You find a HUD-approved HECM counselor from HUD’s directory or from the list an originator must give you at first contact. 24 CFR 206.41(a) requires that list. The counselor, not the loan officer, issues the certificate a lender needs before a HECM can close. Jay Zayer, a Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional serving California and Arizona, hands the list and then stays out of the session.
Counseling typically costs $125–$175, paid to the agency. Agencies date the certificate from the session, and originators will not close a HECM on a certificate older than 180 days. Pick an agency that can complete the session before you need that shelf life for closing.
Where is the official counselor list, and who must use it?
HUD publishes HECM counselor information for consumers on hud.gov. 24 CFR 206.41 requires every HECM originator to provide a counselor list when you first communicate about a HECM. National Housing Act section 255(f) is the statutory counseling mandate behind that regulation.
You must use a HUD-approved HECM counselor. A CPA, a pastor, or a real-estate seminar does not issue a HECM certificate. A proprietary reverse mortgage in California still sits under Civil Code reverse-mortgage origination rules, so the same official list is the safe starting point even when the product later chosen is private.
Arizona originators follow 24 CFR 206.41 without California’s ten-agency overlay. The federal list is still the list.
If the originator emails one name and says the others are “too slow,” ask for the rest. A single captive referral is how independence dies.
What extra steps does California add to booking a session?
Civil Code section 1923.2(j) requires the originator to provide a list of at least ten HUD-approved reverse-mortgage counseling agencies. Section 1923.2(k) then blocks a complete application and fees for seven days after the counseling date. Book the session, wait out those seven days, then open the complete file.
Phone and video sessions are valid when the agency is HUD-approved and the certificate is issued correctly. In-person is optional, not a California mandate.
Both spouses, and an Eligible Non-Borrowing Spouse who will rely on 24 CFR 206.55 deferral, must complete counseling. Skipping the younger spouse is how files die after application. See HUD reverse mortgage counseling for what the session covers.
How much does counseling cost, and how long is the certificate good?
Jay quotes $125–$175. Agencies set the invoice within HUD-allowed practices. Some offer hardship waivers. Confirm the dollar amount when you book. Do not treat an old blog figure as the current fee.
The certificate lasts 180 days from counseling. If repairs, a condo project, or a payoff delay will run longer, time the session so 180 days still covers closing. Straightforward HECM refinances often fund around a month after the file is complete. That average is not a guarantee. Condos and repairs blow through it. See how long it takes.
Bring a payoff estimate and a tax bill so the counselor’s comparison worksheet is not fiction. After the certificate, what the certificate must show is the document page. What counseling feels like is the session page.
HUD’s public search is the consumer-facing directory. An originator’s list must still be given at first contact even if you already found an agency online. 24 CFR 206.41 is a delivery duty, not a scavenger hunt you perform so the originator can skip it.
If you need a language other than English, ask the agency before you book. HUD-approved agencies vary in language capacity. A session you cannot follow is not useful education even if a certificate prints.
Counseling for HECM for Purchase should happen early enough that California’s seven-day wait fits the purchase contract. A 17-day escrow copied from a cash buyer is how H4P files miss dates. See HECM for Purchase.
Who should not book the first name an originator highlights?
24 CFR 206.41(a) requires the originator to give a counselor list at first contact. California Civil Code section 1923.2(j) requires at least ten HUD-approved agencies on that list. A single captive referral is how independence dies. Pick from the list. The originator stays out of the session.
This booking does not help a household that sends a child in the borrower’s place. The borrower has to complete it. It does not help a file that will fail on an unapproved condo; screen the project first so the 180-day certificate is not wasted.
What can go wrong: the session is completed, California’s seven-day wait (Civil Code section 1923.2(k)) is ignored, and a complete application is opened on day three. The file is rejected before it starts. Book, wait, then open. Fees are $125–$175 unless the agency confirms a hardship waiver when you call.
A follow-up: is HUD’s public directory enough if the originator never sends a list? No. 24 CFR 206.41 still requires the originator to deliver a list at first contact. Using the public search does not excuse that duty. Ask for the list in writing. In California, count the agencies. Ten is the Civil Code floor.