Just another Manic Monday: Friday’s Food for Thought

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Do you dread Mondays? If so here are a few tips to help break the cycle:

  • Friday review: Time block Monday, organize paperwork, schedule call backs, empty inbox and email
  • Get back to you…. Emails requiring a response received late Friday can be responded to with “ I will take a look at this… Monday”
  • Shift your calendar (Sunday as first day)
  • If you work from home start some Monday tasks Sunday (1 hour) and prep your plan (if you didn’t do it Friday)
  • Daily voicemail

 

House Rich, Cash Poor?

Meeting Seniors Financial Challenges

Many people look forward to retirement as a time of leisure, when they can finally relax and do what they wish: take a trip, play golf, or embrace a lifelong passion such as music or art.

But if they’re hurting for money, none of these dreams will be easily realized. A recent study from Banker’s Life & Casualty found 14 percent of Baby Boomers have no retirement savings, while 55 percent of middle-income Boomers’ retirement accounts have balances under $100,000. The good news: many of these soon-to-be-retirees have significant equity in their homes.

The evolution of the reverse mortgage industry can serve the new Baby Boom seniors, who may be bewildered to suddenly find themselves house rich, yet cash poor.

Here are three key elements of reverse mortgages, then and now:

  • 1961: The first reverse mortgage is created by a savings and loan executive as an act of kindness, to help a struggling widow make ends meet;
  • 1989: Reverse mortgages become a federally insured program through the Housing and Community Development Act, signed into law by President Reagan;
  • 2000: HUD begins requiring third-party reverse mortgage counseling as a consumer safeguard. Shortly thereafter, telephone counseling (in addition to in-person counseling) becomes available.

Today, with reverse mortgage information available through AARP and HUD, and backed by FHA insurance, reverse mortgages are a viable way for qualified seniors to tap their home’s equity to meet living expenses in later years.

Two common concerns you may also want to address at the outset:

  • A homeowner can’t “outlive” the life of the loan. As longevity spirals upward, this has become a frequent misperception. There is no reason for a client to fear losing their home with a reverse mortgage, as long as at least one borrower remains on the property, and pays the property taxes and insurance on time.
  • The reverse mortgage never has to be repaid by the aging homeowner, unless and until the property owner decides to move or sell, or vacates the home for more than one year.

Insurance fund for RMs looking healthy: Industry Leader Update

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HUD Secretary says fund backing reverse mortgages looks good…

The lackluster condition of of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance fund in fiscal year 2010 lead to some sweeping changes which included a reduction of principal limit factors, an increase of ongoing FHA insurance and the introduction of the Saver.

What changes can we anticipate when the insurance fund’s actuarial report is released this November if any? The housing market aside there are factors that have improved the overall financial health of this fund which backs federally-insured reverse mortgages.

5 Steps to Learn from Failure: Friday’s Food for Thought

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If you missed last week’s Food for Thought on a stress-free work life you can view it here.

Five Steps to Learn from Failure:

1.  What can I learn from this?

2.  What could I have done differently?

3.  Do I need to acquire or improve some skills?

4.  Who can I learn from?

5.  What will I do next?

Reverse Mortgage Sales Success Tips

How to Build Trust Part 2: Trust and the Aging Process

The process of aging makes one more vulnerable when it comes to trust

While it’s true that people don’t change dramatically just because they grow older (see Marketing to the Mature Homeowner/Part 1), there is one area in which aging makes us more vulnerable: trust.

As people age and watch spouses, friends and family members die, the lyrics from The Cure’s tune, Trust, may express how they feel: There is no one left in the world that I can hold onto / There is really no one left at all. Lack of a support system can and does affect older adults psychologically.
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The response to these transitions can either be fear, in which seniors become less confident in people overall, or outreach, where, in their desire to connect, they misguidedly place their faith in everyone from the caller who tells them they’ve just won a sweepstakes, to the salesperson who suggests a risky investment.

Because such unscrupulous individuals and businesses often prey on older adults’ loneliness or hope, it behooves reverse mortgage professionals to understand the concerns unique to this cohort group.

To build a strong relationship with older reverse mortgage prospects:

  • Allow plenty of time to get acquainted. Regardless of whether they seem secure or anxious, many mature adults (particularly “older” seniors, 75+) love having a new audience for their stories, especially those revolving around something as precious as their lifelong home;
  • Develop a strong sense of their personal situation. Is a reverse mortgage a prudent move for them — or are they simply enjoying the regular contact visiting with you offers, even if this takes place over the phone?
  • Go slowly. In our frenetic world, it’s easy to forget that the spryest senior will likely operate at a somewhat slower pace than you do. Be willing to explain information more than once, and in different ways, until it’s clear your prospect comprehends all the specifics.
  • Reach out. Going the extra mile might be a cliché, but doing so never is. If a senior turns out to be an excellent reverse mortgage prospect in every way, yet clearly thrives under your attention, reach out: make a home visit if possible, bring a small gift, find a referral for another need they mention. These demonstrations of caring will not only help seal the deal; your kindness also boosts your client’s quality of life.

Reverse Mortgage Relationships with Seniors

5 Steps to a Stress-Free Work Life: Friday’s Food for Thought

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Work got you stressed? Try these five steps.

Step 1 – What is taking up a lot of your focus and energy?
Write down a list of everything you are thinking about and stressing about.

Step 2 – What would be a successful outcome to this situation?
To each point on the list, visualize what a perfect solution would be and then write it down.

Step 3 – How important is it that this task is done?
By answering this question, you learn if this task is something you need and should do or if it really isn’t that important and can be eliminated.

Step 4 – What action could you take to move the project towards that goal?
Once you know that the idea is an important one, write down what the next action you can take to move the goal towards its perfect solution.

Step 5 – Decide when you are going to do the action
Write it down in your calendar.

Let Go and Relax

Do you feel how much more relaxed you are now that you don’t have to remember all your ideas? Now that you know that they will be done?

Steps