pay a mortgage insurance premium of 0.50% of the outstanding loan balance each year. HomeSafe is Finance of America's exclusive jumbo loan. Because it's not backed by the FHA, it has more flexible terms and requirements than an HECM and borrowers can be approved for up to $4 million. The high loan limit makes it an option for homeowners with high-value homes or condos, who are usually ineligible for HECMs. HomeSafe is available nationwide to homeowners 55 and older (60+ in Massachusetts, New York and Washington and 62+ in North Carolina and Texas). Mortgage insurance premiums are not required on HomeSafe loans. HomeSafe Second is structured similarly to a second mortgage or HELOC, but has the terms and requirements of a reverse mortgage. You'll keep the rate on your primary mortgage while pulling additional cash from your equity. No payment is due until the borrower moves out of the house or dies. Unlike other lenders, Finance of America's primary business is reverse mortgages. Each borrower is paired with a dedicated agent who can help them make the best choices. FOA earned a high rating from credit rating agency Morningstar, which praised its executives' experience, as well as the "focused origination and underwriting practices, solid control environment and reliable loan performance." The Better Business Bureau awarded FOA an A+, based on transparency, truthful advertising, and its response to consumer complaints. Here's how Finance of America stands up to two major players in the market. Apply for personalized rates HECM reverse, HECM for purchase, Platinum Mortgage (proprietary loan with larger limits and a low age requirement of over 55) No specific minimum equity listed, but generally 50% Finance of America and Longbridge are both focused on the reverse mortgage market, but FOA has more options for second mortgages. Its HomeSafe Second product is available in multiple states for up to $1 million and can be dispersed as a loan, line of credit or in fixed payments. Longbridge's HELOC for seniors is only available for up to $400,000 and only in California. In addition, it can only be dispersed as a line of credit that borrowers must make monthly interest payments on. HECM, HECM for purchase jumbo, SecureEquity+, refinancing 50% Up to $4 million 62 for HECM, 55 for SecureEquity+ Mutual of Omaha offers reverse mortgages nationwide except for New York and West Virginia. and Mutual of Omaha both have reputations for excellent customer service and a range of reverse mortgage products. But only MoA has robust digital tools, an online application and an easy to use mobile app. In addition, Mutual of Omaha refinances reverse mortgages and offers HECMs for Purchase, which allows seniors to use their reverse mortgage to buy a new primary residence. FOA doesn't provide either service. Finance of America does not have an online application, but you can fill out a questionnaire on the website or call 800-841-3723 to start the process. You'll need a photo ID, your Social Security number, the deed to your house, home loan statements, proof of property tax and homeowners' insurance payments and documents related to the home's maintenance. As with any reverse mortgage, you'll also have to schedule a session with a HUD-approved housing counselor. Your home must also be appraised before the underwriting process begins. Finance of America is a great option if you're looking for a reverse mortgage from a lender with a variety of options and excellent customer digital offerings are a bit lackluster, however, and homeowners can't apply online. In addition, if you want to refinance, are looking for a HECM for purchase or are interested in a second mortgage and live outside the 12 states that offer HomeSafe Second, you'll need to choose another lender. In 2021, FOA became a publicly traded company, with investment firm Blackstone owning 60% of its stock. In August 2025, FOA announced it was repurchasing Blackstone's stake. Finance of America was formed after Finance of America Reverse (FAR) purchased American Advisors Group (AAG) and rebranded in 2023. Unlike a traditional mortgage, which requires monthly payments over a set term, a reverse mortgage is due all at once when the homeowner moves out, ceases to make the house their primary residence or passes away. One major drawback of a reverse mortgage is, if you fail to pay homeowners insurance or property taxes, your loan could come due immediately and you could face foreclosure. Even if that doesn't happen and you stay in your home for the rest of your life, you could leave your heirs with a complex financial situation to unravel. At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every mortgage review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and Select reviews mortgage products using a variety of criteria, including the types of loans offered, average rates, terms, fees, down payment options, availability, online experience and customer satisfaction. In addition, we incorporate findings from independent sources, including lender scores from the J.D. Power U.S. Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study and ratings from the Better Business Bureau and DBRS Morningstar.
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Yahoo
Snapchat's Newest Feature Is Helping Parents of Teens Sleep Easier at Night
If you thought late nights and fractured sleep was just a hallmark of the baby years, we have some bad news… While it's true that parents will start to get more sleep as their child grows, it's also true that you'll spend many nights anxiously waiting by the door for your teen to get home. We can't help it! If our child is out in the world, we are going to worry about them. Snapchat's latest feature is designed to give parents of teens peace of mind — so maybe (fingers crossed!), we can finally sleep easier at night. Snapchat's latest feature is called HomeSafe, and it's an automatic alert that will let trusted family members and friends know when you arrived home after a drive. (If your mom has ever frantically woken you up in the middle of the night to check on you because you forgot to text her you made it home, then you know exactly how important this is!) More from SheKnows What Is 'Imagined Surveillance' - & How Is it Changing the Way Gen Z Is Dating? HomeSafe works like this: teens can set their home location on their Snap Map. Before heading home from a late night at work, a concert, a date, or any other reason, users can open the conversation, tap the Map icon, then tap the Home Safe button. It will give this private chat an automatic, one-time alert that you've arrived home, so you don't have to remember to send that follow-up text. Because every anxious mom fears the worst when their child doesn't text them that they returned home! 'Home Safe alerts are designed with safety and privacy in mind,' a statement by Snapchat read. 'Alerts can only be sent to friends you already share your location with, and the notification goes out only once, then shuts off automatically. As always, location sharing on Snap Map is off by default, so no one can see your location or receive a Home Safe alert unless you proactively choose to share it.' More than 400 million people use Snap Map every year to connect with loved ones and find places to visit nearby. In 2024, the company brought Snap Map to its Family Center, where parents of teens can request that they share their live location (and can share their location back) to keep everyone in the family updated. Last year, boys in our SheKnows Teen Council said that at least 100 people could see their location on Snap Map at any given time and sometimes more. 'There's probably about 250 people that can see my location,' Griffin, 16, told us. Other teens feel let out if they see their friends without them. 'Sometimes I get a little bit of FOMO when I see people together without me,' Calder, 16, shared. 'Especially if it's my friends, and it's a plan I wasn't invited to. Or, even that I was invited to and I couldn't go.' Still, if your teens are going to use Snap Map anyway, might as well make it beneficial for parents as well by keeping us informed of their whereabouts —and letting us know when they make it to their end-of-night destination (home, a friend's house, a co-parent's house) of SheKnows Celebrity Parents Whose Kids Have Big Age Gaps Rocky77, Aquaman, & More Unique Celebrity Baby Names How to Watch These 25 Halloween Movies on Disney+ for Summerween Antics Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Yahoo
Snapchat can automatically let a trusted friend know you got home safe
Snapchat can now let your friends know if you're back home from an outing safe and sound without you having to send a message. The app has launched a new feature called Home Safe, which sends one-time alerts to contacts of your choice. You can only send these alerts to people you already share your location with, and since that off by default, you'd have to activate it on Snap Maps for all your friends or for specific ones. Your friends will only get the notification once, and it will shut off afterward. Home Safe sounds especially useful if you and your friends typically check in on each other after meeting up, if you want to let your parents know you'd gotten back home after going out or if you're a woman who's asked a friend to make sure you got back safe after a first date. To switch the feature on, tap your Bitmoji on the Snap Map and then "My Home" to set your home location. After that, whenever you want to send someone a notification, just open your conversation with then, tap on the Map icon and then tap the "Home Safe" button. The app has had location sharing for a while now, but it has built up the safety feature over the years. It added live location sharing that allows you to share your exact whereabouts to friends in 2022. And last year, it introduced new location tracking abilities to its Family Center, allowing parents to get notifications if their child leaves school or home. Jim Lanzone, the CEO of Engadget's parent company Yahoo, joined the board of directors at Snap on September 12, 2024. No one outside of Engadget's editorial team has any say in our coverage of the company.
CNET
24-07-2025
- CNET
Home Safe? Snap Map Will Let Your Friends and Family Know With Alert
"Let us know when you're home." How many times have you heard that from friends or family at the end of the night, but forgotten to follow up when you get through the door? Snapchat has added a feature to its popular Snap Map that will take care of it for you. The messaging app launched a new feature on Thursday called "Home Safe," which will alert friends and/or family that you're home safely even when you forget to do so. It's ideal to let folks know when you're back from a vacation, a night out or a long drive. With location sharing already part of Snapchat's Family Center hub, the new "Home Safe" feature will also be great for parents to get alerts to know when they're kids are home in one piece. How Home Safe Works First, tap your Bitmoji on Snap Map and then "My Home" to set your home location. Then, open the chat conversation with a friend or friends who you want to alert when you get home, tap the map icon and then the "Home Safe" button. Later, when you arrive back home, your friend or friends will get a one-time alert in the chat conversation that you've made it home with no problems. Remember that alerts can only be sent to contacts with whom you are already sharing your location, and the "Home Safe" notification will only be sent once. You will need to go through the process again for future alerts. Also, remember that location sharing on Snap Map is turned off by default. In May, Snapchat announced that their user base for Snap Maps topped 400 million monthly active users. Snapchat's "Home Safe" is a welcome addition to its app, and it's one of several apps that can help make others aware that you are safe, including:
TechCrunch
24-07-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Snapchat will now let your friends know you've made it home safe
Snapchat is launching a new way for users to let their friends and family know they've made it home safe after an outing, called 'Home Safe,' the social network announced on Thursday. To use the feature, you need to set your home location by tapping your Bitmoji on Snap Map and then 'My Home.' When you head out and want to notify a friend when you get home, open the conversation, tap the Map icon, and then the Home Safe button. Your friend will receive an automatic alert in your chat conversation once you arrive home. Snapchat notes that alerts can only be sent to friends you already share your location with. Plus, since location sharing on Snap Map is off by default, no one can see your location or receive a Home Safe alert unless you choose to share it. 'Whether you're heading back from a first date, a crowded concert, or a weekend getaway, Home Safe can offer a close friend or family member peace of mind that you've made it home safely,' Snapchat wrote in a blog post. This new feature comes two months after Snapchat announced that Snap Map now has more than 400 million monthly active users. Snap Map, which launched in 2017, was originally a way for users to see their friends' locations and browse public snaps from around the world. Over time, the feature has evolved and now offers ways for users to discover local hotspots and find things to do. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW
