The Country of Surprise: New questions to ask

[ad#CCCS]
Understanding Unexpected Later Life Shifts

It’s one thing to talk about aging looking forward; quite another to view it from within that mature skin. In How Did I Get to Be 70 When I’m 35 Inside? 70-year-old Linda Douty offers a delightful “new paradigm” roadmap for conscious aging, focusing on the landscape of surprise in seven stages: Surprises of the Self, Body, Relationships, and the Sacred; to Surprising Challenges, Gifts, and Wisdom.

The more than fifty elders she interviewed pulled no punches, yet their honesty conveys humor and acceptance, even joy, as people embrace the freedom to finally express the totality of who they are, without apology or restraint.

Understanding Reverse Mortgage Clients

Since many reverse mortgage professionals may be closer to 35 than to 70, Douty’s book offers a useful peek inside your prospects’ minds.

I especially enjoyed her take on how, as we age, we tend to experience weight gain and memory loss — along with a shrewd way to ameliorate this change: “Our culture seems much more obsessed with what we feed our bodies than what we feed our minds. How many calories? How much fiber? But our minds take ‘bites’ from a huge buffet of offerings — violent movies, TV sitcoms, trashy novels, idle gossip — all junk food for the brain. To retain any measure of hope and optimism, we must become aware of our own complicity in this junk-food diet.”

Then there’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom. One senior gentleman told her with a grin, “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”

To open a deeper dialogue with your reverse mortgage prospects, consider adapting one or more of Douty’s inquiries. The seniors you meet with will likely be happily surprised that their reverse mortgage professional is taking such a dedicated interest in their lives. Douty’s questions include:

1. What has surprised you most about aging?
2. What have you discovered about yourself that you didn’t know before?
3. How would you complete the sentence, “I’ve always wanted to …”
4. What has been your greatest challenge in growing older?
5. Your greatest joy?
6. How old do you feel inside?

Sooner or later, if we’re fortunate enough, we’ll all become residents in the country of surprise. This is your invitation to visit, and return with wisdom gained.

Making Ends Meet: Lifesavers Part 2

[ad#CCCS]

Making Ends Meet With Reverse Mortgage Help

Reverse Mortgage To Help Pay DebtReverse mortgages offer one solution to many of today’s pressing financial issues, such as dwindling retirement funds, minimal Social Security checks (next year’s increase is just a drop in the proverbial bucket), necessary home repairs/improvements, and much more.

Grateful reverse mortgage qualifiers eagerly express how a reverse mortgage helped them make ends meet. Here’s one woman’s thank-you letter to her reverse mortgage company (Security One Lending):

“I’m writing to let you know how satisfied we are with our reverse mortgage. You know how I hesitated in the beginning. But you never pushed! You and your colleagues were so supportive. You explained over and over again so that I fully understood the process.

“We were in dire financial stress, running low on money at the end of the month, not able to save any, and you showed us a way out. Thank you so much.

“I will say Kathy (Halliday) is an invaluable assist to your company. She was a lifeline when I needed one. Everyone I met or worked with was so considerate and helpful. My! How you must have gotten tired of my phone calls! But, none of you ever left me hanging.

“Yes! We would recommend a reverse mortgage to all our friends, as long as they choose your company to handle it. It has freed up our lives and given us a better quality of life in our retiring years. Thank you for your direction and guidance.”

Reverse Mortgages Help pay Debt

The Redding Record Searchlight reported how two senior men found reverse mortgage to be the answer for their financial needs. Frank Cheatham, an 80-year-old Redding resident who owns two paid-off duplexes, opted for a reverse mortgage to help his son pay down debt. Since his son would inherit the properties someday, the reverse mortgage made use of a future bequest to solve an immediate need. Cheatham also used some of the reverse mortgage loan for home maintenance.

For 68-year-old Burney resident Rod Armstrong, a reverse mortgage became the means to supplement his Social Security and other retirement income. The retired airline pilot says he and his spouse updated their home’s carpeting, and are planning a few trips as well.

Both Cheatham and Armstrong deposited their reverse mortgage loans into accounts they can draw from as the need arises — a smart move.

Celink & Reverse Mortgages – Curing T&I Defaults: A servicers perspective

[vimeo id=”32590209″ width=”601″ height=”338″]

Learn what Celink is doing to help borrowers prevent and cure tax and insurance defaults for reverse mortgage borrowers.

A Behind The Scenes Look At Curing Tax & Insurance Defaults
Our exclusive interview with Celink’s John LaRose at last month’s NRMLA meeting uncovers some of the steps being taken by reverse mortgage servicers to cure tax and insurance defaults.

Celink & Reverse Mortgages

AARP Regulations – Have they gone too far?

That may be just what future reverse mortgage borrowers may need to do to satisfy federal regulators before getting the loan. AARP recently called for more ‘special protections’ to help prevent serious harm (full story here). What is puzzling is the mixed messages that often come from AARP regarding reverse mortgages; first endorsing and then later criticizing.

When it comes to fraud is our industry rife with it? AARP’s senior attorney cited high fees that ‘scammers’ can use to suck away people’s home equity. Really? Are we on the same page? HUD restructured the loan origination calculation for borrowers lowering fees dramatically from 2% of the homes appraised value some time ago not to mention the introduction of the HECM Saver last October. When it comes to fraud do we have any real evidence that shows a disproportionate problem with reverse mortgages versus traditional loans?

Certainly high fees were a black eye for reverse mortgages but that issue has long been settled by both HUD and the market with mandated loan origination reductions, lower costs to consumers due to the secondary market and new low cost products like the Saver. Are high fees the risk to borrowers exposing them to losing their home or is it a lack of education or responsibility of the borrower to meet the obligations of insurance and property taxes? I would venture to say it is the later, and steps have been taken to reduce that risk to both borrower and lenders alike.

Beyond mandatory counseling, duplicate warnings, disclosures and all caps ‘buyer beware’ statements in an application what additional protections really can be practically put in place? No one would disagree that consumers deserve sound product education and protections but in the end will they need to chew through barbed wire to get a reverse mortgage? What segment of borrowers could potentially be hurt the worst from regulations that treat the HECM as a toxic loan of last resort and what message does this send to our new segment of higher net worth borrowers who may be looking at a HECM for the first time?

Reverse Mortgage Industry – Are we too big to disappear (fail)?

[vimeo id=”32327877″ width=”601″ height=”338″]

The Future Of The Reverse Mortgage Industry

Will our industry disappear due to economic pressure and regulation?

Our commentary examines while we are small segment of mortgage lending are we irreplaceable nonetheless? It’s a look at an industry coming of age.

Watch this week’s video and leave your comments below.

The Future Of The Reverse Mortgage Industry