As an experienced loan officer, you understand the nature of aging and support your senior prospects and client. But what happens when circumstances irreversibly change?
Continue readingSo They Won’t Call Back?
Getting your prospective borrowers to call back can become an exercise in frustration. Rather than the same tired messages that get no results try appealing to one’s sense of curiosity and desire to be thanked.
Continue readingLater Life Discoveries: Part 1
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of the new business handbook for women, Lean In, exhorts and supports women to go all the way to the top in their careers, to speak up….
Continue readingU.S. Cities Aging Differently
With the rate at which the U.S. population is graying, it might seem that most cities and towns would have similar numbers of elder inhabitants, relative to their size. But this silver tsunami is not uniform.
Continue readingThe Country of Surprise: New questions to ask
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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.
New HUD Counseling Requirements
It’s important to be informed of the new HUD Counseling Requirements, and to pass the information along to your reverse mortgage clients. Watch the video for information on HUD Counseling Goals, considering your client’s budget, and more!
Webinar Rebroadcast: HUD Counseling Requirements: 1/7/10 from Reverse Fortunes on Vimeo.
