The American mortgage market is surgically attached to the Federal government. What would bring private capital back into the reverse mortgage marketplace?
Continue readingOvercoming Negativity
As an industry we have been pummeled with negative news, unexpected changes and worry. The key is not so much how NOT to be negative but HOW to be positive. It’s a practiced mental skill and muscle that must be flexed to grow…
Continue readingRegulations Changing Practice & Behavior
With the recently released final rules for loan officer compensation and the expected suspension of the standard fixed rate HECM product government agencies have drastically changed the motivations and interaction between mortgage lenders and borrowers. First loan officer compensation…
Continue readingA New Approach Required: Selling the Adjustable HECM
With the expected suspension of the fixed rate standard product comes the need to adjust our approach with prospective borrowers. Here are five tips to help with the transition…
Continue readingChopped? Standard Fixed Rate Days Are Numbered
It appears the super sweet fine grain sugar of the standard fixed rate is flying off the shelves and it’s return is uncertain. Brokers, lenders and loan officers are now faced with selling a new product mix and perhaps focusing on a new breed of borrowers.
Continue readingPeople, Get Ready.
None of us knows what the future holds but we do know some of what lie’s ahead. Take for example our industry: the suspension of the standard fixed rate and financial assessment. These are future certainties we should be planning ahead for. How
Continue readingWhere Else Would They Go?
It’s difficult to stand and keep taking punches from a largely misinformed media when it comes to reverse mortgages. On December 20th the Wall Street Journal published a Peter Bell (NRMLA President) response to an article the week before…
Continue readingAn Unlikely Ally?
The prospect of not continuing to offer reverse mortgages has created unlikely ally for the program, AARP according to Sterne Ageel. Wall Street sees the continued profitability of the program and TWO: AARP is seen as a defender of the HECM. While AARP has long educated consumers…
Continue readingTen 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 readingWhat 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
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