The HECM for purchase program (the ability to use a reverse mortgage to purchase a property) was announced by HUD months ago and it became a reality with Financial Freedom’s announcement that it has begun accepting purchase files from its wholesale partners.

Few brokers have gone through the training as of this writing but over the next month, expect the other major wholesale lenders to announce purchase programs and expect a wave of advertising from local brokers around March.

Some observers hope this program will help put a floor under property values by giving more people the option to buy a home.  

That’s unlikely to be the case since the only homeowners who can use the HECM for purchase program are existing homeowners with equity.  They will by and large use their funds to downsize to a smaller home rather than buy a second or larger home.

The FDIC, which took over IndyMac Bank last year, announced that a consortium of investors led by IMB Management Holdings has agreed to acquire IndyMac for $13.9 billion.

This is good news for Financial Freedom, a subsidiary of IndyMac.  Financial Freedom is one of the best assets in IndyMac’s portfolio since it is profitable and rumored to be worth $500 to $950 million.  

It’s also good news for the thousands of borrowers, employees, and wholesale lenders who have built up relationships with Financial Freedom over the last decade.