How’s Your Foundation?


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This last weekend I learned a valuable lesson about the importance of foundations. My wife and I recently purchased a new memory foam bed. Seeking greater stability I decided to make some changes..reverse mortgage news

Each of us should examine the foundation of our business: our plan, where we spend our time, and how often we get out of the office and effectively engage homeowners and professionals in our region…

Emergency! Equipping Elders for the Unexpected



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Retirement Preparedness Part 2:

As the Olympics taught, preparation is all. No one wins gold without years, if not decades, of grueling training, and no one retires with all aspects of their life in place without prior planning — ideally years, if not decades, before retirement.

But while we’ve focused on the financial, interpersonal and medical aspects of retirement planning, we haven’t explored emergency preparedness: what to do if there is a fire, flood, earthquake, tornado, power outage, etc.

How to Keep Seniors Safer

In some parts of the country, such as Florida, people may be more prepared for hurricanes since they’ve experienced enough of them. The same holds true for the Midwest and tornadoes. But emergencies can happen anywhere — remember when “superstorm” Sandy plunged much of New York City into darkness, and hospital patients had to be carried down flights of stairs for transport to other facilities?

This excellent Red Cross download covers disaster preparedness for seniors by seniors. After experiencing a two-week-long power failure due to a massive ice storm, a group of seniors in upstate New York realized that even basic preparation would have eliminated much of the hardship they endured.

Generously wanting to help other seniors be ready for similar predicaments, a dozen Rochester residents created this helpful handbook. Your reverse mortgage clients and prospects may wish to print and bind the entire document and keep it handy, or affix a few key pages to places like the refrigerator or closet door, where they will be easily accessible.

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Three Steps to Preparedness

The seniors recommend a trio of steps: get a kit, make a plan, be informed. While these may sound simple, they could make a life-saving difference in a crisis.

A basic emergency kit, packed and ready, should:

  • Contain enough supplies to last at least three days.
  • Store supplies in one or more easy-to-carry containers, such as a backpack or duffel bag.
  • Be on wheels if possible.
  • Have an ID tag: name, address, phone number, email.
  • Be kept up-to-date. Review the contents at least every six months or as your needs change. Check expiration dates and shift stored supplies into everyday use before they expire. Replace food, water and batteries, and refresh medications and other perishable items with “first in, first out” practices.

In addition, any equipment, such as wheelchairs, canes, or walkers should be labeled with the senior’s name, address and phone numbers.

20 suggestions to include in a senior’s disaster supplies kit:

  • Water: one gallon per person, per day (3-day supply for
  • evacuation and 2-week supply for home)
  • Food: include foods that do not need cooking (canned, dried, etc.) (3-day supply for evacuation and 2-week supply for home)
  • Flashlight with extra batteries and bulbs (do not use candles)
  • Radio: battery-operated
  • First aid kit and manual
  • Medications (7-day supply) and medical items
  • Multi-purpose tool such as a Swiss Army knife, plus a manual can opener
  • Secure container for essential assistive devices: hearing aids, eyeglasses
  • Sanitation and personal hygiene items (toilet paper, plastic garbage bags)
  • Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, deed/lease to home, birth certificates, insurance policies)
  • Cell phone with an extra battery and charger(s)
  • Emergency contact information for family and friends
  • Cash (ATMs may not be accessible)
  • Blanket
  • Map(s) of the local area (Internet may be down)
  • Whistle to attract the attention of emergency personnel
  • Change of clothing
  • Pet and service animal supplies, including food and vaccination records
  • Extra set of keys: car, house, etc.
  • Pack of playing cards for entertainment and to pass the time

Making a plan includes knowing the best escape routes and meeting places, and where you will rendezvous with family members in the event you need to leave the area immediately. It also means making sure you have adequate insurance. (Just as Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care, homeowners’ insurance doesn’t typically cover flood damage and some other hazards.)

Most of all, emergency preparedness for seniors means having a support network. Know how you’ll be notified of a disaster, where to go, and keep your kit up to date. If you never need to use it, you’ll still have the peace of mind that comes from knowing Nature isn’t likely to catch you unawares.

A Dysfunctional Marketplace?


The Mortgage Professor Examines the HECM Marketplace

reverse mortgage newsDysfunction: abnormal or impaired functioning of a person, organ, or in our case Home Equity Conversion Mortgages. Is our market truly dysfunctional? If so, what corrections can we make to better expand our reach to eligible homeowners?

Some people report on what is. Others ask the more difficult questions of ‘why’ and how to fix it. Jack Guttentag, also known as the Mortgage Professor is the latter. His recent column in Wharton University of Pennsylvania’s website should grab the attention of every reverse mortgage professional. Guttentag opens stating, “More seniors should be funding their retirement years by drawing funds from their home equity through reverse mortgages. But not enough homeowners do it because of a dysfunctional HECM market, as well as fear, ignorance, and distrust of reverse mortgages that make seniors stay away.” Point well taken since industry estimates show us having a mere 2% market penetration of…

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary, and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today

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A Tribute to Monte Rose

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Industry Veteran Monte Rose’s Passing

IMG_4317-e1398706848382It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Monte Rose. Monte is a well-known industry veteran who touched the lives of many both in and outside our industry. He passed away unexpectedly in bed Wednesday, September 21st.

Monte was one of the founding reverse mortgage professionals in our industry. He worked as a loan officer under Financial Freedom founder Jim Mahoney. His talents did not stop at origination as Monte published a popular book called “Go Sell, Go Serve” which passed on his decades of experience of selling at the kitchen table.

Monte passed on his immeasurable experience and ethical approach for several years with his personal coaching company.

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I was privileged to spend time with Monte when Reverse Focus was just a fledgling start-up company. His sage advice, wisdom and mentoring were invaluable but more valuable was his friendship.

Monte is survived by his wife Debbie and several family members. Please consider contributing to Debbie and her family during this most challenging time. You can contribute here.

Please comment with your memories, stories, and condolences which we will gather and pass onto his family below.


How Good is Your Band?


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music-fromHave you ever watched a band and wondered how to they do it? How do so many instruments and personalities come together for one harmonious sound? For the most part, we enjoy the music at face value.

Truth be told, what you see on stage belies the fact that the band members have worked diligently over countless practices, conflicts and compromises with the reward being a ‘tight’ band, or one that plays well together and in sync.

If you consider your sales team and your company is everyone playing their part in harmony with the other equally important players? Here are some ideas we can borrow from bands that we can apply to our professional efforts and the companies we play a part in.

1. Everyone shows up prepared. Each member should have…

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary, and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today

Is Your Marriage ‘Retirement-Ready’?



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Retirement Preparedness Part 1:

reverse mortgage newsWe’ve all heard stories about the couple who got along famously… until the husband retired and was suddenly underfoot all day, rearranging his wife’s kitchen cupboards or telling her how to run the household, making a general nuisance of himself — and possibly jeopardizing the marriage, because, while he diligently saved for retirement, neither he nor his spouse planned for the tremendous shift that would occur in their daily lives once the husband and wife were under the same roof all day.

(For younger retirees, where the wife has also held a job, or for same-sex couples, the outward appearance may differ but the issues are essentially the same.)

Gray Divorce Is Booming

Baby Boomers are ending their marriages at record rates, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. The AAML found that 61 percent of its 1600 members have seen a rise in what’s termed “gray divorce”: divorce among those 50+. And retirement may have something to do with it.

Reverse mortgage professionals, take note: making marriage retirement-ready is the one area of retirement planning most couples miss. As a result, a couple may work hard, save and invest, raise a family, and look forward to their senior years — only to discover, as one recently retired man admitted to his financial planner with sadness, “I don’t know my wife and she doesn’t know anything about me. We raised four great kids and did what we had to do… but we were ships in the night and now everything feels off. We still do stuff and go through the motions but it’s not what I expected at this stage in life.”

For other couples, the challenges may center on a refusal to help out or go out, an obsession with a specific sport such as golf or tennis, or becoming a “cheapskate” because of a deep-seated fear of running out of money. While the latter issue can often be assuaged with a reverse mortgage for qualified seniors, the larger problem is failing to plan for how life roles, responsibilities, time, energy, and health will shift once both halves of a couple are retired.

According to Dr. Louis Primavera and Rob Pascale, authors of The Retirement Maze: What You Should Know Before and After You Retire there are several ways couples can psychologically prepare their marriage for retirement:

Commit to talking about it. Honest discussion lays the groundwork for greater understanding and is much more productive than simmering in silence.
Eliminate expectations. Each member of the couple can explain how they view retirement, what activities they hope to do jointly, areas each would prefer to manage solo (e.g., the kitchen, the garden) and how to integrate one another into activities either person previously handled alone.
Appreciate separate time as well as togetherness. If she has a weekly quilting group or he loves to golf with his buddies (or just the opposite — gender roles are fluid today), accept, allow and encourage this time apart from each other. Separate activities also give a couple something to talk about later.
Face obstacles with aplomb. Disenchantment after six months or so of retirement can be a normal part of the adjustment process. Running into difficulties doesn’t have to spell the end of a long and mostly happy marriage. If a couple has prepped their marriage for retirement, whatever issues arise can find a workable solution — and it’s OK to ask for help from a qualified professional if necessary.
Plan for the first retirement while one continues to work. If both partners work, odds are one will retire before the other. Discuss how this will play out on the home front, so you’re both on board with your evolving roles.

Understanding Critics Key to Success


reverse mortgage newsUnderstanding Those Opposed to the HECM Key to Market Expansion

If we want to expand the reach of the reverse mortgage into the hearts and minds of financial professionals, we first must understand and objectively listen to their objections.

*Due to our new scripting approach we do not have a transcript of this episode. We will be providing transcripts once we secure a video to text dialog converter. Thank you for your understanding.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary, and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today

Are You an Addict?


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Are you an addict? That is do you have a digital addiction?tech-addict

*Due to our new scripting approach we do not have a transcript of this episode. We will be providing transcripts once we secure a video to text dialog converter. Thank you for your understanding.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary, and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today

Death, Be Not Proud



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reverse mortgage newsDuring the dog days of summer, Betsy Davis, who had ALS (the progressive motor neuron disease also known Lou Gehrig’s disease, which theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has as well) hosted an extraordinary gathering: a two-day party for friends and relatives — at the close of which she took a lethal dose of drugs to end her life. Davis is one of the first Californians to take advantage of the state’s new End of Life Option Act for the terminally ill.

Her friends called the party “the final performance” for the painter and performance artist, who could no longer stand, brush her teeth or scratch an itch. “What Betsy did gave her the most beautiful death that any person could ever wish for,” said cinematographer Niels Alpert. “By taking charge, she turned her departure into a work of art.”

Dying the way she wanted

Although Davis wasn’t a senior, her decision to take control of her dying process is becoming more common among elders who know the end is near.

While Betsy Davis hosted her farewell party in San Diego, in Chicago, 92-year-old Margaret Coleman was also preparing to die: at home, attended by her fourteen children. For the previous two years, the kids had rotated caregiving shifts as their mother grew frail. With fourteen people dividing the work, each needed to cover only a single weekly 12-hour shift, so that Coleman was never alone.

In her final weeks, the devoted children helped their mom fulfill the final item on her bucket list: a visit to the family cottage on Lake Michigan, where she’d been summering since the 1930s. They packed up her wheelchair and portable oxygen. Parked her bed next to the window, with a view of the lake. And yes, threw a party.

Once back home, Coleman smiled her gratitude, and peacefully expired. The family talked about how happy it made them that she could die at home, as she’d wanted.

Preparing for the death they choose

This is what many seniors want — and what their families and friends may be quite reluctant to face: enabling the elders they love to die the way they prefer, which is far from the dominant paradigm of being hospitalized, surrounded by strangers and impersonal machines.

The less we fear aging and death, the more helpful we can be to those approaching this passage. Reverse mortgage professionals can serve as a bridge, since you work with both a senior population and their family members. As one LO wisely states, “As we age, we become our parents and finally our grandparents, and it provides us with the unique opportunity to help guide and instill the right values in our younger family members without being judgmental.”

Holding space for the dying

The best way to prepare those who are nearing death is to hold space for their process, which will also go a long way towards mitigating the fear of dying, for them and for us.

What does “holding space” mean? Basically, to walk with someone (figuratively, if not literally) on their journey, without judging how it could or should look. Admittedly, this is not an easy task. It entails opening the heart wide in vulnerability.

Ideally, holding space happens in a circle of support and not in a vacuum, so that while you hold space for a client or a loved one who is dying, someone else (perhaps a chaplain, hospice nurse, other caregiver, or friend) is holding space for you.

By creating a container in which it is safe enough for someone to express what they want and share challenging emotions, we grant the seniors in our lives the power to choose the kind of exit that surrounds them with love, peace, and even a measure of happiness.

The Call for a Low-Cost HECM


A Call for the Return of the HECM Saver?

reverse mortgage newsIn October 2010, the HECM Saver was introduced giving borrowers considerably lower upfront FHA insurance premiums in exchange for lower lending ratios or principal limits. Three short years later the Saver was eliminated from the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program. Ironically, it was this now-eliminated program that spurred considerable interest in the HECM within financial planning circles. Today, some retirement experts are calling again for a low-cost reverse mortgage.

When HUD eliminated the HECM Saver it also increased the upfront or initial mortgage insurance premiums for those utilizing a high percentage of available funds. In their reengineering of the program they baked in disbursement options that offered lower premiums for…

Download a transcript of this episode here.

Looking for more reverse mortgage news, commentary, and technology? Visit ReverseFocus.com today