With the principal limit factor decreasing by 10% tomorrow, the number of reverse mortgage case numbers assigned has surged in the last few days. A letter from Peter Bell, President of NRMLA, announced that 60,784 case numbers had been requested in “the last few days.” That is more than half the number of HECMs endorsed in all of FY 2009.
The good news is that, so far, the system seems to be working. Of the 60,784 case numbers, 58,631 were issued in less than two seconds, and an additional 1,800 were issued in less than 10 seconds. These turnaround times are a good omen for those concerned about the FHA Connection system’s ability to handle the increase in demand. However, with about 12 hours until the deadline, it’s too early to alleviate all concern.