The Art of Socratic Selling

Do you think that’s what you sell to prospective clients in order to elicit a quote request? If your response is yes, question this assumption. In so doing, you’ll be moving towards Socratic dialogue — the key to successful sales.

Continue reading

Ten sentences to change your life

Here are ten sentences to improve your life. #1 “People aren’t against you; they are for themselves.” The sooner we understand human nature the better we are able to relate to others. #2 “Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” #3 “You learn more from failure than from success; don’t let it stop you. Failure builds character.” We learn best from the school of hard knocks. It’s how we are wired. #4 “The most dangerous risk…”

Continue reading

What just happened? A look behind the scenes.

Even though HUD telegraphed their intentions to make substantial changes to the reverse mortgage program many today are in a state of shock. Here’s brief look behind the scenes courtesy of NRMLA’s special bulletin. First, our industry has been very active in working with those shaping policies for the HECM program. NRMLA and others have been working tirelessly

Continue reading

Overcoming Shock

Any massive industry change that effects our business can lead to a variety of symptoms: fear, helplessness, anger, sadness or paralysis. That is to be expected. The question is how can we as individuals overcome our state of shock. Now here are a few things …

Continue reading

Rethinking Housing, Boomer Style

 

[ad#CCCS]
There’s no question the Boomers are reimagining every aspect of retirement, as we’ve discussed extensively in previous posts. One of the biggest factors is where and how to live, since, unlike prior generations, there’s no assumption that they will simply retire, sit back, and relax in the home they’ve always owned.

According to The Power Years by aging expert Ken Dychtwald, a Del Webb survey indicates nearly two-thirds of Boomers — 59 percent — plan to relocate after leaving their primary careers. Ten percent even plan to purchase a second home. Clearly, many Boomers view retirement as a time to expand, not contract. And they embody a wanderlust that characterized their coming-of-age in the 1960s — a nomadic state of mind which they’ve never lost, and now embrace with fervor.

So in facilitating your younger reverse mortgage prospects with their housing options, release the images of both staying put and of a golf course in Florida or Arizona, advises Dychtwald, now 62 and hardly the image of a “retiree”; while these states still top the list of places to move as Boomers age, many other locations, including Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Maine, hold allure. How to find the best combination of weather, opportunities, affordable housing and leisure? Interactive websites such as Find Your Spot and Best Places allow people to mix a number of criteria, then offer suggestions of the best places to settle in the power years.

Another idea is theme communities. Dychtwald cites examples of one couple who relocated to a horseback riding ranch, and notes that there are also one focused on the arts, fitness, gardening, and ecology. Some people are opting for intergenerational communities in which elders play an active role, but unlike “retirement villages”, such communities are not off-limits to the younger set.

College towns are popular for the mix of culture, walkability and affordable housing they usually provide. If one of your reverse mortgage clients has strong ties to his or her alma mater, this might be an excellent suggestion of a place to seek a primary or secondary residence for their power years.

Some people will not relinquish the city for anything, so if this is your prospect, perhaps they’d like the reverse of typical retirement housing: a primary city residence and a sometime-home in the country, rather than the other way around.

Whatever constitutes your Boomer reverse mortgage prospects’ ideal homestead for the Third Act, supporting their shifting perspective will help cement a sound relationship as you discover how to best serve their evolving needs.

Risk Management: A Fair Approach?

With FHA’s mortgage portfolio showing and estimated negative $16 billion dollar balance after accounting for projected future losses the agency is in risk management mode. But with the HECM program possibly facing reduced loan to value ratios, or as we call them principal limit ratios, wouldn’t it be wise to reduce lending ratios for traditional FHA mortgage borrowers? Today, despite the housing crash and fragile market recovery, borrowers can pay a minimum of 3.5 percent down…

Continue reading

Celink Recognized for Ethical Leadership

Lansing, Michigan (December 13, 2012)

Celink, the nation’s largest independent reverse mortgage subservicer, has been named one of three companies to receive the annual 2012 BBB of Western Michigan Integrity Award. Megan E. Hopkins, Director of the Center for Character Ethics said, “Celink’s selection came after a panel of judges evaluated numerous nominations, and the award represents trust and integrity in our 38-county regional business community.”

Ryan LaRose, President and COO, views the award as validation of the Celink Code of Ethics, first drafted by his father and CEO John LaRose. “The tremendous benefits of reverse mortgages have erroneously fallen under the shadow of the national mortgage crisis. The reverse mortgage industry is charged with ethical leadership. Receiving this integrity award is full affirmation that our company’s guiding principle of ‘Doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason’ is sound business practice.”

###
About Celink
Celink is the nation’s select and largest, independent reverse mortgage servicer and is licensed in all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Celink’s reverse mortgage servicing portfolio exceeds $29 billion. A full organizational profile is available at: www.celink.com.
Contact:
John LaRose, CEO ● Phone: 517.321.9002
john@celink.com

Saving the Reverse Mortgage. What If?

[ad#Network Funding]

[vimeo id=”55127943″ width=”625″ height=”352″]

What if? That is pretty much all we can say as an industry about the certain and yet unknown changes to the federally insured HECM or reverse mortgage program. With an estimated future negative balance of 2.8 billion FHA finds itself in an awkward postion. One of defending the existence of the program before the Senate. Yes, some members of the Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs pushed the idea of suspending, yes stopping the program as a solution