A reverse mortgage title curative process is how prelim exceptions get cleared so a first-lien HECM can record: missing reconveyances, vesting mismatches, a deceased spouse still on the old deed. Jay Zayer, CRMP, is a reverse mortgage specialist at reversemortgage.coach. See title examination for what the examiner looks for. Stay here for how exceptions actually get cured. Hope is not a cure.
A common scenario: Peta, 65, occupies a house in Gilbert, Arizona, and a 1999 deed still showed a deceased co-owner. Counseling can wait. The curative deed cannot. Run leftover cash as a separate question.
A HECM remains FHA-insured. Title curative is not a public eraser.
What is a title curative item on a HECM prelim?
An exception the title company will not insure over without a document. Typical HECM stops: a live first mortgage with no payoff path, a HELOC not reconveyed, a judgment, a solar UCC, a dead person still in vesting. 24 CFR 206.45 still wants a mortgage on real estate the occupant can encumber. Counseling still costs $125–$175. The HUD certificate lasts 180 days. Arizona Gilbert has no Civil Code 1923.2(k) pause. Burning 180 days on an uncured deed is a second invoice.
Peta’s leftover cash still lands in a mid-30s to low-50s percent of appraised value, depending on age and expected rate. A curative delay does not change the HUD factor. It changes whether we ever get to closing.
Which curative jobs can close in parallel, and which stop the case number?
A name affidavit can often run beside the appraisal. A missing reconveyance, a probate that has not issued letters, or an unreleased CalHFA junior usually cannot. I will not invent which exceptions Jay’s channels will insure over. Ask title. 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 cleaner prelim does not discount MIP.
A second geography: a 78-year-old in Ventura whose California prelim showed an old HELOC the borrower swore was paid in 2011. Same federal first-lien need. Different recorder. Same leftover-cash gate. See title errors.
If residual income requires a LESA, that set-aside is origination-only. Jay confirmed it cannot be added later. Title curative does not create a LESA.
An open curative item means the file is not complete.
How do California versus Arizona curative paths differ on the same exception type?
California often wants a recorded corrective deed or a reconveyance from a specific trustee. Arizona title-as-realty packages and affidavits follow that state’s forms. Both still have to satisfy the title insurer and 24 CFR 206.45. Annual MIP of 0.50% of outstanding balance still accrues after closing. A cleaner prelim does not change that the ARM indexes to 1-month CMT plus margin after funding. Expected rate still rounds to 0.125% under 24 CFR 206.3.
If Peta’s heirs later keep the Gilbert house, 24 CFR 206.125(a)(2)(i) still names the outstanding balance. A vesting mess left uncured is a problem they inherit next to the lien.
Arizona Gilbert has no Civil Code 1923.2(k) pause. Burning 180 days of a counseling certificate on an uncured deed is a second $125–$175 invoice. California Ventura still has the seven-day origination pause and still cannot treat a sworn “I paid that HELOC in 2011” as a reconveyance. 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. A cleaner prelim does not discount MIP.
An open curative item means the file is not complete, so the ~30-day close I quote has not started. Expected rate still rounds to 0.125% under 24 CFR 206.3; a cleaner prelim does not change that rounding. After Peta funds, the ARM still indexes to 1-month CMT plus lender margin. Annual MIP of 0.50% of outstanding balance still accrues after closing. 24 CFR 206.45 still wants a mortgage on real estate the occupant can encumber.
A name affidavit can often run beside the appraisal. A missing reconveyance, a probate that has not issued letters, or an unreleased CalHFA junior usually cannot. I will not invent which exceptions Jay’s channels will insure over. Ask title. If residual income requires a LESA, that set-aside is origination-only. Jay confirmed it cannot be added later. Title curative does not create a LESA. Hope is not a cure.
What I will not invent: which exceptions Jay’s channels will insure over, a HUD day-count for a reconveyance, or a homestead declaration as an automatic stop. Peta still has to occupy. 24 CFR 206.45 still wants a mortgage on real estate she can encumber. A name affidavit can often run beside the appraisal. A dead co-owner still on the deed usually cannot. Ask the prelim. Cure first. Then pull a case number.
A solar UCC, a judgment, or a live first with no payoff path is a stop, not a footnote. Occupancy under 24 CFR 206.39 still has to be true while curative runs. Do not order the roster appraisal as a distraction from a dead co-owner on the deed. I work with multiple lenders. I will originate when exceptions have a real cure path in writing from title.
Who should not originate hoping title will “clear itself”?
This path does not help a household that wanted the appraisal ordered while a dead spouse was still on the deed. Occupancy is still 24 CFR 206.39. I work with multiple lenders. I will originate when exceptions have a real cure. I will turn away a “it’ll clear” start whose only thesis is optimism.
If leftover cash after 2.00% of claim amount is decorative, curative work is sunk cost. Skip the HECM. When the math works, cure first. Then pull a case number.