Reverse mortgages: counseling.

Existing law defines and regulates reverse mortgage loans and prohibits a reverse mortgage loan application from being taken by a lender unless the loan applicant has been provided a specified notice advising the applicant about counseling prior to obtaining the reverse mortgage loan. Existing law requires a lender to provide a prospective borrower a list of not fewer than 10 housing counseling agencies approved by the United States Department of Housing and Community Development to engage in reverse mortgage counseling, as specified, and prohibits a lender from accepting a final and complete application for a reverse mortgage or assessing any fees upon a prospective borrower without receiving certification that the prospective borrower has received this counseling from an approved counseling agency. This bill would require the above certification to indicate that the reverse mortgage counseling was conducted in person, unless the borrower elected to receive the counseling in another manner.