For reverse mortgage originators, the winds of change have been blowing in the direction of proprietary products for much of 2026. And one of the nation’s leading lenders, Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, has been leading that charge since launching its private-label product 18 months ago.
During a webinar this week, company leaders discussed some recent changes to the SecureEquity product suite and shared examples of how it’s serving senior homeowners. SecureEquity was introduced in California and Florida in April 2025, but its availability has since grown to 41 states and Washington, D.C.
And to further illustrate the point that proprietary reverse mortgages can serve in more than a jumbo lending capacity, the company has lowered the minimum home value for the program to $300,000.
“I’d say it’s timely because of what’s going on in the markets — which as everyone I know is painfully aware, the run-up in the 10-year Treasury, especially over the last couple of months, has been pretty pretty sharp. And that, of course, has led to less proceeds and availability for the HECM program,” said Mark O’Neil, Mutual of Omaha’s senior vice president of wholesale.
Changes arrived ‘at the right time’
SecureEquity now covers homes with appraised values of $300,000 to $10 million, although the maximum loan amount is $4 million, with rare exceptions. Like other proprietary products that offer an alternative to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage’s minimum age requirement of 62, it’s available to borrowers as young as 55, except for residents of Louisiana, Washington, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Texas.
A key differentiator for proprietary loans like SecureEquity, O’Neil said, is their ability to pay off a variety of consumer debt types — including credit cards, auto loans and student loans. The HECM program does not allow for direct debt payoffs at closing, although a borrower could use the proceeds to do so later.
SecureEquity’s adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) option includes a 1.5% line-of-credit growth rate for the first seven years on unused principal. It comes with a requirement to withdraw 25% of the principal limit at closing, an amount that cannot be redrawn even with voluntary prepayments. But it also does not include a mortgage insurance requirement — a clear benefit for HECM prospects who may be deterred by an upfront premium of 2% of the property value.
O’Neil told webinar attendees that lowering the minimum home value for the program “unlocked potentially thousands of additional eligible borrowers” in the states that Mutual of Omaha operates in.
“The timing wasn’t based on what’s going with the markets and what’s going on with interest rates, but it sure came along at the right time,” he said. “We’ve been seeing a steady uptick in adoption of our product all year, and that has really spiked up alongside the the run-up in the 10-year and with the lower principal limit factors that go along with that. So, lower home value, by definition, means we can help more people.”
While proprietary loan counts aren’t widely publicized, Mutual of Omaha has maintained its standing as one of the top HECM lenders, despite the obstacles in that channel. Data compiled by Reverse Mortgage Insight showed that Mutual ranked No. 2 for HECM endorsements through the first nine months of the year, with its 3,709 loans trailing only Finance of America, although Mutual’s loan count was down 16% from the same period in 2025.
Borrower case studies
Pete Kulis, a wholesale account executive and sales team lead, offered details on some real-life borrowers that Mutual of Omaha has been able to help recently through SecureEquity.
The first involved a 75-year-old couple with a home valued at $300,000 and an existing mortgage balance of about $100,000. Putting them into a HECM would’ve left them short to close, requiring additional funds out of pocket, but SecureEquity’s ARM option allowed them to qualify with a 50% loan-to-value ratio and about $39,000 left in their line of credit after paying off the forward mortgage.
“They were struggling making that payment. They wanted a little bit of money as a line of credit, so they had a fallback for home improvements, healthcare, travel, whatever it might be,” Kulis explained.
A second example involved a 68-year retiree looking to buy a $1.5 million home using the SecureEquity fixed-rate product. While a HECM for Purchase option would’ve required him to bring more than $1.1 million to the closing table, the proprietary product lowered that to $900,000, allowing him to borrow the other $660,000 at a 9.49% rate.
A third client, an 83-year-old widow with a $1.2 million home and $500,000 in mortgage debt, was struggling with repayments on a fixed income. “We see these scenarios over and over again, and they’re heartbreaking,” Kulis remarked.
The SecureEquity fixed-rate product helped her to pay off the existing lien and fund a life expectancy set-aside for property tax and insurance payments. She still had about $79,000 left over. A comparable HECM product would’ve left her short to close by $23,000, Kulis said.
Lastly, Kulis walked the audience through the example of a 78-year-old client. He owned a non-warrantable condominium valued at $600,000 — making him ineligible for a HECM — and had sizable debt obligations across his first mortgage, HELOC and credit card.
“Again, we freed up all this debt, alleviated $2,500 a month in total payment, and gave him a little buffer of about $24,000,” Kulis said.
