The reverse mortgage interview requirement that HUD actually publishes for a HECM is HUD-approved counseling under 24 CFR 206.41. Jay Zayer, CRMP, is a reverse mortgage specialist at reversemortgage.coach. That session may be face-to-face, by phone, or by video depending on the agency. A Saturday seminar is not it. Some lenders overlay a separate in-person consult. That overlay is not a HUD statute I will invent.
Take a homeowner like Rudi, 78, occupying a house in Long Beach, California, who said he “already interviewed” because a seminar took his name. He had a pitch. He did not have a certificate. See what the session covers. Stay here for interview versus overlay.
A HECM remains FHA-insured. A seminar is not a public counseling substitute.
Is there a HUD-required face-to-face origination interview on a HECM?
Counseling is required. Face-to-face as the only format is not what 24 CFR 206.41 says. Agencies still offer in-person sessions. Some borrowers hear better in a room. Some need the phone. I will not tell Rudi HUD forbids the phone. I also will not tell him a lender overlay consult replaces the certificate. Counseling still costs $125–$175. The certificate lasts 180 days.
Rudi’s leftover cash still lands in a mid-30s to low-50s percent of appraised value, depending on age and expected rate. Run leftover cash before you book any session. Do not interpolate HUD rows.
How is HUD counseling different from a lender overlay consult?
Counseling is independent, HUD-approved, and produces the certificate. A consult with me is origination advice. I work with multiple lenders. I am not the counselor. Mixing those desks is how families think they “already did the class.” They did not. Initial MIP is still 2.00% of claim amount (Mortgagee Letter 2017-12). Origination is still capped at $6,000 under 24 CFR 206.31.
A second geography: a 65-year-old in Surprise whose Arizona agency did the session by video. Same 24 CFR 206.41. No seven-day California hold. Same leftover-cash gate. If residual income requires a LESA, that set-aside is origination-only. Jay confirmed it cannot be added later. Counseling does not calculate it.
When is in-person counseling still the better session?
Hearing, language, a family fight in the background, or a borrower who will not stay on a phone. An Eligible Non-Borrowing Spouse who must be counseled should be in the session, not “on speaker later.” Annual MIP of 0.50% of outstanding balance still accrues after closing. The note still indexes to 1-month CMT plus lender margin, format of counseling aside. Expected rate still rounds to 0.125% under 24 CFR 206.3.
If Rudi’s heirs later keep the Long Beach house, 24 CFR 206.125(a)(2)(i) still names the outstanding balance. A seminar handout is not that number. See the counseling certificate.
California Long Beach still honors Civil Code 1923.2(k)‘s seven days before a complete application; a seminar table is not that pause. Arizona Surprise skips the Civil Code and still needs 24 CFR 206.41 counseling. Counseling still costs $125–$175. The certificate lasts 180 days. I will not tell Rudi HUD forbids the phone. I also will not tell him a lender overlay consult replaces the certificate. Mixing those desks is how families think they “already did the class.” They did not.
That ~30-day complete-file average does not start at a seminar table. Expected rate still rounds to 0.125% under 24 CFR 206.3; a seminar does not pick the cell. Mortgagee Letter 2025-22 still sets the 2026 cap at $1,249,125. Initial MIP is still 2.00% of claim amount (Mortgagee Letter 2017-12). Origination is still capped at $6,000 under 24 CFR 206.31. Annual MIP of 0.50% of outstanding balance still accrues after closing. After Rudi funds, the ARM still indexes to 1-month CMT plus lender margin.
If residual income requires a LESA, that set-aside is origination-only. Jay confirmed it cannot be added later. Counseling does not calculate it. An Eligible Non-Borrowing Spouse who must be counseled should be in the session, not “on speaker later.” Hearing, language, or a family fight in the background can still make an in-person session the better format. Format is not a waiver.
What I will not invent: a HUD origination-interview statute besides 24 CFR 206.41, a seminar that counts as counseling, or a phone ban. Rudi still has to occupy. The certificate still has to come from a HUD-approved agency. Some lenders overlay a separate in-person consult. That overlay is origination advice, not the independent session. I work with multiple lenders. I am not the counselor. Book the real session. Pay $125–$175. Walk out with the dated page.
I work with multiple lenders. A consult with me is origination advice. Counseling is independent. Mixing those desks is how a Saturday pitch gets treated as 24 CFR 206.41. Occupancy under 24 CFR 206.39 still has to be true. Leftover cash after 2.00% of claim amount still has to be useful. If it is decorative, skip the session. An interview cannot invent proceeds. It can only prove the borrower heard the risks before anyone originates.
Rudi still has to occupy. Leftover cash after 2.00% of claim amount still has to be useful. If it is decorative, skip the session. Format of the real session — phone, video, or a room — is not a waiver of 24 CFR 206.41.
Who should not skip counseling because they already “interviewed” at a seminar?
This path does not help a household that wanted a pitch to count as 24 CFR 206.41. Occupancy is still 24 CFR 206.39. I will originate when the real certificate is in the file. I will turn away a seminar-as-interview plan whose only thesis is skipping the agency.
If leftover cash after 2.00% of claim amount is decorative, skip the session. An interview cannot invent proceeds. It can only prove the borrower heard the risks.