Mutual of Omaha Reverse Mortgage Expands Wholesale Team with New Hires

Contact:

Michelle Sexton
Mutual of Omaha Mortgage
402-351-2962
michelle.sexton@mutualofomaha.com
February 26, 2024

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 


SAN DIEGO, CA — Mutual of Omaha Mortgage announced the expansion of its wholesale division with the addition of two industry veterans to its sales team. Kathleen Martinez and Darren Primicias have been appointed as national wholesale account executives for the mortgage company.

In their new roles, they will work to further expand Mutual’s footprint by signing up new brokers and lenders nationally.


Prior to joining Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, Primicias served as a wholesale account representative at Open Mortgage and Martinez served as a wholesale account representative at Liberty Reverse Mortgage.


“Kathy and Darren are seasoned veterans, both bringing more than a decade of experience to our wholesale division,” said Mark O’Neil, senior vice president of wholesale at Mutual of Omaha Mortgage. “We had a breakout year in 2023 and we think the experience and knowledge they bring to our team will help us further propel Mutual’s third-party business. We are proud to be expanding during a challenging time for our industry, and we think the investments we are making now will set our programs up for a strong future.”


If you would like more information about these recent changes, please contact Michelle Sexton at (402) 351-2962 or michelle.sexton@mutualofomaha.com.


About Mutual of Omaha Mortgage
A subsidiary of Mutual of Omaha, Mutual of Omaha Mortgage offers a variety of home financing and refinancing options as well as industry-leading reverse mortgage products to help its customers through life’s transitions. For more information about Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, visit www.mutualmortgage.com.


About Mutual of Omaha
Founded in 1909, Mutual of Omaha is a highly rated, Fortune 500 organization offering a variety of insurance and financial products for individuals, businesses, and groups throughout the United States. As a mutual company, Mutual of Omaha is owned by its policyholders and committed to providing outstanding service to its customers. For more information about Mutual of Omaha, visit www.mutualofomaha.com.


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How One Reverse Pro Prompted a Scammer’s Arrest

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EPISODE #815

How one reverse pro helped catch a fraudster

[Housing Wire]

A suspected fraudster who may have defrauded multiple elderly victims was arrested thanks in part to an alert reverse mortgage professional. 


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reverse mortgage podcast   reverse mortgage podcast HSom

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What HECM Pros Should Know About Inflation

There’s one conversation that every financial advisor should have with their clients. A conversation that should also be explored by reverse mortgage professionals with every potential borrower. Inflation. Questions such as “How are you coping with the higher price of everyday goods and services you’re paying today?” can reveal a cashflow crunch that needs to be addressed.

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How to Flip the Script of Your Internal Dialog

How to Flip the Script of Negative Self Talk

It’s time to lose the script. That self-defeating, highly critical voice in your head that sabotages us. The internal dialog that says “You can’t do that. You’re not cut out for it”, or “Everything is going wrong so why try?”.

The truth is at times we all screw up, lose our temper, or act selfishly- despite our best intentions. I certainly have

Here are four tips to lose that inner critic and get control of your inner dialog.

!. Watch your mental diet. Does what you watch upset you? I may very well if you’re a news junkie. Mindfully limit how much negative media you consume and you’ll likely find yourself more relaxed, positive, and fulfilled. Social media is a cesspool of negativity. Droves of people are just waiting to make a snide or rude comment or want to provoke you. Don’t engage.Take control.

2. Use silence to your advantage to monitor your thoughts. We drown out our thoughts with stimulation. We listen to music, a talk show, or an audible book in the car. That’s fine- but also try driving on your next errand or home in silence. Listen to your thoughts or inner dialog. It’s difficult to process our emotions or thoughts if we constantly expose ourselves to stimulation. Silence is indeed golden.

 

3. Rewire your mindset. Neuroplasticity. Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks. Embracing and practicing new behaviors can actually rewire how our brain responds to stress, disappointment, or frustration. It’s all about recording over the ineffective and damaging tape that’s been playing in our heads for years, even decades.

4. Be your own best friend. This one is the hardest for me. If you’re friend messes something up do you berate them? Do we tell them what a fool they are? Of course not. Many times we are our own harshest critics. Does that help? Instead, try saying to yourself what you’d say to your best friend. “It’s okay, you’ll get it next time”, or “We all make mistakes”, are just a few of the phrases we can begin practicing saying to ourselves.

As we close consider the words of Pythagoras. “No man is free who cannot control himself.” Freedom begins and ends between our own two ears. We can improve. We can flip the script.

Don’t Believe the CPI ‘Lie’

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The CPI sleight of hand

Yeah! The consumer price index for January only increased 3.1% higher than one year ago! Is this reason to celebrate? Not necessarily. Welcome to the wretched inflation ratchet- note not ‘racket’ although some may beg to differ.

When it comes to inflation the Federal Reserve’s mandate is to keep the annualized rate at two-percent or lower. This works well in a modestly-expanding economy as long as wages and retirement benefits  increase by roughly  the same amount. A lower the annual rate of inflation makes it more likely higher wages will offset the difference in the consumer’s purchasing power. 

However, after two years of inflation well above the Fed’s target and beyond any Americans wage increases the pain is felt. Many are beginning to ask if inflation is only 3.1% why don’t they feel the ‘improvement’. 

The answer lies in the dirty little secret about inflation few financial pundits will discuss. 

 

Welcome to the inflation ratchet

The secret is while the annual rate of inflation has dropped considerably from it’s high of 9.1% in June of 2022, the cost of most goods and services remains well above their prepandemic levels. This has carved out a large part of middle class wealth and decimated retiree’s casfhlow Unfortunately, most consumers find themselves attached to 2021 wages with 2024 prices eating away at their pocketbook. 

Much like a ratchet, gains in the rate of inflation are ‘locked in’ with higher prices becoming the new norm. The future growth of inflation is added to the existing inflated cost of goods and services. While the rate of which the ratchet advances may have slowed the higher prices of 2021-2023 become the new baseline for American consumers.

For example, on average Americans are paying 25% more for their groceries. The price of a eggs has fallen from it’s high of $4.82 a dozen in January 2023 but remains 71% higher than they were just three years ago. The price for a pound of bread is 25% higher than it was in January 2021. 

But what about the GDP?!

Today, despite the problematic effects of inflation, many financial pundit are touting the positive GDP numbers released earlier this month. While true, the GDP or Gross Domestic Product reveals strong economic output but prices remain stubbornly higher than they were just two or three years ago. So is deflation the answer? Will your $7 latte ever go back to its 2019 $5 price? The answer to both is no.

While falling prices or deflation sounds like an attractive proposition it actually can wreak havoc on an economy. Falling prices can lead to a spike in unemployment and postpone consumer purchases which fuel our economic output. Why buy that new washing machine when it will be cheaper in a few months? In fact, the Federal Reserve prefers modest price increases or inflation averaging an annualized rate of two percent.

How are today’s retire’s faring? Not so well. Even with Social Security benefits being increased thanks to the Cost of Living Adjustments of 5.9, 8.7 and 3.2% in the years 2021-2023 respectively, the aggregate increase of 17.8% while helpful doesn’t fully offset the increased cost of auto, home or health insurance. Should they need a car Kelly Blue Book reports the average auto transaction will cost 6,500 higher than it did in 2021. 

 

Marketplace.org curated the cost of common everyday goods and found the following price increases.

Again, a slowing annualized rate of inflation only means that the cost of a select ‘basket of goods’ has increased by a given percentage (CPI0 any given month- an increase that’s added to the already baked-in inflated costs of everyday goods and services that remain well above 2020 and 2021 prices.

 

Another good reason to pick up the phone or contact those homeowners who said “no” just one or two years ago.

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How the HECM will be impacted by inflation, the national debt, and monetary policy

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The economic forces that will shape HECM lending in 2024

Recent economic news has been a mixed bag.


First, the good news. The U.S. gross domestic product or GDP increased at a 3.3% annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2023 fueled in most part by consumer holiday spending. Regardless, the GDP has exceeded economist’s expectations.


The bad news is that January’s inflation report shows consumer prices rose 3.1% from one year ago pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average down over 700 points last Tuesday closing down 525 points by the end of the day’s trading. The inflation report undermined investor expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates several times this year as early as spring. Higher than anticipated inflation also led the 10-year Treasury yield bo jump 15 basis points last Monday. But when investor confidence is low, bond prices increase and yields fall, as there is more demand for this safe investment.


Consequently, HECM professionals have seen a modest erosion of gross loan proceeds in the first weeks in February as higher expected rates reduced HECM principal limit factors. This comes after 10-year Constant Maturity Treasury rate fell from its high of 4.98% in mid October to a low of 3.79% by the end of December.


Yet larger economic forces are likely to present headwinds to any significant drop in treasury rates. The San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank’s report entitled The Long-Run Fiscal Outlook in the United States sounds the alarm on the national debt and it’s long-term impact on interest rates.

“The U.S. federal debt is now roughly as large as the country’s annual GDP. A high and rising ratio of debt to GDP not only raises government borrowing costs but also risks pushing up long-run interest rates”, says the report.


In addition, investors buying treasuries are likely to demand higher returns as federal spending continues to surge. The greater the perceived risk the higher the rate. Also 10-year treasuries expose the investor to long-term risks, chief among them inflation as the return on the investment could be lessened or even erased by inflation.


The last time our national debt was nearly as large as our nation’s GDP was at the end of World War II as a result of defense spending. The debt-to-GDP ratio fell steadily from over 100% in 1945 to a low of 25% by 1975 thanks to economic growth that exceeded our interest paid on the national debt. Without a significant reduction in interest rates it’s likely that the U.S. debt will continue to grow pushing the debt ratio even higher, that and both parties in Congress who continue to push federal spending to record highs.


This doesn’t mean that treasury rates won’t retreat this year, however, there are considerable hurdles to any sizable reduction in the 10-year Treasury rates due to current market conditions. That said, we continue to see modest fluctuations in rates with future releases economic data.

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Surrender but never give up

Finding the Balance of Flow

It’s said that Americans are a stubborn lot. I would venture to add that reverse mortgage professionals are even more so. Steadfast in the face of ever-changing market conditions. Resilient in the face of adversity. Hopeful for a better future. So give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back.

But there’s also a time to surrender- to submit to those forces over which we have no control. Forces such as interest rates, home values, and economy.

One person who embodies the balance of surrendering and yet without giving away his core values is Vice Admiral James Stockdale. As a POW captured by the Viet Cong Stockdale quickly learned what he had to accept and that part of him which would remain untouchable.

From his experience in captivity we have the Stockdale Paradox which states “You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time, have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

Two questions arise from this paradox. What is your faith anchored to? And, are you in the practice of accepting the most brutal facts you face today?

Neither question is for the faint of heart, but if there’s one thing reverse mortgage professionals like yourself have proven over the years is their resilience.

Consider what situations or circumstances you need to submit to and above all project your inner self from the temptation to give ourselves away give in completely.

3 Lessons Reverse Mortgage Professionals Can Learn from Amtrak & NYC’s Subway System

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Signs, communication & reassurance

My wife and I just returned from our tenth anniversary vacation to New York City and Niagara Falls. Traveling comes with its own set of challenges but also opportunities for teachable moments. With a nine and a half hour ride from Penn Station to Niagara Falls and back the importance of how we interact with our potential borrowers and clients came to mind as the landscape rushed by our window.

Lesson #1: Clear communication is essential!

After taking the F train from Queens to Penn Station’s Moynihan Hall in Manhattan we continued to follow the countless signs to prepare for our departure. You have to hand it to New Yorkers- their signage is extensive and detailed, and while at times confusing, those who persist will find themselves at their intended destination. 

My favorite signs are those in New York City’s subway cars. Once boarded you’ll now instantly if you’ve boarded the right train. The interior sign shows you the next stop and how many stops until your desired destination. It’s simple, clear, and reduces a traveler’s anxiety as they can track their progress. Perhaps those originating in New York may want to create a chart describing the reverse mortgage process with a similar layout.

Establishing expectations reassures homeowners where they’ll begin and the steps required to ultimately fund their loan.

There’s signage and then there’s verbal communication. 

Amtrak’s announcements are somewhat reminiscent of going to a cattle auction. A steady cadence of fast, somewhat incomprehensible words strung together, coupled with the employee’s local dialect. When it comes to speaking “New York”, I have no problems and the accent rarely is an obstacle. It’s the pacing that doesn’t always ensure the message being sent is received by those waiting to board.

Lesson #2: Reassure them along the way

After two days of exploring Niagara Falls and city near our hotel we returned the Amtrak station for a 6:47 a.m. departure. Walking through the ground level doors and arriving at the second floor waiting area we found an empty waiting area and ticket counter. Not one employee was to be seen. “This place is a ghost ship”, I quipped to my wife. As the minutes passed I chuckled to myself wondering if we were in the wrong place. We weren’t. It just so happened that we were the only two passengers to board in Niagara. Let’s just say our choice of seats was unlimited.

In the same way reverse mortgage applicants may get antsy waiting for updates on their loan application’s status. The top mortgage originators I know are proactive and instruct their applicants that they will update them on one or two specific days each week. 

Lesson #3: Show a little tenderness

Any vacation or application for a reverse mortgage for that matter is a collection of experiences. Little waypoints along the way that become part of one’s collective experience. As reverse mortgage professionals it’s our duty to ensure homeowners receive a concierge level of service and politeness they deserve. Perhaps several of you reading this who have experienced superb service  have been inspired to reach for new levels of excellence in your own practice. 

Unfortunately, a trip to the dining car reminded me just how we don’t want to interact with our valued applicants and borrowers. After a 5:00 a.m. wakeup call coffee was at the top of my to-do list. Approaching the cafe counter the employee slowly got up from his chair and approached the point-of-sale computer. “Good morning”, I said. “Just a minute”, he gruffly replied, “I’m not ready”. Okay. After a minute or two of zero eye contact or even a greeting I placed my order for two coffees. “Just tap your card here”. Obediently I tapped my card but it didn’t take so I laid it down a bit longer. “I didn’t say keep it on there. I said tap it quickly”, said Mr. Cheerful. Throughout the exchange I refused to return rudeness in kind instead addressing him as “sir” and saying please and thank you.  After the card charged successfully I carried our  treasured hot coffee back to our seats. “What was that?!” I thought. That, was exactly what we never want our customers to experience.

Each of our interactions should (1) acknowledge our customers promptly (2) express gratitude for the opportunity to serve them, and (3) leave them a reason to ultimately give us a five-star review. 

Clear communication, a reassuring experience, and top-notch customer service are crucial to our success and reputation as reverse mortgage professionals. After all, anything we can do to smooth out a homeowner’s reverse mortgage journey may lead them to recommend their friends and family take your reverse mortgage train.

All aboard! 


 

 

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