Likeability. It may seem irrelevant to some but I believe that it will become more essential for reverse mortgage professionals in the coming months. Look at these traits and grade yourself and see where each of us may improve…
Continue readingEnhancing Communication / Part 2: In a Different Voice
Last month we focused on leading technologies and strategies to help reverse mortgage clients and prospects with hearing loss. But what if your client can’t speak?
In the past, people turned to augmentative communication devices such as a picture board or touch screen that used pictures or symbols. The speech-impaired person might touch the image of a glass to ask for a drink. While such devices can be customized, they’re still a far cry from full communication. And they only work in face-to-face interactions.
But we live in the age of smart. Now, on the heels of smart phones, comes Smartstones.
Smartstones is, yes, a stone that enables the user to tap rather than talk, using touch and gesture to send a clear message — and at distance. With a touch or swipe as on a typical keypad, a Smartstones user can send a message that they’re on the way, feel fine (or blue), or any number of basic messages one might send with a text. The difference is, this wearable “status-casting” device is small, screenless, and goes anywhere. Designed for mobility (the key to aging in place for most seniors), Smartstones are the size of a small river stone (and resemble one) that may be worn, held, or kept in a pocket without weighing the user down. They open up a whole new meaning to “rock and roll.”
“Smartstones are the quintessential example of ‘high tech meets high touch,'” says gerontologist Katy Fike, cofounder of Aging2.0. “While the device itself is extremely high-tech, the user experience is beautifully simple and intuitive. Smartstones opens up new communication channels and ways to stay connected.”
Smartstones: prose is a new product, now in beta, that enables people with verbal communication challenges due to stroke, dementia, etc. to “speak”. With one simple touch, family members (or a reverse mortgage candidate and LO) can communicate with one another non-verbally.
The criteria for participation are:
- Person with a diagnosis of some form of communication challenge (stroke, dementia, other) or a caregiver that is able to help facilitate
- Own or use of an iPhone 4S or newer, iOS 8
- Ability to physically maneuver phone (e.g. able to swipe screen and move actual phone from side to side)
- Cognitive ability to utilize language skills, but unable to communicate verbally
If you know of any qualified candidates for the Smartstones beta test, have them visit this page to request participation. A quantum leap forward from personal alert systems, a Smartstone also might be the device that saves a senior’s life.
Not Surprised
The media is inaccurate, misleading and selective in reporting the facts? What’s new. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent release of it’s report on reverse mortgage complaints was seized upon by both the media and so-called consumer advocate groups. Surprised? No. Damaging? Possibly.
Continue readingIt’s Never Been Easy
Yes, prior to 2010 originating reverse mortgages was less convoluted, confusing and restrictive but it was also no bed of roses either. Just a few things to consider to give us perspective.
Continue readingSilver-Green: How to Make New Buildings Age-Appropriate
Even if much of your business is conducted remotely, it’s important to have a senior-friendly office for those people who wish to meet with you in person. Below are some suggestions for ways to ensure your reverse mortgage clients and prospects feel welcome from the moment they drive up to your office.
Continue readingA Welcomed Delay
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Delay Grants More Time to Prepare for Assessment
Last week our industry received what many consider an early Valentines gift. Feel the love yet? HUD announced that they would be delaying implementation of the financial assessment which was slated to be in force March 2nd, 2015. The agency states a new effective date can be expected within 30 to 60 days. After numerous delays of the assessment I’m certain many of you watching are raising an eyebrow. Regardless of the nervous and jerky nature of the assessment we can seize upon five benefits of HUD’s postponement.
1- The opportunity to get more borrowers through the gate. Your prospects who are undecided may wish to act now for a more streamlined and less restrictive loan approval process. Our goal is not to instill fear but rather to give them the choice: act now or wait and go through the assessment. We should focus on borrowers who may require a substantial lifetime expectancy set aside who would see more proceeds prior to the assessment.
2- Time to adjust your marketing plan. We should all be asking ourselves ‘am I attracting the right type of borrower?’ Look at your marketing, lead sources and referral network and determine the typical borrower profile that each provides. If you’re presently marketing to areas with low…
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Shifting Sand
Indeed with the numerous delays and false launch of the financial assessment one could be left with a sense of uncertainty while trying to originate reverse mortgages. You’re not alone. Here are three tips to manage uncertainty today.
Continue readingEnhancing Communication / Part 1: Hear, Hear! Hearing Loss Can Be An Audible Problem
The Center for Hearing and Communication reports that 30-40 percent of people over 65 have some type of hearing loss. But younger people (perhaps even reverse mortgage professionals themselves) aren’t immune: 14 percent of those ages 45-64 also have some type of hearing loss.
Continue readingParsing Words
As industry watchdog and consumer advocate Atare Agbamu puts it “Fourteen words”. At the heart of the non-borrowing spouse debate and subsequent lawsuits brought agains HUD are fourteen words found in the original regulations of the HECM program as part of the National Housing Act in subsection J entitled “Safeguard to prevent displacement of homeowner”
Continue readingWhat the HECM Happened?
I’m sure I am not alone in thinking ‘what the heck happened to the reverse mortgage program’. It’s only natural to find yourself pondering this quandary if you’ve been originating federally-insured reverse mortgages four years or longer.
Continue reading