A new face-to-face counseling requirement for seniors seeking a reverse mortgage loan is no longer operative in Massachusetts after surviving on the books for three whole days.   Almost all reverse mortgages are the FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgages or HECMs which allow homeowners over the age of 62 to pull equity out of their homes in a lump sum or installments. 

The counseling requirement was mandated by the State's Great and General Court in July and went into effect on August 1.  However, around the time the requirement passed the legislature so did a second law delaying its implementation until August 2014.  As of August 1 the governor had not signed either piece of legislation allowing the counseling requirement to become law by default but not the legislation allowing the delay.   The dual legislation and the confusion surrounding their implementation were explained in detail here on August 2.

Governor Deval Patrick signed the law delaying implementation on August 3 thus invalidating the three days the counseling requirement was in force.  We have no information as to whether he also signed the law requiring the counseling or even if his signature is now required but FHA loan originators who were left hanging during the last few weeks of July and the first three days or August can now stand down.  As for any seniors who received counseling during the short period of uncertainty, we doubt they are any-the-worse for wear, and maybe even the better for it.