For
instance,
EquityIQ
now
has
a
lower
minimum
age
requirement
of
55
in
certain
states.
It
also
stands
as
a
fixed-rate
loan
with
maximum
proceeds
of
$4
million,
well
in
excess
of


Federal
Housing
Administration
(FHA)
limits
on
the
Home
Equity
Conversion
Mortgage
(HECM)
program.

Onity
explained
that
EquityIQ
contains
no
upfront
or
ongoing

mortgage
insurance
or
servicing
fees,
and
that
a
full
draw
of
loan
proceeds
is
required
at
closing.
Property
types
eligible
for
Equity
IQ
include
single-family
homes,
condominiums,
townhomes,
multifamily
properties
with
two
to
four
units,
and
planned
unit
developments.

There
is
a

counseling
requirement
from
an
agency
that
is
approved
by
PHH.
And
the
loan
is
only
available
for
a
borrower’s
primary
residence
as
opposed
to
a
second
or
vacation
home.

“With
an
estimated

$14
trillion
in
senior
home
equity,
we’re
excited
to
launch
EquityIQ,
which
complements
our
existing
[HECM]
product
offering,
to
help
senior
homeowners
unlock
their
home
equity
to
meet
personal
and
financial
needs,”
said
Andy
Peach,
executive
vice
president
and
chief
lending
officer
at
Onity
Group.

Liberty
is
no
stranger
to
the
proprietary
reverse
mortgage
space.
In
2007,
the
company
introduced

Liberty
Preferred,
its
first
proprietary
product,
which
eventually
left
the
market.
Twelve
years
later,
under
Onity’s
prior
branding
as

Ocwen
Financial
Corp.,
the
company
announced
the
original
version
of
EquityIQ,
which

launched
in
the
summer
of
2019.

It
was

briefly
suspended
due
to
COVID-19
market
volatility
in
March
2020,
but
it
was
brought
back
a
few
months
later.
In
2022,
the
company
suspended
availability
of
the
product
again

due
to
volatility
in
the
bond
markets,
and
it
was
subsequently
removed
from
the
market.

But
company
leaders
have
been
telegraphing
the
brand’s
reentry
into
the
proprietary
reverse
mortgage
space
for
months,
including
in
an

investor
presentation
last
month.

“Obviously,
launching
a
competitive
jumbo
reverse
mortgage
product
thus
gives
the
opportunity
to
grow,”
Onity
CEO
Glen
Messina
said
in
March.
“And
again,
with
an
18%
[HECM]
market
share,
we’ve
got
nice
market
coverage
to
push
that
product
through.”

Onity
and
Liberty
are
reentering
the
proprietary
space
in
a
much
more
crowded
field
of
competitors.
These
include


Finance
of
America
and
its
HomeSafe
product
suite,


Longbridge
Financial
and
its
Platinum
line,
and
offerings
from
companies
like


University
Bank,


Smartfi
Home
Loans
and

Nationwide
Equities.

HECM
market
leader


Mutual
of
Omaha
Mortgage
also
announced
earlier
this
month
that
it
has
launched
its
own
proprietary
reverse
mortgage
product,

SecureEquity,
with
initial
availability
in

California
and

Florida.