How the course is organized
The foundational course is 32 hours. Modules move from product fundamentals into calculations, borrower obligations, alternative products, purchase files, retirement-context conversations, servicing, ethics, and applied case work. Figures taught in the calculation modules will follow current HUD and FHA publications, not outdated MIP schedules or interpolated Principal Limit Factors.
After the modules, the planned certification path includes a 100-question examination with an 80% passing threshold and practical case studies.
Modules
Module 1. Reverse Mortgage Fundamentals and History
2 hours
How reverse mortgages developed, how a HECM differs from proprietary products, and what consumers actually keep: title, occupancy duties, and no required monthly mortgage payment on the reverse loan.
Module 2. HECM Eligibility, FHA Rules, and Consumer Protections
4 hours
Age, occupancy, eligible property types, HUD counseling, and the consumer-protection framework around FHA-insured reverse mortgages. This module teaches current rules as published. It does not substitute for a Mortgagee Letter read.
Module 3. Interest Rates, Principal Limits, Fees, and Loan Calculations
4 hours
Expected rate, Principal Limit Factors, Maximum Claim Amount, origination and MIP structure, leftover cash after liens, and why a quote is not a percentage of home value.
Module 4. Financial Assessment, LESA, and Borrower Obligations
3 hours
Credit history versus residual income, property charges, Life Expectancy Set-Asides, first-year disbursement limits, and what borrowers still pay after closing.
Module 5. Proprietary, Jumbo, and Reverse Second Mortgages
3 hours
When a non-FHA product, a jumbo program, or a reverse second may fit, and how those files differ from a first-lien HECM.
Module 6. HECM for Purchase and Real Estate Applications
3 hours
Using a reverse mortgage to buy a principal residence, cash-to-close math, occupancy, and how origination conversations with real estate agents should stay accurate.
Module 7. Retirement Planning and Home Equity Strategies
3 hours
Where home equity sits next to Social Security, portfolio withdrawals, downsizing, and family planning. Education only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice.
Module 8. Loan Servicing, Maturity Events, Heirs, and Estate Considerations
3 hours
What happens after closing: occupancy certifications, due-and-payable events, non-recourse features, and how heirs typically resolve a reverse mortgage.
Module 9. Ethics, Compliance, and Consumer Communication
3 hours
Advertising rules, unsuitable files, conflicts, and how to explain costs, obligations, and alternatives without overselling.
Module 10. Advanced Case Studies and Practical Applications
4 hours
Worked files that combine leftover-cash math, property overlays, existing liens, and family dynamics. Case studies are instructional. They are not live underwriting.
What this course is not
It is not HUD counseling. It is not NMLS continuing education unless a future offering is separately approved for that purpose. It is not a substitute for reading the current Mortgagee Letters and Handbook 4000.1 on a live file. Rules change. The Academy will teach students to look up the current cell instead of memorizing a blog number.
Tuition and what the 32-hour package includes are on pricing. Annual education after year one is on continuing education.