Constructively Exposing Retirement Denial
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Denial In Reverse Mortgage Borrowers
Denial. It’s one of our biggest challenges when working with prospective reverse mortgage borrowers. While denial tends to manifest itself more prominently in those who have little financial assets, like the needs-based-borrower, it also applies to more affluent borrowers. Denial creates an alternate reality for needs-based homeowners with statements like “we’ll be just fine” or “we will find a way to increase our income when we retire”. For more affluent potential borrowers it may appear in the statements “our portfolio will keep growing giving us enough money to live on the rest of our lives.” Denial serves a dual purpose: to avoid discomfort and accountability. No one likes to admit that their previous spending and savings habits have led to a retirement crisis. Savers don’t like to accept the fact their investments may never grow enough to sustain the withdrawals they need each year to maintain their standard of living in retirement. Denial has exacts its price: stress, fear and lack. It stems not so much from logical or willful choices but from unconscious beliefs and habit patterns. What are our choices
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Denial in this case comes from an irrational and unrealistic optimistic view that somehow with no planning or analysis everything will just work out for the best when it comes to having sufficient cash and cash flow in retirement. We see unrealistic and irrational optimism rampant in those we serve as well as in our own industry when it comes to how change will impact endorsements and our revenues.
Yet seniors readily admit that it is running out of cash in retirement which worries them the most. This pessimistic view is at the opposite end of the pole. It is highly unlikely that seniors will run completely out of cash despite the problems we see in programs like Social Security today.
But the truth lies somewhere in between. In order to be in the best possible financial and cash position throughout retirement, seniors need to analyze and evaluate their financial prospective, take the required action necessary to improve that situation, and monitor at appropriate intervals their financial prospective to determine any changes or tweaks which may be necessary. Real financial planners (not just those who claim to be such) can help in making this analysis, suggesting changes which the client can adopt, and monitoring how the situation of the senior is progressing at appropriate intervals.
Denial and worry among seniors seem to rule the day; both can potentially paralyze seniors from making necessary change. Reverse mortgages are not a cure all but certainly can be used in many more situations to prudently improve the financial and cash situations of seniors than we are currently seeing them used in.
But we have barely scratched the surface on how to get “the message” out and much of the message we have put out to the senior community is poor. While the potential for response may be overwhelming, the time it takes for even preliminary response is very slow. So the cost in both in time and money must be seen as an investment, a long-term investment. Speeding up that response generally requires mixing up the message needed with marketing puff which also slows down and dissipates the long-term positive impact.
On a one-on-one basis, the suggestions of Mr. Hicks should be adopted by all of us. It is not up to us to “educate” seniors about their actual situation, if we can help them to see it for themselves.
I have tried to get a reverse mortgage, 6 times. I have been told that I don’t have enough equity in my house or that my credit card debt is too high. I have been given a monetary amount I must come up with. So I tried getting a loan, no such luck. Since I started with a debt relief company my credit score has dropped 200 points, hence being denial a loan. Is there anyone out there who can help me? I’m getting close to being desperate !
Reverse Mortgage Loan Officers have the responsibility to “TRAIN” the local professionals in their area to know and understand how the HECM product/s work!
Proper training of Reverse LO’s has never been a strong suit for the Reverse Industry. Sure banks offer their Retail sales force training on the HECM products, costs, rates and fees, programs offered and more, but NO real lead generation sales training has ever been offered anywhere.
Sure, banks who can afford to, advertse for leads. They are given to inside sales reps/LO’s who get paid a lower amount to generate sales from leads. But, wholesale, outside, self generating LO’s who earn more pere closing, are finding it harder and harder to get a good ROI on any type advertising they do and pay for these days. In fact, today they cannot even deduct these expenses any longer without submitting to their firm for reimbursement, as W2’d LO’s cannot deduct expenses from income as of Jan. 1, 2018.
What to do??? Get trained! Learn to self generate through REFERRALS at Reverse Sales Training now.
, and Brokers struggle to market and get leads to their sales personnel, relying totlally on th e BMLO to generate their own leads, but how? \
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