Reverse Mortgage Lender Live Well Financial Abruptly Stopped Originating Loans On May 3rd With No Advance Notice

Reverse Mortgage lender Live Well Financial has ceased originating loans. The company announced on its website Friday it would not be originating new loans as of May 3, 2019. Live Well claims it is due to unexpected circumstances. The announcement took some wholesale partners by surprise.

The Reverse Mortgage lender also originated conventional as well as FHA and VA loans. Live Well also operates a servicing arm. The company has not indicated if it will continue to service loans or sell off that business. Live Well has also not stated if they will close completely.

Virginia-based Live Well is a long-time player as a reverse mortgage lender. Live Well most recently ranked 7th with a 3.1% market share.

The Reverse Mortgage lender is also an issuer of reverse mortgage securities. The company ranked 7th in the first quarter of 2019. They had issued 22 pools of HECM-backed securities with an original aggregate amount of $85.6 million. Yet, the company sold off a sizable portion of its portfolio to Reverse Mortgage Funding last year. Industry insiders suspect that may have been a sign of things to come.

Live Well Vice President Bruce Barnes told HousingWire in September that the company was about to release a major upgrade to its lending platform. The upgrade promised an elevated experience for both its customers and originators.

Barnes said the new focus on technology and mortgage automation was a bid to retain market share in a shrinking origination market. However, Live Well never launched and it appears the lender may have buckled under the pressure.

The Message Read:

Due to unexpected circumstances, as of May 3, 2019, Live Well Financial, Inc. will cease to originate mortgage loans. If you have a loan in process with Live Well Financial and/or have questions about your mortgage loan, please contact our representatives at 866-678-0858 or by email info@livewellfinancial.com. To help facilitate matters, kindly have your loan number available and include with any written communication. Live Well Financial will make every effort to respond to consumer requests within 24 hours.