A
proprietary
reverse
mortgage
from


Finance
of
America
Companies
(FOA)
now
secures
the
home
of

Rhode
Island’s
honorary
historian
laureate
after
the
property
was
returned
to
the
owner
after
attempts
to
bequeath
it
to
a
nonprofit
historical
society
he
founded.
This
is

according
to
reporting
from
The
Providence
Journal.

The
original
reporting
described
the
amount
of
the
loan
as
nearly
one-fifth
higher
than
the
current
$4
million
limit
for
“HomeSafe,”
the
private-label
product
offered
by
FOA’s
reverse
mortgage
division


Finance
of
America
Reverse
(FAR).
The
company
later
told
RMD,
however,
that
the
loan
was
within
current
product
lending
limits.

The
bequest
asset

Patrick
Conley,
who
was
previously
named
Rhode
Island’s
honorary
historian
laureate,
aimed
to
leave
his
waterfront
home
located
in
Bristol,
R.I.
to
the

Heritage
Harbor
Foundation.
It
is
an
organization
Conley
founded
to
“augment
the
audience,
impact,
or
sustainability
of
existing
programs,
projects
or
initiatives
aimed
at
increasing
familiarity
with
Rhode
Island
history,”
according
to
its

official
website.

Under
the
terms
of
the
bequest,
Conley
and
his
wife
would
be
able
to
remain
in
the
home
while
the
foundation
continued
to
pay
“one
or
more
of
their
mortgages,
totaling
$880,000,
according
to
a
board
member
and
a
fundraising
letter
written
by
Conley,”
the
reporting
said.

The
terms
of
the
bequest
sound
similar
to
those
of
an

early-recorded
instance
of
a
reverse
mortgage.

“The
couple
could
potentially
live
out
their
lives
mortgage-free,”
the
Journal
reported.
“The
foundation
would
get
what
was
described,
in
a
January
2023
fundraising
package,
as
a
‘prestigious
headquarters
…
[and]
site
for
small
scale,
but
elegant
events’
with
its
‘voluminous
library
on
American
legal
and
constitutional
development’
as
a
resource
for
nearby

Roger
Williams
University‘s
law
school.”

Existing
mortgage
troubles

However,
the
foundation
later
returned
the
home
to
the
Conleys
in
mid-2023,
citing
the
existing
mortgages
as
“encumbrances”
that
diminished
the
foundation’s
ability
to
accomplish
its
grant-giving
goals.

“We
all
voted
happily
to
accept
the
gift
when
it
was
first
offered,”
said
Kenneth
Dooley,
a
foundation
board
member,
to
the
Journal.
“We
again
voted
unanimously
to
return
it
when
the
mortgage
payments
cut
into
our
grant-making
ability.
[…]
The
Conleys
returned
all
of
the
mortgage
payments,
with
interest.”

The
pandemic-era
run-up
in
home
prices
and
the
property’s
reappraisal
made
the
burdens
of
the
mortgage
payments
too
high
when
deducted
from
the
gift
itself,
Dooley
explained
to
the
outlet,
despite
the
Conleys
continuing
to
pay
for
taxes,
utilities
and
renovations
for
the
property.

Enter
FAR/FOA

Conley
did
seek
alternative
means
to
satisfy
the
debt,
but
when
those
came
up
short
he
turned
to
the
reverse
mortgage
industry.

After
re-obtaining
the
property,
“the
Conleys
applied
for
and
received
a
$4.99-million
reverse
mortgage
with
Finance
America
that
paid
off
the
two
existing
mortgages”
which
also
gave
them
a
“substantial
line
of
credit,”
according
to
the
reporting.
However,
the
company
clarified
for
RMD
that
the
originally-reported
amount
is
incorrect.

The
2023
reverse
mortgage
limit
for


Federal
Housing
Administration
(FHA)-insured
Home
Equity
Conversion
Mortgages
(HECMs)
stood
at
$1,089,300,
but
proprietary
reverse
mortgages
are
not
subject
to
FHA
limits.
The
property
is
instead
secured
by
FOA’s
“HomeSafe”
proprietary
reverse
mortgage
product,
where
the
loan
amounts
go
up
to
$4
million.

When
asked
about
the
reportedly
higher
lending
limit
for
this
loan,
a
FOA
spokesperson
told
RMD
that
the
reporting
on
the
loan
amount
is
simply
incorrect
and
that
it
is
“within
current
HomeSafe
lending
limits.”

Estate
planning
application

The
company
also
explained
that
this
application
of
its
private
product
emphasizes
the
utility
of
HomeSafe
according
to
Paul
Fiore,
chief
retail
sales
officer
at
FAR.

“It
is
gratifying
to
see
our
team
help
a
borrower
like
Dr.
Conley
creatively
use
home
equity
to
establish
a
living
legacy,”
Fiore
said.
“Because
Finance
of
America
has
the
widest
range
of
home
equity
products
designed
for
homeowners
at
or
near
retirement,
we
were
able
to
create
the
financial
flexibility
the
Conleys
were
seeking.”

Reverse
mortgage
industry
professionals

have
long
emphasized
the
potential
for
a
reverse
mortgage
to
serve
as
a
retirement
or
estate
planning
tool,
and
Conley’s
loan
helps
illustrate
that,
he
said.

“We
are
thrilled
that
our
HomeSafe
product
enabled
these
estate
planning
goals
and
generous
philanthropic
gift,”
Fiore
said.
“It’s
another
real-life
example
of
how
our
solutions
can
empower
individuals
and
their
families
to
take
control
of
their
financial
futures
and
secure
their
legacies.”

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