The Reverse Review May 2008

May 2008

THE

REVERSE “Forward Thinking in Reverse”

review Volume I, Number 2

Ethics Must Define the Reverse Mortgage Industry Retain a positive consumer perception by integrating ethics into your company mission.

John LaRose Reverse Market Outlook Read about the risks and opportunities of originating in the reverse mortgage industry.

John Lunde Wall Street Prefers LIBOR HECM’s LIBOR vs. CMT: Find out which HECM is better for your borrower.

Jerry Wagner

The Blueprint for Making Your Company “Brand New” Stephen Kinney PAGE

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Whether you are seeking to reestablish or repurpose your existing brand, or start a new one, learn how to set your company apart from the rest.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

• Are You Sending the Right Marke ng Message?

• Building the Reverse Mortgage Sales Strategy from the Ground Up • Understanding Reverse Mortgage Loan Servicing Concepts • Looking at the Reverse World from a “Forward” Thinker

New Opportunities In Reverse Mortgage Lending For FHA Approved and Non FHA Approved Lenders 1st Reverse Financial Services, LLC, a subsidiary of a federally chartered institution, exclusively provides banks and mortgage lenders with the tools needed to build successful Reverse Mortgage Lending platforms.

Let our experienced team of Reverse Mortgage Professionals help you to build it!

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Complete Training Programs for the Origination and Processing of Reverse Mortgage Loans Products From Multiple Investors Outsourced Backroom Services Available Private Labeled Lending Solutions Marketing Assistance and Support Access to Proprietary Technology Platforms Proprietary & JUMBO Reverse Mortgage Programs

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877-574-1000 www.1stReverse.com 410 Quail Ridge Drive, Westmont, Illinois 60559 For lending professionals only and not intended for consumer distribution. © 2008 - 1st Reverse Financial Services, LLC.

Experience 1st Reverse “Concierge” Level Service and Support

THE

REVERSE review

Cover Story The Blueprint for Making Your Company “Brand New”

May 2008

by Stephen Kinney

Volume I, Number 2

11 Ethics Must Define the Reverse Mortgage Industry Formalize a code of ethics for your organiza on to set yourself apart as an industry leader.

by John LaRose

14 Building the Reverse Mortgage Sales Strategy from the Ground Up Learn to improve your sales strategy by adding to your pre-exis ng arsenal of skills

by Monte Rose

24 20 Are You Sending the Right Marketing Message?

Long-term care is a family issue, but it is more o en a woman’s issue. Are you targe ng the right audience?

by Valerie VanBooven

22 Wall Street Prefers LIBOR HECM’s There has been a lot of buzz about the LIBOR HECM. Read the historical analysis of the LIBOR vs. CMT

by Jerry Wagner

29 Reverse Mortgage Outlook Taking a look at the growing risks and rewards of an ever changing reverse mortgage marketplace.

by John Lunde

31 Understanding Reverse Mortgage Loan Servicing Concepts the basics

5

Note From the Editor

6

Ask the Underwriter

by Ralph Rosynek Industry Snapshot

8 33 34

Directory The Last Word: Looking at the Reverse World from a “Forward” Thinker

by Lisa Schreiber

Are you familiar with the costs of reverse mortgage loan servicing? Here are a few things your need to know.

by David J. Cesario If you would like to contribute an ar cle for a future issue, please email your ar cle for review to editors@reversereview.com

THEREVERSE

review THE

REVERSE review Editor Aman Makkar Copy & Design Editor Harpreet Makkar Production Manager Jason Westbrook Sales Manager Gina Smiar Printer The Ovid Bell Press, Inc. Contributing Authors Ralph Rosynek John Lunde Monte Rose Valerie VanBooven Jerry Wagner Stephen Kinney David J. Cesario John LaRose Lisa Schreiber

Advertising Information

Rates, specifica ons, and deadline informa on available. phone : 858-217-5332 email : adver sing@reversereview.com

Subscriptions and Editorial Content

phone : 858-217-5332 email : informa on@reversereview.com website : www.reversereview.com

THE

REVERSEreview 10801 Thornmint Rd Suite 250 San Diego, CA 92127

© 2008 The Reverse Review, LLC. All rights reserved. The Reverse Review, LLC is a California limited liability company and is the publisher of The Reverse Review magazine. Reproduc ons or distribu on of any materials obtained in the publica on without wri en permission is expressly prohibited. The views, claims and opinions expressed in ar cle and adver sement herein are not necessarily those of The Reverse Review, its employees, agents or directors. This publica on and any references to products or services are provided “as is” without any expressed or implied warranty or term of any kind. While effort is made to ensure accuracy in the content of the informa on presented herein, The Reverse Review, LLC is not responsible for any errors, misprints, or misinforma on. Any legal informa on contained herein is not to be construed as legal advice and is provided for entertainment or educa onal purposes only.

Postmaster : Please send address changes to The Reverse Review, 10801 Thornmint, Ste 250, San Diego, CA 92127

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May 2008

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“Forward Thinking in Reverse”

Note From the Editor I would like to start by thanking our authors, adver sers, advisers, and my staff for helping make the premier issue of The Reverse Review a tremendous success. The feedback we received has been overwhelmingly posi ve, and the rela onships we have started to build are priceless. I have personally learned more in the last couple months while crea ng this magazine than I would have ever imagined. I must admit, we have been fortunate to collaborate with wonderful individuals who are very passionate about our industry.

As some of you know, many of my experiences have come from the online world. Over the last five years in the Internet space, we have become accustomed to developments like social networks, blogs, online video sites, etc.. Many of you have heard of MySpace, Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube, and the like. Many of us have even started our own blogs, created websites, or created personal or business profiles on one of the many social networking websites. These online portals all have one thing in common: user generated content (UGC).

The key to UGC is that all content created is by the end user. Now, think about the impact user generated content has had on our society. Without people like you and I ge ng online and crea ng this content, many of these companies would not exist. The big successes of companies like YouTube and MySpace are simply due to the fact that normal people like us get online and create profiles or upload videos. The web has given us the ability to express ourselves in any way we would like.

User generated content has become so powerful and mainstream that this year ques ons for the presiden al debates were brought in from users on YouTube. In another example, earlier this year, Apple lowered the price of it’s iPhone shortly a er it’s launch. Many buyers who had paid a higher price were furious. Collec vely, the online voice was so powerful that “protests” on chat forums and blogs lead Apple CEO Steve Jobs to refund $100 to thousands of his customers. (WOW! I know I’ve bought a computer before and within weeks a er my purchase it was a few hundred dollars cheaper. I need to start protes ng online!)

Point being, the future of our society is not about a few people running the show, but about everyone ge ng involved, expressing their opinions, and making their voices heard. I believe the ini al success of our magazine was truly the success of our authors and everyone else involved. The Reverse Review is a magazine and website in which we want everyone’s par cipa on, comments, and feedback. Anyone who chooses to can be an author and have their opinions heard. Therefore, every month we invite new authors to contribute, and if we haven’t invited you, we ask you to invite yourself by sending us an email at ugc@reversereview.com.

Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Aman Makkar Editor May 2008

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Ask the Underwriter

by Ralph Rosynek

Q:

Recently one of my loan files was suspended by the Underwriter for addi onal comparables. When I checked the appraisal I was confused as all comparables indicated by the appraiser appeared to be within HUD guidelines making the loan insurable – so why is the underwriter suspending the file?

A:

The Secondary Market con nues to become more conserva ve in reviewing and accep ng collateral.

Unfortunately, many mortgage professionals and appraisers have not been keeping current with the various changes in market values.

Remember, the investor manuals, handbooks and suggested review procedures are just as presented – guidelines for collateral analysis and not hard and fast rules in many cases.

Reverse Mortgage Loans carry a dual collateral performance requirement. The loan must be “insurable” by FHA/HUD guidelines and it must also be “saleable” in the Secondary Market.

In the case of your ques on, there would appear to be a disjoint between current secondary market standards and insurability. More than likely, the Underwriter is reques ng addi onal comparable informa on because the 3 current comparables may meet HUD guidelines, but one or more may be unacceptable to the Secondary perhaps because of its age, loca on or the number of days on the market prior to sale.

Addi onally, if the property is located in a declining market, the appraiser may not have made the appropriate/ necessary adjustments or commented sufficiently to support the value indicated.

In general, be aware that the review of comparables has become much more conserva ve than in the past – a quick review list for comparables prior to submission for underwri ng should indicate the comparables as compared to the subject property are:

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May 2008

more current than not – the comparable sale date ages should be less than 90 days if at all possible. Be aware of the number of days on the market for a property – that is a big indicator as to the stability, supply and demand for proper es in the neighborhood. more “closer” than not – the comparables should be less than ½ mile if at all possible and represent similar types of neighborhoods – the further the comparable is from the subject, the greater the likelihood that there are other factors which could effect its appropriateness as a value support for the subject property. more similar than not –the lot and physical structure type/age/design of the comparable should be as similar as possible to our subject – look at the pictures of all comparable as compared to the subject. more “toward the middle” than not – the final value suggested by the appraiser – is it more in the “middle” than at the upper end of reconciled values. Generally high end values should be avoided in markets where declining values, over supply, or unstable condi ons are noted by the appraiser.

Also, look at the date of your appraisal as opposed to the date of your submission to underwri ng and the es mated closing date. For example, a 45 day old appraisal, while “current” could contain comparables that as of the date of the report were already 120 days old, which now are 165 days old and will possibly be 6 months or more old by the me the analyst in the Secondary Market reviews the file for purchase and pooling.

Think of the changes that have occurred in many housing markets in the past six months and ask yourself, what is the likelihood that proper es similar to the subject would con nue to hold their values?

Lastly, impress upon your appraiser to provide suppor ve comments and jus fica ons for choices and values beyond the “standard” language. While it is the Underwriter who determines the final value of the subject property, it takes a team effort. There is plenty of “room” for the appraiser to provide addi onal narra ve support in the report and in

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“Forward Thinking in Reverse”

most cases, that addi onal informa on would be of benefit to the underwriter and the borrower(s).

Q: A:

HUD Foundation Specialists

Is it permissible to take a HECM applica on prior to counseling?

The origina on of a HECM loan is a two-step process involving the actual comple ng of the forms as well as comple on of required counseling. There is no prohibi on to taking an applica on prior to counseling, however, no services resul ng in costs to be paid for by the Borrower(s) can occur prior to counseling and the Borrower(s) properly execu ng the counseling cer ficate.

M Manufactured actured Hou Housing sing Troubleshooters T rouble FFoundation nnspections, Upgrades & Repairs

My ques on would be more common sense in approach – knowing the added value and protec ons to the Borrower(s) which counseling provides, is it in the Senior’s best interest or the Originator’s best interest to engage the applica on process prior to counseling?

EEngineer Certificatio C ons

Please take a moment and provide us your feedback which we will feature in next month’s column.

A note about our subject ma er expert: Mr. Rosynek has been involved in mortgage lending for over 30 years with the last 5 + years exclusively providing reverse mortgage lending solu ons. To contact Mr. Rosynek or to learn more about 1st Reverse Financial Services, please visit www.1streverse.com or call 877-574-1000.

Have a question for the underwriter?

Send your questions to asktheuw@reversereview.com

Private Label Reverse Mortgage Sub-Servicing

Private Label Loan Origination System

Your “Go To” Team for Reverse Mortgage Solutions Marc Helm • 281-404-7824 • mhelm@rmsnav.com Ken Austin • 281-404-7825 • kaustin@rmsnav.com Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. 2727 Spring Creek Drive, Spring, TX 77373 www.RMSnav.com

May 2008

FannieMae

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Reverse Mortgage Industry Snapshot As Of March 2008 Sta s cs Provided by Reverse Market Insight

Top 10 Rankings by Region Rank Chg Region 1 1 Southeast/Caribbean 2 -1 Pacific/Hawaii 3 - Mid-Atlantic 4 - Midwest 5 2 Southwest 6 -1 New York/New Jersey 7 -1 New England 8 - Northwest/Alaska 9 - Rocky Mountain 10 - Great Plains Industry Totals

Active Lenders Endorsements 2008YTD YTDChg% 2007TOT 2008 Chg% 7,404 474 20.94% 24,014 132.35% 5,994 454 -13.42% 25,612 50.83% 3,692 213 13.67% 11,956 88.5% 3,234 279 3.49% 11,434 48.4% 2,653 178 27.43% 8,073 79.8% 2,229 171 -4.05% 8,322 85.87% 1,769 191 -16.4% 6,963 59.17% 1,678 12.69% 5,790 170 84.78% 1,052 20.37% 3,296 105 50.0% 9.09% 2,827 91.84% 828 94 5.07% 108,287 1,666 75.37% 30,533

Region Share 2008YTD Chg% 24.249% 15.11% 19.631% -17.59% 12.092% 8.19% 10.592% -1.5% 8.689% 21.28% 7.30% -8.67% 5.794% -20.43% 5.496% 7.26% 3.445% 14.56% 2.712% 3.83%

10 Regions, ranked by HECM unit volume YTD. Including rank change from prior YTD, as well as growth rates.

Also includes ac ve lenders and growth

Lender Distribu on by YTD Growth Rate Growth Rate -100% -99% to -1% 0 to 100% 101% to 200% 201% to 300% 301% to 400% over 400% New Lenders

Lenders 210 361 223 71 26 13 46 926

YTD MIC Last YTD 1,250 13,081 21,971 5,851 4,278 2,830 1,194 549 161 192 42 2,876 165 5,154

Lender distribu on graph and table, showing number of lenders growing at various growth rates YTD vs. prior YTD, including volume a ributable to each group of lenders.

Client No ces 1)

2) 3)

Help improve data quality in the Reverse Mortgage industry. If you believe your company’s numbers on this report are inaccurate, please email us (support@rminsight.net) and we will review your feedback promptly. Please include your name, company and contact informa on along with a thorough descrip on of the suspected inaccuracy. Thanks!

If you received this report as a trial or sample and would like to purchase this report or future reports for your company, please visit: www.rminsight.net/MICreports. php If you’ve been looking for a source for Reverse Mortgage intelligence beyond MIC endorsement numbers, we’ve got just what you need. Find out more at www. rminsight.net/rmarket.php

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24 Month Penetra on and Unit Volume 12,000

1.60%

1.40%

1.20% 10,000

Units

0.80%

0.60%

Penetration

1.00%

8,000 0.40%

0.20%

6,000

0.00% 2006-4

2006-8

2006-12

2007-4

MIC Units

2007-8

2007-12

Penetration %

2 year trend graph of monthly HECM unit volume and industry penetra on against 62+ homeowner households na onally.

Appendix 1) All sta s cs based on retail origina ons from HUD’s Monthly HECM MIC reports 2) Loans are in unit volume, based on HUD reported mortgage insurance cer ficate issuance 3) Lenders are aggregated using HUD’s lender iden fica on numbers and unique lender names, along with feedback from repor ng lenders HUD Regions and Corresponding States/Territories Region 1 - New England Connec cut Maine Massachuse s New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

Region 3 - Mid-Atlan c Delaware District of Columbia Maryland Pennsylvania Virginia West Virginia

Region 5 - Midwest Illinois Indiana Michigan Minnesota Ohio Wisconsin

Region 7 - Great Plains Iowa Kansas Missouri Nebraska

Region 8 - Rocky Mountain Colorado Region 2 - New York/New Jersey Region 4 - Southeast/Caribbean Region 6 - Southwest Montana Arkansas North Dakota New York Alabama South Dakota New Jersey Florida Louisiana Georgia New Mexico Utah Oklahoma Wyoming Kentucky Texas Mississippi North Carolina Puerto Rico South Carolina Tennessee U.S. Virgin Islands May 2008

Region 9 - Pacific/Hawaii Arizona California Federated States of Micronesia Hawaii Nevada Region 10 - Northwest/Alaska Alaska Idaho Oregon Washington

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Miss the recently concluded live webinars?

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17100 Gillette Ave., Irvine, CA 92614 1-800-516-0545 • info@monterose.biz

“Forward Thinking in Reverse”

Ethics Must Define the Reverse Mortgage Industry

by John LaRose

When headlines out of Capitol Hill in 2007 touted passage of an ethics overhaul bill, I have to admit I was unimpressed. Before it even came up for a vote, Congress was hailing the work as “a landmark ruling … historic, momentous.”

Ul mately, the bill passed the House, 435 to 11; the Senate, 83 to 14. Barely had the President’s signature been affixed to the legisla on than there came reports of members of Congress who had found ways to skirt the bill’s intent regarding travel expenses.

Well in advance of the ini a ve, Jeff Rundles, former editor for ColoradoBiz, said, “Legisla ng ethics is like capturing air in your fist.” I couldn’t agree more.

Yet, Rundles’ take on codes of ethics runs somewhat counter to mine: he says, “the ethical don’t need them and the unethical won’t heed them.” On that, I disagree.

A code of ethics is a window into the soul of a company.

It says: we value partnerships, but not at the cost of our values. It says: our integrity is not for sale.

So what does Capitol Hill’s ethics bill have to do with us?

Plenty, if we don’t want to risk having our industry’s ethics legislated.

What has happened in the sub-prime lending sector is all the warning we need. No one took seriously enough the flashing “TILT” light that all but blinded us, un l it short-circuited. The cost? More than $300 billion to banks and other lenders … 1.8 million distressed or displaced homeowners … 20 percent of the mortgage industry workforce without jobs … and a permanent stain to the industry.

Could something similar happen to the reverse mortgage sector? It not only could happen, but it will happen if we don’t do what it takes to protect and preserve our industry now. Each of us needs to ask ourselves—as if children were listening and our answers were broadcast on the evening May 2008

news: Am I taking a stand against unscrupulous business prac ces? Am I willing to sacrifice profits for principle? Am I turning out the predatory and welcoming the principled?

If not, consider our landscape from this view: • Reverse mortgages soared from 7,800 in 2001 to 107,500 in 2007.

• The 308,000 Americans who have taken out reverse mortgages since 1990 represent a mere 1 percent of the senior home market.

• Every day for the next 18-20 years, more than 8,000 of the es mated 76 million Baby Boomers will turn 62 and become eligible for a reverse mortgage.

• Older adults now hold $4.3 trillion in home equity; by 2030, when the youngest Baby Boomers re re, it’s es mated the total in home equity held by Americans 62 and older will top $37 trillion.

But look carefully for what else is on the horizon: • 172 U.S. lending opera ons (and coun ng) have imploded in the sub-prime bust—filing bankruptcy, ceasing or limi ng opera ons, or being acquired in a fire sale.

• 100,000-plus mortgage workers are jobless, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta s cs.

It follows that at least some out-of-work sub-prime mortgage brokers—some of the same people who preyed on at-risk borrowers—are now seeking a home and a paycheck in the reverse mortgage industry. It also follows that how and with whom we do business will determine how long we do business.

An FBI study found that 80 percent of all reported mortgage fraud losses come at the hands of “industry insiders”—people with the knowledge and wherewithal to fool the experts themselves. Not you? Not in your house?

How can you be sure? Industry insiders turned the subprime home mortgage industry on its head. It can happen anywhere: In 1999 I witnessed the fi h-largest bank failure in FDIC history, brought about by fraudulent mortgage prac ces of the bank’s chairman, CEO and CFO.

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Simply agreeing in theory that ethics ma er isn’t enough. It ma ers what ethics look like in prac ce. Experts cite common preven ve measures as among the best weapons against nefarious prac oners and ill-go en gains: staying abreast of fraudulent prac ces, educa ng employees, implemen ng technological safeguards, and keeping the door closed to “un” professionals. No less important, say those same experts, is having a company code of ethics.

Therein lies the opportunity for you to stand out as an industry leader—not because a trade associa on issues a call for ethical standards … not because a commi ee is charged with naming your ethics for you … not because you’re compelled by compe ve pressures to accede to professional upgrades … and not because it’s the “in” thing to do. Such mo va ons are no different than saying you’re commi ed to losing weight because the neighbors think it’s a good idea.

How can you set yourself apart as an industry leader?

By making ethics as visible throughout and beyond your ins tu on as is your company logo. By being first in line to formalize your code of ethics and mandate it as inviolate corporate policy. By exac ng high standards of insiders and outsiders alike. And by sounding the clarion at the first threat to the values your code represents. Why? Because the more, the sooner, and the louder we make clear what the “right thing” is, what we will tolerate and what we will not—as an industry, as industry leaders, as professionals, and as individuals—the be er and longer we can serve one another, our investors, and our borrowers.

Perhaps the landscape has changed enough since then, as to elicit some noise this me around. I encourage you to make a lot of noise throughout your companies and the industry on behalf of ethics, and to make certain integrity has a voice—the voice of a leader.

About John LaRose: John LaRose has worked relessly for more than 20 years to promote the obliga on and need for ethics in the mortgage industry. Recognized throughout the reverse mortgage industry as a niche-marke ng specialist, he is also frequently called upon for his advice and counsel.

To learn more about how Celink formalized its Code of Ethics, visit www.celink.com and click on “Code of Ethics,” then “Read the history of our code of ethics,” A (true) tale of two ci es.

“Individually and collec vely, we must make integrity as much an a rac on for like-minded clients and investors, as it is a repellent to those who do not share similar values.”

Formalizing a code of ethics and publicly commi ng to the values it represents is a cri cal first step. Because saying we’re ethical isn’t enough; we must be willing to put our ethics front and center so everyone knows who we are and how we do business. Each of us must live our code of ethics day-in and day-out. And we must leave no doubt about how much we value … values.

You neither need permission nor an act of Congress … not a commi ee or an associate’s (or associa on’s) approval.

You only need an ongoing commitment from within to always do the right thing at the right me for the right reason. Individually and collec vely, we must make integrity as much an a rac on for like-minded clients and investors, as it is a repellent to those who do not share similar values.

Some years ago, I spoke on the topic of ethics at an industry conference of sub-prime lenders. When I concluded, I was met with silence.

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Commentary by First American eAppraiseIT

REVERSE

MORTGAGES A GROWTH OPPORTUNITY WORTH INVESTIGATING

Over the last 20 years, 345,000 reverse mortgages have been originated. Last year, originations hit a new high: $20 billion. As the US population ages, the market has responded with new and innovative products and services geared towards keeping seniors in their homes for longer periods of time.

National lenders in need of market diversification have migrated to reverse mortgages in an attempt to make up for lost business in other markets.

Recently Michael Fosser, senior vice president of First American eAppraiseIT, offered his perspective on this market and the opportunities and challenges that it presents to lenders.

Why are so many lenders including reverse mortgages in their product mix?

Today many market segments continue to be depressed and markets like sub prime and Alt-A are almost nonexistent. Reverse mortgages tend to be more “need driven” and less tied to market conditions. In the US today, more than 38 million eligible reverse mortgage customers own their homes outright. That’s $4 trillion in untapped equity. This offers a great opportunity for lenders to grow their portfolio of business in a market that is less sensitive to fluctuations in the real estate market.

Are some appraisers more qualified than others to service this market?

Over 90% of today’s reverse mortgage originations are insured by FHA. Not every appraiser or appraisal management company is qualified to complete these assignments. At eAppraiseIT we have a nationwide network of more than 8,000 appraisers who are FHA certified – one of the largest panels of FHA appraisers available in the industry today. To ensure a successful reverse mortgage offering, lenders need to work with an appraisal management company that can provide national coverage and still maintain reasonable turn times. In our case, that is five to seven days.

What challenges does a lender face servicing this market?

AARP recently conducted a survey of reverse mortgage customers and one of its findings was that their properties frequently need repairs. This of course can complicate the underwriting process and salability of a loan. To reduce lender concern, eAppraiseIT has created a new product specifically geared for the reverse mortgage market called “Value View”. It helps lenders assess the condition and value of a property while the loan is in the lender’s portfolio. This low cost inspection report includes a current photo of the subject property, an automated valuation using two comprehensive AVM’s, and an inspection report that answers questions regarding a property’s condition, marketability, and neighborhood. Value View is a great peace of mind option for any lender interested in originating reverse mortgage loans.

Contact Michael Fosser 800.281.6200 www.firstam.com

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Building the Reverse Mortgage Sales Strategy from the Ground Up

by Monte Rose

What are the cri cal requirements of a successful RM sales strategy?

The act of successfully “selling” reverse mortgages is actually a minute segment of a comprehensive, carefully orchestrated process.

Taking the applica on (or more to the point, funding a loan) represents the proverbial “ p of the iceberg.”

Beneath this event lies a series of interconnected events, the results of which essen ally determine the success (i.e., the effec veness and efficiency) of the sales effort.

A comprehensive sales strategy depends on the successful integra on of two dimensions: insight and ac on. A producer may or may not consciously ar culate characteris cs of the respec ve components (much less the dynamic rela onships) of these two dimensions.

Nevertheless, one’s sales “ac vi es” are based on key assump ons on how the market operates, and how one “executes” based on this insight.

How does the idea of “integra ng insight and ac on” apply in managing and growing the sales team?

A comprehensive sales strategy must be able to provide clear and prac cal answers to the following groups of ques ons. Success hinges both on the quality of insight and the applica on of these ideas in real me:

maker, and how do I connect and influence them?

3. How do I differen ate and elevate myself amidst the clu er and noise of the current compe ve landscape?

How do I create a personal brand, establish a strong presence, and create customer (and/or advisor) engagement that propels my business with a strong referral engine component. What skill sets (and learnings) are necessary to establish this?

4. What systems, tools, and learning strategies do I need to install in my sales prac ce that will: (a) integrate the solu ons to the above ques ons, (2) will guarantee my successful adapta on to marketplace and environmental changes (e.g., shi ing demographics and regulatory condi ons affec ng product and distribu on strategies), and (3) leverage my me and effort? How do I create sustainable momentum and stamina?

In simple terms, what mind set and strategy do I use to “Get to the Kitchen Table,” how do I successfully present and close at the Kitchen Table, and what do I need to do a erwards to engage the client in order to create a strong referral base?

The answers to these ques ons necessitate a clear understanding of four basic areas (strengths, segmenta on, skills, strategy) that affect sales produc vity. This is shown in the following illustra on:

1. What do I do best? What are my strengths, i.e., beyond the skills and knowledge (competencies which are teachable), what are my talents (non-teachable), and what are my areas of “non-strengths” that have to be augmented or managed that create obstacles and resistance points along my sales cycle? How do I leverage my unique talent blueprint in an op mal way that is profitable, compe ve, and sustainable? Is my “por olio” of sales ac vi es op mally calibrated to reflect my “signature strengths?”

2. What is my niche? What are the segments (in the customer and advisor markets) appropriate to my unique customer value proposi on? How do I locate the decision

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Some producers a ain rela ve success by focusing on the ac on dimension alone. Through the process of trial

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and error, they manage to create a workable “strategy” based on a few key tools and “tac cs” used in their previous sales jobs, or a judicious use of street sales savvy combined with marke ng common sense. Some producers are gi ed with the stamina to “put in the miles” and through sheer discipline and hard work are able to create a viable business.

Some originators have discovered a logical niche by default, either through their previous careers (and accompanying social network) or by efficient harves ng of high quality leads supplied by their organiza on.

Sales skills development and applica on, implemented in “the same old way,” will yield “same old” results. In order to improve one’s outcome, one has to personally improve one’s insight (about one’s self and the market) and skilled ac on, preferably both, in a dynamic way. Business will improve only if we personally improve our game. We can improve the way we think. We can improve the way we act. Or we can choose to do both. If these two are carefully and systema cally coordinated, it stands to reason that our chances of success will improve exponen ally.

To get results we have not go en before, we need to: Change the way we think about ac on, and change the way we act about thinking.

How important is insight in achieving success in the field?

Isn’t it enough to have the right effort and energy day in, day out, to get in front of our prospects?

Insight should influence the kind of skills one should focus on, and how they are to be applied. Conversely, the effects of sales ac ons and implementa on strategies will necessarily affect our understanding of the market and how to connect with the customer more effec vely (assuming of course, that we have ways of monitoring and tracking our efforts).

Sales success depends on correct focus. Correct focus depends in turn on successfully aligning insight with the axis of skillful ac on and strategy implementa on. Finally, this “integra on” has to be sustained by a system (i.e., an infrastructure) that maximizes efficiency (such as a CRM tool, me management methods, and performance dashboards that give useful feedback and informa on about the efficacy of sales methods used). It is not enough to say “sales are down,” but instead ask a series of “whys,” (the famous Five Why Method prac ced by Japanese efficiency experts) with the end view of hi ng the fundamental cause of less-thandesired performance.

What is the importance of a “system” that has a built-in feedback loop?

The objec ve of a “system” is the ability to see causeand-effect rela onships between ac ons, insight, and results. It allows us to efficiently replicate (and reinforce) the behaviors that yield the results we want. Sales is one big “experiment.” One has to iden fy and measure the behaviors that contribute to the producer’s bo om line, and how they can be sustained, changed, or amplified. If the manager knows how to coach at this level, mo va on, stamina, and produc vity improves. The biggest leverage is the front-line manager’s coaching prowess. It’s one of the most important variables in the success equa on.

“Sales success depends on correct focus. Correct focus depends in turn on successfully aligning insight with the axis of skillful ac on and strategy implementa on.”

The prac cal knowledge of the ver cal dimension, i.e., the “strengths lens” interac ng with the “market lens” is something that is virtually unknown in our industry. At our consul ng organiza on we have dissected and applied cu ng edge research in these two disparate areas. The end view is to be able to shed light on how to link sales talent with the appropriate market segmenta on knowledge.

The idea of niche strategy is not new. What is new is that we are at a stage when we can actually apply science to the ques on of “Who will succeed and where?” Most importantly, we can train the manager to consistently coach the “how.”

This is where I think the sales profession needs to direct its crea ve energies, if it expects to adapt to the changing compe ve environment. The axis of insight primarily dictates the quality of effec veness, or “doing the right things.” The axis of ac on primarily relates to level of efficiency, or “doing things right.” The more compe ve the market becomes, the more one needs to personally have a method that systema cally manages these two polari es in a synergis c fashion.

Maslow once said, “to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Some companies react to tougher condi ons by hammering harder, hammering more, or both. Others adapt by buying more hammers. Unfortunately, the game has changed. These tac cs will no longer work.

Merging insight and ac on (i.e., “aligning the crosshairs”) allows effec ve and efficient effort in the least amount of me. To excel in this game, you must unite theory and prac ce.

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What is strengths-based learning, and how does that help performance?

The founda on of sales strategy is self-awareness and selfknowledge. Research from the behavioral sciences and the neurobiology of performance indicate that peak performance is ed to the rela onship of how an individual’s unique talent configura on is applied to everyday tasks. The closer (and more frequently) one applies one’s “signature strengths” to the ac vi es of the sales cycle, the higher produc vity becomes.

The corollary is that the greatest areas of li in sales produc vity is not to be found in constantly “improving” one’s weak areas, but in leveraging one’s unique talents. The 80/20 rule of thumb applies: the greatest li comes from capitalizing on one’s strengths 80% of the me, while spending 20% of one’s me and energy crea ng workarounds and compensa on strategies on “weaknesses.” Unfortunately, many in the field s ll believe that “fixing weaknesses” is the most produc ve use of one’s me, despite overwhelming research evidence to the contrary.

Two pragma c solu ons are required for a strong founda on in this area: (a) proper assessment, and (b) skillful, strengthsbased produc vity coaching. The field of talent assessment has a long history, though in the last 10 years, researchers in the field of Posi ve Psychology have created instruments with robust psychometrics and prac cal applica on (i.e., iden fying work-related “themes” strongly correlated with high successful performance and achievement). Strengths-based coaching u lizes a salesperson’s “talent map” as the star ng point for produc vity enhancement. The key objec ve is one of prac cal skill building based on what could be termed “meta-learning on steroids” – i.e., learning about “learning to excel,” based on a deep fluency of the strengths language and systema c efforts to focus one’s talents on those ac vi es that yield the greatest return. (One of the sales manager’s most important tasks as a “strength-based” partner is to concurrently facilitate strategic partnerships/structures to bolster the sales staff ’s areas of challenge - i.e., the “bo om drawer strengths”).

In my experience, skillful and in-depth strength-based training and coaching is a key founda on to a successful sales strategy for two reasons: (a) It creates a highly engaged sales staff, which translates not only to personal sales produc vity, but also yields a high level of customer engagement in the long run. Human Sigma, which is a concept/tool rapidly being adapted by cu ng edge performance-oriented organiza ons, in fact measures the potency of the salesperson-engagement-to-customerengagement linkage as a key driver of business profitability.

The latest findings from neuroscience research is telling us that employee engagement is achieved primarily through “managing

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“Forward Thinking in Reverse”

from strengths,” i.e., structuring a logis cal, psychological, and social environment where both manager and sales staff converge on strategies that incorporate the concepts of strengths fluency and mo va on. Successful sales teams flourishing within posi ve organiza onal cultures have always accomplished this. However it is only in the last 5-10 years that methodologies for tagging and replica ng these successful approaches have been published and taught as part of the coaching lexicon. (b) Behavioral change efforts are more effec ve and sustainable when they take into account the “wired-in” talent profile of the salesperson. Strengths-based coaching, mentoring and training energizes the individual, builds performance stamina in a non-coercive way, enhances efficiency, decreases turnover rates, and increases staff reten on. In today’s highly compe ve talent marketplace, this is a key strategic advantage. Not only does this result in high performance, it also creates an employment brand that a racts highly talented people into the organiza on.

Thus one creates a fully self-propelled posi ve dynamic that starts from effec ve selec on, and comes full circle with con nued sales excellence and customer engagement as effects.

Effec ve strengths management is the underpinning of effec ve sales strategy. It is the key to focusing mo va on.

It is the framework for developing the agility, sensi vity, and stamina required for succeeding in the mature market.

How important is it to understand market segmenta on in the mature market?

There are two major subdivisions in this area: (a) direct to consumer (“D2C”), and the business-to-business (“B2B”, or referral) market. The old “62 and a pulse” understanding of the mature market is not only obsolete, it’s also completely useless as far as formula ng marke ng strategy.

Unfortunately, most players are s ll quite in the dark about the psychographics of aging.

D2C. Tradi onal market segmenta on typically covers geographic, demographic (e.g., income, ethnicity, etc.), psychographic (e.g., a tudinal, values, and lifestyles) dimensions of understanding consumer preferences and buying behaviors. These kinds of segmenta on applica ons are very prevalent in tangible consumer products, and certain types of financial products such as credit cards. In our industry, however, market intelligence has not yet reached a level where there has been a systema c inves ga on of buying preferences within the senior popula on. Most large organiza ons segment based on geo-demographic variables such as age and income, and fail systema cally (quan ta vely/qualita vely) to assess the heterogeneous May 2008

distribu on of seniors as a func on of: (a) where they are in the aging process, and (b) the various biophysical and psychosocial determinants of needs and wants.

Suffice it to say that there are certain consumer segments we have discovered that: (1) respond to specific promo onal and posi oning strategies, (2) have dis nct media and channel preferences, and (3) have specific recep veness/resistance to the reverse mortgage offering.

The effec veness of one’s path to the kitchen table, how one manages the conversa on at the kitchen table, all depends on one’s understanding of the various “mind-set” classifica ons of the respec ve mature market segments.

There are several gerontologically based market segmenta on approaches we u lize in training sales staff in order to help them understand the senior client psyche (the emo onal and cogni ve components of the “buying decision”). The advantage of gerontological segmenta on is that it incorporates the biological, social, and psychological dimensions of aging. It creates useful “mind maps” of how we can serve the senior popula on based on what they need and want. Perhaps most importantly, it yields insight on how they are likely to process informa on

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in terms of form and content. It takes into account the natural processes/dimensions of aging, alongside cri cal life events that necessitate adjustments and disloca ons in lifestyles and financial posi on. Knowledge of mature market segmenta on equips the salesperson with be er insight so that he/she can an cipate where and how to connect with the client. Understanding the client and quality of customer service goes hand in hand.

What is the link between strengths-based performance coaching and market segmenta on knowledge?

Effec ve strengths assessment and profiling gives a good indica on of the segments one can be reasonably successful at. In addi on, the talent profile will give good insight on what par cular skills are easy to learn and apply. The talent profile will give a clue as to the appropriate markets (D2C vs.

B2B) that are a natural fit. There are certain ways to reach specific segments (e.g., channel/media vs. seminars, vs. networking for example) that are inherently easy for some, and painstakingly difficult for others.

In training our clients, we teach a gerontological segmenta on lens to focus on customer varia on. Age is not a final differen ator of need and/or want. More o en it is where one falls on the declining biological/psychosocial The key is to coach individuals to their strengths in “energy” scale that determines recep vity to financial terms of Ge ng to the Kitchen Table skills. Certain strength products and solu ons. Effec ve promo on and educa on profiles naturally predispose individuals to also requires the formula on of specific “Eff ec ve strengths par cular marke ng methods, which means buyer personas (i.e., based on these assessment and profiling that they will consistently be resistant previously iden fied market segments) to and/or blocked in some paths. Certain cases understand the direct-to-consumer market gives a good indica on of -- mo va onal issues, call reluctance, and dynamics. the segments one can be demoraliza on (all contributory to poor B2B. Many successful originators successfully reasonably successful at.” performance) -- are caused by managers build their business through the financial/ demanding producers to consistently use legal professional advisor market. However, there are also their “bo om drawer strengths” to grow the business. other advisor influences besides these two. They include For example, forcing individuals with very low “Woo” community influencers, family members, and social work/ theme to constantly “fish” in cocktail networking events can health providers. An en re strategy can be built on effec ve be a painful exercise. If this person had a high analy cal and networking and rela onship building with these popula ons. delibera ve talent, he/she could have been more effec vely Just as in the D2C segmenta ons, B2B approaches need coached to explore the B2B terrain, because the expression to systema cally iden fy the “mo va onal maps” of the of analy cal and delibera ve sensibility is more valued in various segments within this sector. this market. In general, people who have more themes in However, not everyone has the temperament or the cogni ve and impac ng categories are generally more capabili es to fully u lize this market portal. They require natural B2B players, compared to those with high rela onal a different talent set, a different level of competencies and talents (e.g., Empathy, Connectedness), which tend to be product knowledge, and, in many cases, a different level of more effec ve in the D2C arena. business approach to be successful. B2B marke ng needs Some producers are more flexible, and can dial down to be tailored based on the unique talents and competency or dial up their energy levels quite easily because of certain profiles of the sales staff, in much the same way that D2C clusters of strengths that allow such mobility. Others need campaigns are orchestrated. to s ck to a certain kind of customer to be effec ve. For these kinds of producers, oscilla ng between different sales Understanding the key segments of this market in terms personas can be very draining. of: (a) their primary senior targets, (b) their own posi oning and promo onal strategies, and (c) their understanding of About Monte Rose: Monte Rose has helped hundreds of equity conversion as solu ons to their mature market clients, seniors obtain a reverse mortgage during the past 17 years. whether they are in the non-profit or financial advisory He is an accomplished speaker and widely quoted industry role, and their understanding of the various gerontological expert, appearing in financial publica ons and na onally market segments themselves, will affect how they are to be syndicated media. He was head of na onal retail sales for approached.

Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corpora on. Monte is a Cer fied Senior Advisor and a Cer fied Strengths Coach with Gallup University. For more informa on, call 800-516-0545 or email info@monterose.biz.

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To contact Lender Lead Solutions call 888.775.3631 or visit our website at www.lenderleadsolutions.com This is for mortgage professional use only, not for distribution to the general public.

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Are You Sending the Right Marketing Message?

As Elder Care Needs Increase, Families Search for Solu ons

by Valerie VanBooven

As our popula on ages, elder care needs increase, and therefore cash flow needs increase. The three simply go hand-in-hand-in-hand. According to a recent joint Cornell and Purdue University study, supported by the Na onal Ins tute on Aging; aging mothers are nearly four mes more likely to expect a daughter to assume the role of their caregiver rather than a son if they become ill or disabled.

These mothers also are much more likely to choose a child to whom they feel emo onally close and who has values similar to their own, report Karl Pillemer, Professor of Human Development at Cornell, and Purdue sociologist Jill Suitor, in the journal, “The Gerontologist”. (The Gerontologist 46:439-448 (2006) © 2006 The Gerontological Society of America Making Choices: A Within-Family Study of Caregiver Selec on Karl Pillemer, PhD, and J. Jill Suitor, PhD ) The Marke ng Message The point with regard to Reverse Mortgages (and the marke ng of your Reverse Mortgage services) is that in order to send the right message, you have to understand your audience. We, as an industry, are not just speaking to the 62+ homeowner. We are marke ng to- and educa ngthousands and thousands of adult children. Although it’s much more difficult (ok impossible) to purchase as list of “adult children of aging parents”, our a tudes, our sales pitch, and our overall message needs to convey credibility and trust.

Although we see increases in male caregivers all the me, the fact remains, that when it comes to long-term care for our family members and our spouses, today women carry the weight.

Daughters, daughters-in-law, wives, sisters and nieces o en accept the role of caregiver for aging adults in the family. Across the U.S. there are women commonly referred to as “the sandwich genera on” who are playing dual roles in their families. They are o en mothers themselves, while caring for their own aging parents at the same me. The level of stress and frustra on can be overwhelming. Careers are being put on hold, and promo ons passed up, in order to accommodate the busy schedules of their children, and their parents. Even so, there is s ll not enough me for these women to meet everyone’s needs. A financial burden results as well.

Women in America also tend to marry men who are older than they are. Therefore, they o en end up caring for a chronically ill spouse in later years. When this happens, it is some mes the case that all of the re rement funding and assets are used to pay for the long-term care needs of the “ill” spouse, leaving nothing in savings to care for the “well” spouse later in life.

It is es mated that one out of two women will need long-term care at some point in their lives. One out of three men will also require long-term care. So why do more women need services? A woman’s life expectancy is s ll longer than the average male.

So there is your audience- seniors, adult children of aging parents, and women.

Your Audience Long-term care is a family issue, but it is more o en a woman’s issue. Throughout history women have been the caregivers in our lives. As we have seen, women also live longer than men on average. From beginning to end, women o en care for family members young and old. Now as our popula on begins to age, it is even more important that we understand what lies before us.

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“It is es mated that one out of two women will need long-term care at some point in their lives.

One out of three men will also require long-term care...As we have seen, women also live longer than men on average.”

reversereview.com

“Forward Thinking in Reverse�

Genera ng Success Do you have the right marke ng message? Is your message conveyed using the right media? Do you even have a marke ng plan?

The most successful Reverse Mortgage originators understand full well that family involvement is a big deal, an important considera on, and not something they try to avoid. As elder care needs increase, families are looking for solu ons. You may have that solu on. If your community trusts you and believes that you are a credible professional, the business will fall into your lap with very li le eort.

Establishing that level of credibility and trust takes me. Start a new marke ng plan KNOWING who your true audience is, and move forward from there.

About Valerie VanBooven: Valerie VanBooven RN BSN is the Na onal Marke ng Director for Next Genera on Financial Services, a Division of 1st Mariner Bank. She is a professional speaker and the author of the books “Aging Answersâ€? (2003) and “The Senior Solu onâ€? (2007). Her websites are www. ngfs.net and www.seniorserviceselling.com . Valerie can be reached at valerie@nextgenďŹ nser.com

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Wall Street Prefers LIBOR HECM’s Will they be kind to your clients?

by Jerry Wagner

Since the incep on of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program in 1989, the tradi onal loan was based on Constant Maturity Treasury (CMT) rates as published every Monday by the FED. The Note Rate was based on the one-year CMT rate plus an investor margin. The Expected Rate is used for finding how much money is available and in calcula ng Service Fee Set-Asides (SFSA) and payment plans. The Expected Rate was based on the tenyear CMT rate plus the same investor margin.

In October of 2007, HUD authorized HECM’s based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). The Note Rate is based on one-month LIBOR as published every Monday in the Wall Street Journal, plus an investor margin. The Expected Rate is based on the ten-year LIBOR Swap Rate, as published every Monday by the FED, plus the same investor margin. For background, see our first ar cle in this series at The Reverse Review Website.

What’s the Difference?

Table 1 compares the LIBOR and CMT HECM as shown on a seller/servicers website for the week of April 22. Note that this company is playing the LTV lookup game – Expected Rates are rounded to the nearest eighth for LTV lookups subject to a 5.50% lookup floor. The LIBOR margin here is the highest that will s ll allow the Expected Rate to round down to 5.50% (nice folks!).

Table 1 Short-term Index Investor Margin Ini al Note Rate 10-Year Index Investor Margin Expected Rate LTV Lookup LTV Factor Max Claim Amount Principal Limit Loan Fee Upfront MIP 3rd-Party Costs Available A er Costs SFSA Available Benefits

LIBOR HECM 2.874% 1.222% 4.096% 4.340% 1.222% 5.562% 5.500% 0.715 362,790 259,395 -7,256 -7,256 -2,211 242,672 -5,603 237,070

CMT HECM 1.67% 1.75% 3.42% 3.67% 1.75% 5.42% 5.500% 0.715 362,790 259,395 -7,256 -7,256 -2,211 242,672 -5,682 236,990

What might we expect?

We are in strange mes – rates are low and the spread between short-term LIBOR and CMT rates is high. Historically the one-month LIBOR has been only 0.13% higher than the one-year CMT rate. If this spread comes back in the future, the borrower will be much be er off in the LIBOR HECM. The chart below shows the history of the two Note Rate indexes.

The LIBOR HECM gives an extra $80 in available benefits because its higher Expected Rate gives a lower SFSA. But its ini al Note Rate is 0.676% higher. If this spread holds, this 73-year old borrower will owe an extra $26,454 in ten years – all for an extra $80 up front!

“Wall Street has temporarily backed off from inves ng in reverse mortgages. Luckily for the reverse mortgage industry, Fannie Mae, the tradi onal investor, is s ll buying in a big way.”

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“Forward Thinking in Reverse”

But the historical average spread in the Expected Rate indexes has been 0.58% (LIBOR higher than CMT). This means that in the future, when rates go up a bit and the annoying 5.50% HUD lookup floor has no effect, LIBOR HECM’s must have a margin that averages 0.58% less than the margin on CMT HECM’s in order to give similar benefits.

The chart below shows the history of the two Expected Rate ten-year indexes. You can see how consistent the spread is between the LIBOR Swap Rate and the ten-year CMT.

If you believe that historical yield spreads will reassert themselves in the next few years, your client will be be er off in a LIBOR HECM if their ini al benefits are equivalent to those from a CMT HECM. The LIBOR HECM will need a 0.50% or so lower margin to match the benefits of a CMT HECM, and if the future Short Spread is less than 0.50% (history is 0.13%), the LIBOR HECM will have materially lower future loan balances.

“We are in strange mes - rates are low and the spread between short-term LIBOR and CMT rates is high.”

Hopefully the “American Condi on” will be a short-lived phenomenon.

What products should you offer?

Wall Street has temporarily backed off from inves ng in reverse mortgages. Luckily for the reverse mortgage industry, Fannie Mae, the tradi onal investor, is s ll buying in a big way. But we believe that Fannie prefers CMT HECM’s. When Wall Street rehires their trading desks, LIBOR HECM could well move to the forefront.

It all depends on the spreads between the ten-year indexes and your percep on of the future spread between the two Note Rate indexes (“Short Spread”). We can pre y well predict that the ten-year spread will average 0.58% -- the wild card is the spread on the two Note Rate indexes. In the chart below you can see the material effect the sub-prime and rate spread melt-down has had on the Short Spread. The Long Spread has stayed fairly consistent averaging 0.58%. The Short Spread has gone haywire!

About Jerry Wagner: Jerry Wagner is President and Ashok Shinde is CTO of Ibis so ware based in San Francisco. Ibis has been the Standard of the reverse mortgage industry since 1995. Wagner graduated from Harvard Business School and has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard. But he’s s ll a fun guy and can be reached at 800-566-5077 or wagner@ourtoolbox.com. To learn about Ibis so ware, see www.reversemortgagehomepage.com)

Like what you have read?

Share your thoughts with the editor!

email us at editors@reversereview.com

May 2008

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The Blueprint for Making Your Company “Brand New”

by Stephen Kinney

According to a recent survey by Reverse Market Insight, there are 1667 ac ve reverse mortgage lenders in the USA today. Fi y-five percent, or 926 of those lenders, are new to the business. Currently, these new lenders account for about 16% of firstquarter 2008 produc on. With so many new lenders entering the business, differen a ng yourself and your company from others in the industry is going to become more challenging and more important.

“Forward Thinking in Reverse”

One of the best ways to do this is to establish a strong brand, one that sets you apart from the compe on and creates a percep on in the marketplace that you are different, be er, and someone a consumer should consider doing business with.

Branding is important and can have tremendous value to an individual or company. Look at Donald Trump; his branding has become a business unto itself. Lending his name to mortgage companies, board games, even neck es, creates revenues for “The Donald”. With each new venture, he further establishes the value of his brand.

For reverse mortgage sellers a strong brand name and promise can create confidence, familiarity and, most importantly, reduce the percep on of risk in the public’s eye.

Done well, a strong brand may even allow you to command a premium price while making it difficult for compe tors to gain a foothold in your marketplace.

“Take the me and do the research to understand your target audience’s age, gender, income, educa on level, loca on and emo onal state.”

Crea ng a brand iden ty is a collabora ve, meconsuming process. You want to start with a crea ve team, one that represents everyone in your organiza on who will be affected by the branding plan you create. If you can afford it, you may want to seek out some professional help as well.

The branding process can be broken down into a four part process Listening, Ques oning, Crea ng, and Delivering. Let’s take a look at each of these.

Listening

gather the informa on you need and assign tasks to the members of the team or seek out other resources.

Take the me and do the research to understand your target audience’s age, gender, income, educa on level, loca on and emo onal state. What mo vates them to ac on? What turns them off? What gets their a en on?

What are their hot bu ons? What do they love, hate, fear?

Use a spreadsheet to set up customer profiles and create a plan to target them.

Finally, evaluate the results and ask how your conclusions fit your goals and what value your new brand can bring to helping you reach those goals.

Ques oning Crea ng a brand is more than just designing a logo, crea ng a slogan, or deciding on some colors. You want your brand to create a posi ve mental imprint in the public’s mind, an imprint that is reflected in everything you do.

Like most successful marke ng efforts, building a brand starts with asking a lot of ques ons.

The first of these ques ons revolve around the 4 P’s, purpose, personality, promise and percep on of difference.

Let’s look at these and li le more detail.

What Is the Purpose of My Brand?

What do you want your brand to do for you? What idea, emo on, thought, and result do you hope to accomplish when someone sees your name, logo or byline? Your brand purpose should be clear, concise, prac cal and measurable.

Begin by assessing your premise and the desired conclusion of the branding process. Inves gate your current brand and the assets and image it brings to your organiza on. Start by listening to your employees, customers, and compe tors. Assemble focus groups of employees and customers. Learn from your team and your clients the percep ons (brand image) that your brand has in the marketplace, the posi on it has established, and the promises it has made, kept, and broken. Brainstorm and strategize with your team on how to move your brand to the market presence you want to establish.

What Personality Do I Want My Brand to Convey?

You want your brand to be reflec ve of your company’s personality, or at least the personality you want to convey.

What is the emo onal response you want customers to have when they come in contact with you or your company?

When you think of Donald Trump, chances are you think of money and boldness. Geico uses humor to portray a personality of a company easy to deal with. Financial Freedom and Lender Lead Solu ons use James Garner and Robert Wagner and create a customer friendly personality for their companies. What personality do you want your brand to convey?

Outline the core concerns of your target audience and how to posi on or reposi on the brand to develop new clients. Ask how you can differen ate yourself from your compe tors. Start from scratch or use your current brand presence as a star ng point. Determine the best way to

What Is My Brand Promise?

Your brand promise is the idea that you want the marketplace to take away with them when they see or hear your brand. A well executed brand promise can have a drama c impact on your business.

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A brand promise should….

Crea ng

• ma er to customers • be unique or differen ate you or your company • be believable • be a ainable

Create concepts for developing a brand iden ty and brand message. Review what you learned in the ques oning process and work collabora vely with your team to capture a brand promise and presence that it is consistent, clear, and can be promoted by the whole company.

The brand promise helps you posi on yourself in the minds of your prospec ve customers and helps you create a posi ve reputa on in the marketplace.

What Is the Percep on I Want My Brand to Convey to the Public?

Percep on of difference is one of the most important things a brand can do for you. This difference can be real or perceived. Early in my career I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the understanding that “percep on is reality.” Your Percep on is o en related to how the public perceives how you deliver on your brand promise. You may want to create the percep on you are the most experienced, or the fastest. While all or none of this may be true, if your branding creates that percep on in the public’s mind it will have succeeded. Of course delivering on the brand promise (at least most of the me) is the best way to insure that you will maintain the proper percep on of difference over me.

Develop the brand message, which should include collabora on sessions with your team and customers if possible. Plan at least two rounds of revisions to the talking points, tagline, and sales pitch. You may want to update your exis ng logo and slogan to align with your new image.

Choose a Brand Name While your name is certainly not everything, it is an important piece to building a las ng brand.

Great brand names: • Are emo onal • Are memorable • Have personality • Tell a story and communicate Should a name be literal and descrip ve, or obscure and emo onal? Both can have impact. Obscure and emo onal

Tradition Title Agency Serving New York State with Knowledge, Experience and Trust

We Help You Grow Your Business Providing Reverse Mortgage Services for Over 12 Years CALL OUR TEAM FOR MORE INFORMATION AT (631)328-4410 WWW.TRADITIONTA.COM AN APPROVED VENDOR WITH THE LEADING REVERSE MORTGAGE LENDERS

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May 2008

reversereview.com

“Forward Thinking in Reverse”

can lead to very dis nc ve brands, but literal and descrip ve can speed up the process of communica ng your message to your audience. When you have come up with a name or slogan, research it. Can you secure a domain name that is consistent with your brand name? Also, check the internet and the trademark office to see if anyone else is using it.

“Percep on of difference is one of the most important things a brand can do for you.”

Try to be original. Generic names like Senior Mortgage, Reverse Mortgage Lending, or Senior Lending may just make you spend more and work harder at building a brand. They will likely be the same or to similar to other companies in the marketplace, and will make it harder to differen ate your company from these compe tors. As names get harder to come by, many modern companies create names that are a combina on of words (i.e. Verizon, Costco etc.) to insure they are unique.

Being descrip ve - as opposed to being generic – can be a good thing for names. Given a limited budget, it can actually be a great way to go. Try to be original so that your name stands out, so that it means something, so you can own it, and so it will be much harder to copy.

Avoid names that are hard to spell or pronounce. Ask yourself, how will the market receive the name? Will the market get it? Will it jive with your strategic posi oning of the brand? Are there nega ve connota ons or associa ons with the name?

Perfect brand names are hard to come by and there’s no fool-proof method for tes ng names, so don’t get too bogged down. Under pressure to come up with a descrip ve name for my company, one that I could get a reasonable domain name for, I gave up and decided to use my own name. It’s easy enough to pronounce, but the spelling is unusual. However, if you Google Stephen Kinney you will see that I am first or second on the list. Come up with a few ideas and then test a li le, talk to your colleagues, customers, friends and family, listen to people you respect, trust your gut feelings, and make a choice.

While the brand name is important, few brand names can stand on their own. Great brands become part of the public consciousness as a symbol of your story, differen ate your company in your marketplace, and trigger a memory, emo on, or posi ve percep on. The brand name and how your branding campaign is executed are essen al to building brand awareness.

Create a Logo The right logo makes a great first impression. A logo is the visual image of your company that will be used in a variety of applica ons. When you are considering a design, start with simple. Many of the most effec ve logos are one or two colors. For a start-up, this can save you a lot on prin ng and marke ng expenses.

It is important to test how your logo photo copies and works in a digital environment, fax, website, le erhead, etc.

Sample other venues that you may grow into, like posters, print adver sing, or promo onal items. Can it work as well on a small or large scale?

Whether your logo is full-color or one color, make sure you leave customers with the best possible impression through the use of high quality business cards, le erhead and envelopes. The good news is that in this age of computer graphics and low cost printers, it shouldn’t cost a fortune.

Delivering Brand marke ng is communica on that differen ates you from compe tors and increases awareness of your brand promise.

Brand marke ng sets the stage for adver sing, direct marke ng and other communica on by posi oning your product in the minds of poten al customers. Direct marke ng or product marke ng then hones in on customers and gives them an opportunity to buy with confidence, as they are aware of the brand promise your branding campaign has imparted to them.

Integrated Marke ng Communica ons (IMC) is the process that aligns communica ons to build posi ve and las ng rela onships with customers and others. It is a customer-centric approach to marke ng and branding that stresses communica ng to consumers in order to speak with one voice through mul ple forms of media. In other words, it’s how you present your company or adver sing and prevent it from having mul ple, conflic ng messages. A good IMC plan balances a company’s responsibility to create awareness with its need to generate results.

Make a List of all Your Touch Points Every me you touch a customer or prospect, you should see your brand coming through. This should include your workplace, promo onal ac vi es, correspondence, and even how your phone is answered. Remember a brand is the summa on of your company’s promise; infuse your brand

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review

in as many contact areas as you can. Be sure to include each of these touch points in your IMC plan so that your branding speaks with one voice.

Create a Demand for your Brand Your product’s performance, your customer service, follow-through, and the quality of your adver sing, marke ng, and communica on add up to the brand experience. Posi ve experiences create new and repeat business. Your branding can make the consumer’s choice easier and more comfortable. Customers will know you, seek you out, refer you to friends, and remain loyal. The power of a well executed brand can make your fortune! A poorly executed plan will yield no benefits and may actually hurt business (remember “New Coke”).

Monitor your Results Evaluate how your new brand is working. Convene anonymous surveys and focus groups to evaluate your percep on in the market place. Are you ge ng more calls? Are your marke ng efforts becoming more effec ve?

Is your business increasing? Are you delivering on your brand promise at all levels of your organiza on? How has the public’s recogni on and percep on of your company changed.

Conclusion Whether you are seeking to reestablish or repurpose your exis ng brand, or start a new one, crea ng and building a brand is a collabora ve, me-consuming, and ongoing process. It requires research, crea vity, dedica on and salesmanship. It requires a branding plan that permeates the culture of your company and is reflected at every touch point you have with your customer. The right branding can permanently change the fortunes of your company, reduce customer acquisi on costs, and allow you to successfully compete without consistently being the low cost provider.

About Stephen Kinney: Stephen Kinney is a 26 year veteran of the mortgage industry and CEO of Stephen Kinney Associates, Inc., a company that specializes in the providing training and consul ng services to company’s seeking to excel in the Reverse Mortgage Industry. Stephen can be reached on the web at www.stephenkinney.com or by calling 973-842-0081.

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Finally, a robust, interactive online resource exclusively for Reverse Mortgage Loan Officers!

Join NARMLO and dramatically impact your reverse mortgage business.

Get resources and information geared towards reverse mortgage Loan Officers

NARMLO Reverse Mortgage Today Monthly Teleseminars and Webinars NARMLO Blog Discussion Forum Marketing Tools Lender/Lead/Service Resources Educational Materials for your seniors NARMLO.org is the place to find answers to all of your questions NARMLO.org offers an interactive discussion forum where you can exchange ideas and express constructive opinions with reverse mortgage Loan Officers throughout the world

www.narmlo.org

reversereview.com

“Forward Thinking in Reverse”

Reverse Market Outlook

by John Lunde

In a world full of investors, you have undoubtedly heard the disclaimer, “past performance is no guarantee of future results”. Of course, you probably also no ced this typically follows a large chart and table trumpe ng past performance sta s cs. You may wonder why the seeming contradic on, but I’ll venture a guess that in looking at an uncertain and unknowable future, the past is o en our best founda on for guiding future expecta ons.

In that vein, I’d like to ask a simple ques on about our industry. What can past performance tell us about the future of our industry? In par cular, I’d like to focus your a en on on two important topics that will play a major role in shaping the near term success of originators and by extension, the growing group of suppor ng vendors.

We’ve all heard about how the number of companies selling reverse mortgages has expanded rapidly in recent years. Even if you haven’t seen the figures, you’ve undoubtedly felt it first hand in increased compe on for customers. So let me put some numbers around this for you:

Risks 1) Home Value Declines In many ways, the proprietary products which have been introduced in our industry to date have filled the ‘jumbo’ product niche above the federal lending limits. With a substan ally lower LTV curve in place in most proprietary products than HECM, borrowers typically don’t see addi onal cash un l home values are 150-200% or more of the lending limits.

Na onal

Exis ng Loan Limits Percent of HECM Unit Volume 2005 2006 2007 2008 YTD

Value <= Lending Limit

58%

61%

71%

75%

Value <= 120% Lending Limit

75%

78%

86%

88%

Value <= 150% Lending Limit

88%

90%

95%

96%

Value <= Lending Limit

28%

31%

39%

43%

Value <= 120% Lending Limit

51%

54%

62%

68%

Value <= 150% Lending Limit

73%

76%

84%

87%

California

The graph above tells the tale of our market, illustra ng how unit volume growth has outpaced ac ve lender growth in some years and vice-versa in others. Last year the growth in the number of lenders was 40% higher than volume growth, the highest gap in recent years, triggering a perceived shrinking of the opportunity among lenders and leading to declines in marke ng and sales conversion rates.

The challenges have clearly grown for originators, so what opportuni es and risks exist today?

There is evidence from the table that declining home values against mostly stable lending limits has incrementally contributed to a shi in volume toward HECM, although the much clearer factor behind this has been an illiquid secondary market. Even in the higher value market of California, the trend has been significant and sustained as home values fall from the peaks seen in 2005/06.

The larger implica on of this shi is more striking – that HECM is taking up a larger share of the poten al transac on volume of exis ng ‘jumbo’ focused proprietary products, even if the secondary market were opera ng at full capacity.

For the foreseeable future, HECM will con nue to dominate the industry unless and un l a conven onal conforming product is created to compete against HECM at the lower home value segments.

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THEREVERSE

review

2) An cipated Higher Loan Limits Everyone is hoping for higher loan limits on the HECM, but what would the actual impact of such a change be? The tables below show the impact on the previous table for both $417,000 and $550,000 na onal loan limits.

Single Na onal $417K Loan Limit Percent of HECM Unit Volume Na onal

2005

2006

2007

2008 YTD

Value <= Lending Limit

85%

81%

87%

90%

Value <= 120% Lending Limit

92%

89%

94%

95%

Value <= 150% Lending Limit

97%

95%

98%

98%

California Value <= Lending Limit

63%

54%

59%

64%

Value <= 120% Lending Limit

79%

72%

78%

81%

Value <= 150% Lending Limit

91%

72%

92%

94%

Single Na onal $550K Loan Limit Percent of HECM Unit Volume 2005 2006 2007 2008 YTD

Na onal

Value <= Lending Limit

94%

92%

96%

97%

Value <= 120% Lending Limit

97%

96%

98%

99%

Value <= 150% Lending Limit

99%

99%

99%

100%

Value <= Lending Limit

85%

80%

86%

88%

Value <= 120% Lending Limit

93%

90%

94%

95%

Value <= 150% Lending Limit

98%

97%

98%

99%

California

These tables make it crystal clear that increased loan limits will have a larger impact on HECM market share than any home price decline and poten ally more than the current secondary market issues. While it is not clear when legisla on may pass or what the final form of loan limits and origina on fee changes might be, originators should expect and prepare for con nued HECM dominance in this landscape.

Where in the past we’ve seen proprietary products make up the lion’s share of profits at many companies, the combina on of factors limi ng the proprietary jumbo opportunity is a major factor affec ng business planning around the industry. In a capped HECM origina on fee world, the industry runs a significant risk in losing profitability on a macro level without a realis c proprietary product outlet.

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May 2008

Opportuni es Where there is risk, there is also opportunity, and two of the most immediate opportuni es you’re likely to find today revolve around the two risks highlighted above. Increased lending limits will almost certainly lead to a mini boom of refinance business for those ready to take advantage.

Whether you focus on retaining your previous customers or farming other lenders’ por olios, this opportunity isn’t likely to knock twice. The HECM expected rate floor, limited home price apprecia on and other factors are combining to ensure that future refinance opportuni es are significantly more modest than the present wave.

Second, as borrowers with home values previously above the lending limits are able to access more cash, a significant number of transac ons will have the numbers work where they previously were too li le to payoff exis ng obliga ons and/or meet the liquidity needs of the borrower. Reviewing old leads and re-running the numbers for each using the new loan limits and current interest rates is a prime way to garner new business while keeping costs associated with lead genera on down.

Lastly, product innova on remains a large opportunity although likely not an immediate opportunity for most market par cipants. Whether through a HECM compe tor, bundling, or re-invigorated jumbo pricing, the con nued lack of penetra on in the vast senior marketplace remains a crucial indicator of product gaps in our industry. The outsize profitability of the early jumbo products points the way toward large rewards for successful innovators, although the risks and costs of failure can be daun ng.

In closing, as each of us confront these risks and opportuni es every day, it’s crucial that we also keep in mind the overall perspec ve of the industry beyond the immediate landscape. Each day our growing industry is helping more and more customers fulfill their financial and lifestyle objec ves. This history of performance should be intensely sa sfying to all of us, no ma er what our future holds. If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that everything changes and today’s compe ve challenges will give way to tomorrow’s rewards for successful innovators.

About John Lunde: John Lunde is President and founder of Reverse Market Insight, the premier source for market intelligence and analy cs services in the reverse mortgage industry. RMI clients include mul ple top ten reverse mortgage lenders and servicers, as well as some of the largest financial services firms in the world. Find out more at www.rminsight.net or call 949-429-0452.

reversereview.com

“Forward Thinking in Reverse”

Understanding Reverse Mortgage Loan Servicing Concepts

by David J. Cesario

One of the longest rela onships that exists between a borrower and lender is the rela onship established through the servicing ac vi es of their mortgage loan. Since the reverse mortgage loan has a variety of unique features, the servicing aspects are somewhat different with respect to how the loan is managed a er closing.

But something else that makes servicing of reverse mortgage loans different is the effect servicing has on the qualifica on ability of the borrower. Therefore, it is very important to understand, and differen ate servicing aspects of reverse mortgage loans compared to servicing of forward mortgage loans.

Since most new reverse mortgage borrowers will have had experienced servicing of forward mortgages, it is important to be able to explain the different func ons and expense components to your reverse mortgage borrowers.

Servicing expense is not necessarily a concept discussed with most forward mortgage borrowers, but it is absolutely a concept dealt with for reverse mortgage borrowers.

As with any mortgage loan, there is an expense incurred by the lender for the servicing of that mortgage loan; and a reverse mortgage is no excep on to this rule. Reverse mortgage servicing has many similar func ons as forward mortgage servicing including monthly statements mailed to borrowers, the maintenance of a customer service call center, and handling payoff requests. But unlike forward mortgage servicing, reverse mortgage servicers may be making outgoing monthly disbursements (payouts) to borrowers instead of collec ng incoming payments. They may also be dealing with borrower requested changes to the payout methodology selected, which can be changed as many mes as the borrower desires, a er the loan is funded.

The biggest difference in the servicing of a reverse mortgage loan versus that of a forward mortgage is how the cost or expense for servicing ac vi es is paid for. In a forward mortgage, servicing expense is collected (or paid) from the incoming monthly payment of principal and

May 2008

interest. The lender will typically pay a fixed fee to the servicer for their services. This monthly revenue stream does not exist for reverse mortgage loans as no incoming monthly payment is required. The ques on then arises how to collect for (or pay) the servicing expenses incurred?

The solu on was to charge the borrowers a monthly servicing fee as part of the ongoing expense of a reverse mortgage loan. This monthly servicing fee is typically added to the outstanding loan balance each month that the loan con nues in force.

According to HUD guidelines, lenders are not required to charge servicing fees on a reverse mortgage loan. Instead, HUD recognizes that a lender may charge a higher interest rate, or build the cost of servicing into the rate, instead of charging a monthly servicing fee. This typically would be disadvantageous to borrowers who then would be incurring higher interest rates over the life of the loan. Therefore, most FHA reverse mortgage lenders have chosen to charge a monthly servicing fee. This has the effect of lowering the overall borrower expense while s ll providing servicers with a source of revenue to pay for their services.

According to HUD Handbook 4235.1, Rev. 1, Sec on 1-12, reverse mortgage servicing has the following features: SERVICING. The lender is permi ed to charge the borrower a servicing fee if this cost has not already been priced into the borrower’s mortgage interest rate.

A. If the lender chooses to assess a servicing fee, the fee is established at closing as a monthly figure and the amount necessary to pay this fee throughout the life of the loan is calculated and set aside from the principal limit at closing (see Paragraph 5-7B. for calcula ons).

B. The servicing fee that may be charged on fixed rate or annually adjustable loans may not exceed thirty dollars ($30.00) per month. The servicing fee that may be charged on monthly adjustable loans is uncapped.

C. The lender adds this fee to the borrower’s outstanding balance monthly, and cannot assess any other fees to cover the costs of servicing.

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THEREVERSE

review

So there appear to be straigh orward guidelines on how servicing expense can be recaptured by the lender, with certain program limita ons to protect the borrowers.

Something that is unique to reverse mortgage loans is the concept referenced in subsec on A of Sec on 1-12; the concept of a servicing set aside. The reference to sec on 5-7B of the Handbook describes where the descrip on, calcula on and methodology for the set aside can be found.

It is important to note that there are speciďŹ c limits in place on ďŹ xed rate HECMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and annually adjus ng HECMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, while there is no limita on on the monthly adjus ng HECMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

Market forces currently have the monthly adjus ng HECMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s servicing fees is ranging up to $35.00 per month. Since the level of the fee established at the lenders discre on, you may want to make sure that your wholesale lenders oďŹ&#x20AC;er you mul ple levels of servicing fees to oďŹ&#x20AC;er your borrowers.

5)& */%6453: 45"/%"3% 4*/$& ŃŽF *OEVTUSZ 4UBOEBSE JT OPU KVTU B TMPHBO 4JY PG UIF UPQ SFWFSTF NPSUHBHF PSJHJOBUPST VTF *CJT 4PŃŤXBSF GPS UIFJS XFCTJUFT SFUBJM BOE XIPMFTBMF CVTJOFTTFT ŃŽPTF MFOEFST BSF VTJOH

Fannie Mae HomeKeeper loans and most Proprietary and Jumbo reverse mortgage loans also have monthly servicing expense. The monthly servicing fee limit on the HomeKeeper is a maximum of $30.00 per month and Proprietary and Jumbo products individually determine what monthly servicing expense is to be charged.

The monthly servicing fee, and ul mately the servicing set aside calcula on, inďŹ&#x201A;uences the amount of available funds a borrower will be able to access along with amount of revenues available to the lender. Having the ďŹ&#x201A;exibility to ďŹ nd the right combina on should be one of your primary concerns for both the borrower and your company.

During the next part of this two part series, we will discuss how the servicing set aside is calculated, we will debunk erroneous explana ons of what the set aside truly is and we will cover how to explain the set aside to reverse mortgage borrowers.

About David J. Cesario: David J. Cesario is a na onal speaker and educator on Reverse Mortgage Lending. He serves as the Execu ve Vice President of 1st Reverse Financial Services, LLC, a na onal wholesale reverse mortgage lender, located at 410 Quail Ridge Drive in Westmont, Illinois, 60559. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website is www.1stReverse.com where informa on can be found about 1st Reverseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wholesale lending programs and op ons for lenders interested in oďŹ&#x20AC;ering reverse mortgage loans.

32

May 2008

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-PBO PSJHJOBUJPO NPEVMFT JODMVEF $3.

2VJDL 2VPUF 1SPQPTBM "QQMJDBUJPO 6OEFSXSJUJOH %PDVNFOUT $MPTJOH 1JQFMJOF 3FQPSUT BOE $PTU 5FNQMBUFT 1MVT #SPLFS BOE $PSSFTQPOEFOU .BOBHFNFOU 'VMM TUBUF TQFDJĂŞD BQQMJDBUJPO BOE DMPTJOH QBDLBHFT DBO CF TUPSFE QSJOUFE BOE FNBJMFE

*Ä&#x203A;Ģď 2ĎĢÄ&#x153;Ĥ 2ĎĨĭÄ&#x17E; #JMJOHVBM DPOTVNFS DBMDVMBUPST BMSFBEZ JO VTF BU r XXX SNBBSQ DPN r r XXX XFMMTSN DPN r BOE NBOZ PUIFS XFCTJUFT *CJT BMTP QSPWJEFT

*Ä&#x203A;Ģď 3." " DPNQMFUF DPVOTFMJOH QBDLBHF GPS )6% "QQSPWFE SFWFSTF DPVOTFMPST 'PS NPSF JOGPSNBUJPO WJTJU

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reversereview.com

Directory

“Forward Thinking in Reverse”

David Cesario 1st Reverse Financial Services, LLC 410 Quail Ridge Drive Westmont, Illinois 60559 (877) 574 - 1000 info@1streverse.com

Jerry Wagner Ibis Capital, LLC 2101 Pacific Avenue PH 701 San Francisco, CA 94115 (800) 566 - 5077 reversemortgagehomepage.com info@ibisrmo.com

America’s Recommended Mailers, Inc. 1680 S. Hwy 121, Bldg. B Lewisville, TX 75067 (800) 992 - 2722 armleads.com

Lender Lead Solu ons 3 Hun ngton Quadrangle Suite 303N Melville, NY 11747 (800) 562 - 6755 lenderleadsolu ons.com Lisa Schreiber

10801 Thornmint Rd Suite 250 San Diego, CA 92127 (877) 229 - 7799 appraiserlo .com informa on@appraiserlo .com

John LaRose Celink Reverse Mortgage Servicer 3900 Capital City Blvd Lansing, MI 48906 www.celink.com john@celink.com

FirstAmerican/eAppraiseIT 5 Cherry Hill Dr Suite 200 Danvers, MA 01923 eappraiseit.com (800) 281-6200

May 2008

LSK Consultants, LLC 39821 Foxglove Court Love sville, VA 20180 (540) 822-9710 lskconsultants.com lisa@lskconsultants.com Monte Rose

17100 Gille e Ave Irvine, CA 92614 (800) 516 - 0545 monterose.biz info@monterose.biz Na onal Associa on of Reverse Mortgage

Loan Officers 22 Polly Drummond Hill Rd. Newark, DE 19711 (877) 2NARMLO (877) 262 - 7656 narmlo.org Valerie VanBooven

OnTheLevel 2982 Ora Avo Terrace Vista, CA 92084 (800) 909 - 1110 onthelevel@mac.com

Reverse Market Insight, Inc. Aliso Viejo, CA (949) 429 - 0452 rminsight.net info@rminsight.net

Reverse Mortgage Solu ons, Inc. 2727 Spring Creek Drive Spring, TX 77373 (888) 918-1110 rmsnav.com

Smart Marke ng 6722 Vista del Mar Suite A San Diego, CA 92037 (888) 811 0208 smart--marke ng.com traam@aol.com

Tradi on Title Agency 1991 Union Boulevard Suite C Bay Shore, NY 11706 (631) 328-4410 tradi onta.com info@tradi onta.com

Next Genera on Financial Services Reverse Mortgage Na on 3301 Boston Street Bal more, MD 21224 (888) 973 - 8377 ngfs.net

reversereview.com

33

The Last Word review

THEREVERSE

Looking at the Reverse World from a “Forward” Thinker

by Lisa Schreiber I’ve been in the “forward” mortgage industry for over 22 years. From my start in post-closing all the way through retail and wholesale sales to sales management and EVP of American Brokers Conduit, I thought of myself as one of many knowledgeable people in our industry.

Since star ng my new venture as a consultant, I have relied on my experience and past industry partnerships and colleagues to build my business. Truth be told, I knew of reverse mortgages and like many didn’t think posi vely of the product as my percep on was that they nega vely impacted the consumer. Of course what I have found out through educa on is, there is a great place for this type of lending for many in our communi es.

Educa on is a primary goal for me in any thing I undertake. I learn from asking lots of ques ons and listening to the answers. As a consultant I found I had opportunity to be valuable to clients that had either reverse aspira ons or reverse pla orms. So how did I get started?

First I went to one of my old colleagues that I admire for her sense of integrity and knowledge. I asked her to give me a Reverse Mortgage 101 crash course. She gave me all the industry data and taught me about the different way you had to think about a reverse mortgage. She also opened my eyes to the risks and benefits from the borrower and lender aspects. It was a terrific presenta on and I learned a lot!

Next, I started to get industry publica ons so I could keep up with the changes and issues that confronted the reverse world.

Finally, I bought a cket to the MBA Reverse Mortgage Conference in San Diego last month. I found out later that there was a NRMLA conference in Philadelphia that same week, which would have been handy informa on as I live in Northern Virginia, but all part of the learning curve!

The MBA Reverse conference was a good one as it looked at reverse mortgages as a newer en ty for most, which it was for me and was geared to educate from that perspec ve. Through the conference I learned the industry sta s cs, although each speaker had a different number associated with the current available equity, from 2.5-4 trillion, understandable as home valua ons are an issue for any type of mortgage these days!

So what were the main things I learned about the reverse world? Besides all the things you already hear; reverse is really a new business and not a product as its sales cycle is protracted due to the fact that you are selling to not only the senior but their

34

May 2008

family (many cooks in the kitchen) and like our forward world, is highly regulated and becoming more so each day. If you are gun shy about things like suitability and further scru ny regarding your origina on prac ces, I am thinking this world is not for you.

What I do see is opportunity for those that are willing to be educated. Per my conference speakers, only 2% of the eligible popula on has been penetrated. I am not sure what the number should be, as many will never need a reverse mortgage, but when I think of my own family members or those of my friends, I can see a real value to many. If we just think of the higher taxed areas of the US where the elderly are living longer than ever before, I can clearly see how the ability to tap the equity in your home to help you through your later years can be a huge benefit. In the forward world without income to qualify for the payments, these same clients have been underserved. Another example of the major differences between forward and reverse worlds is the issue for servicers in the non-payment of taxes and insurance. Think about it, typically we have an escrow payment included in our mortgage payment that goes towards taxes and insurance, even if we waive the escrow (or impound) we understand it is our responsibility. A reverse scenario is more like when we pay off our mortgage and we are now on our own, so many forget that this is now their responsibility. I was happy to hear that servicers are now offering a hold back op on to pay taxes and insurance for their borrowers.

In the forward world I also advocate partnerships to develop referrals and talk about expanding your reach by using the internet.

In the reverse world the internet is not the primary tool to market to, unless of course you are talking to the children of the seniors you are looking to educate. My favorite thing I learned is the places that make the most sense to hold marke ng and educa onal seminars, Bob Evans and Sizzler restaurants as an example and make sure it is in me for the early bird special!

This is not meant in any way to make fun of or denigrate the importance of this product or its clients! I am just really fascinated by the way my brain started thinking when I learned more about the reverse world. As a “forward thinker” I am glad I took the opportunity to understand the possibili es of helping those that need it the most.

About Lisa Schreiber: Lisa Schreiber is currently a mortgage consultant and speaker with LSK Consultants, LLC. Lisa is a 22 year mortgage industry veteran, formerly execu ve vice president with American Brokers Conduit and regional vice president with Bank of America. Her exper se resides in building the bridge between corporate goals and successful field implementa on. She can be reached by email lisa@lskconsultants.com or by phone 540-8229710.

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Lender Lead Solutions provides the stability of a financial giant.

Our parent company, the KBC Group, is a Belgian-based bank with a highly-regarded reputation as a financial leader. With $41 billion in market capitalization* and a AA-rating, KBC’s strength gives LLS the ability to fund our own loans, which allows us to offer unique products that are perfect for today’s market conditions.

Partner with the leading Reverse Mortgage wholesale lender and watch your business grow.

But don’t just take our word for it. Come and see for yourself.

To contact Lender Lead Solutions call 888.775.3631 or visit our website at www.lenderleadsolutions.com *As of March 17, 2008. Lender Lead Solutions is a division of World Alliance Financial Corp., a member of the KBC Group. ©2008 World Alliance Financial Corp.