So here we are, 585 reverse mortgage professionals heading to San Antonio to thoroughly discuss all aspects of our business at NRMLA’s three-day Annual Meeting & Expo. And we all wake up Monday morning to get gobsmacked by the following headline in The New York Times (on the front page, no less): “Loan Lifeline to Retirees Is Taking Its Toll: Reverse Mortgages Costing Some Their Homes.”
In the story, financial reporter Jessica Silver-Greenberg, a rookie on reverse mortgages as far as we know, identifies a list of issues with reverse mortgages. And here’s the
rub: Each issue she brings up was tackled at a session at our conference.
In San Antonio, keynote speaker and HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary Charles Coulter alerted the attendees to imminent changes in the HECM program, including possible financial assessment and possible limitations on the availability of fixed-rate, full-draw loans.
Karin Hill and her HUD staff presented data showing a declining tax and insurance default rate in more recent books of business, as well as a growing cure rate among those in trouble.
A panel of industry marketing heads took a hard look at the ethics of messaging, pointing out compliant requirements in advertising, showing unacceptable ads and how to construct those that are acceptable.
NRMLA counsel Jim Brodsky went through a list of new legislation and regulation. Another panel looked at helping clients to understand the process that will take place at the end of a loan. And a packed room engaged in an energetic and candid bout of self-evaluation, listing all the industry problems they could think of, as well as potential solutions.
It makes one think: If Ms. Silver-Greenberg had joined us all at the conference, would she have written the same story? Or would she have seen a responsible industry working to improve the consumer experience?
This Year’s Board of Directors
Joe DeMarkey of MetLife Bank and George Lopez of JB Nutter have been elected co-chairmen of the NRMLA Board of Directors for 2013. Supporting them as vice chairs are Pete Engelken of Genworth Financial Home Equity Access and James Cory of Legacy Reverse Mortgage.
John LaRose of Celink (secretary) and Sherry Apanay of Urban Finacial Group (treasurer) fill out the Executive Committee.
Other members elected to the board are:
- Mark Browning, Homechex
- Nick Buscaglia, M&T Bank
- Colin Cushman, Generation Mortgage
- George Downey, Harbor Mortgage Solutions
- Sarah Hulbert, 1st Reverse Mortgage USA
- Reza Jahangiri, American Advisors Group
- Bart Johnson, Premier Senior Home Equity
- Torrey Larsen, Security One Lending
- Steve McClellan, Urban Financial Group
- Jerry McCoy, Nationstar
- Joe Morris, Open Mortgage
- John Nixon, Bank of America
- Jean Noble, Urban Financial Group
- Scott Norman, Sente Mortgage
- Ralph Rosynek, Reverse Mortgage Solutions
- Bob Sivori, Security One Lending
- Gregg Smith, One Reverse Mortgage
- Sandy Tennekoon, Moneyhouse
- Robert Yeary, Reverse Mortgage Solutions
Past chairpersons serving in an ex officio capacity include Jeff Taylor of Wendover Consulting Group, Cheryl McNally of Harbor View Consulting and James Mahoney, former chief executive of Financial Freedom.
New Members
NRMLA welcomed the following new members since the last issue of The Reverse Review:
Impac Mortgage | Irvine | Calif. | |
Cofmar Financial Inc. | Pikesville | Md. | |
Proficio Mortgage Ventures, LLC | Henderson | Nev. | |
Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. | Salt Lake City | Utah | |
Georgetown Mortgage, LLC | Georgetown | Texas | |
American Financial Resources, Inc. | Parsippany | N.J. | |
Wholesale Capital Corporation | Moreno Valley | Calif. | |
National Title Solutions, Inc. | Naperville | Ill. | |
Wolfe Financial, Inc. | Asheboro | N.C. | |
Vinings Mortgage | Atlanta | Ga. | |
Bank of England | Greenville | N.C. | |
A.K.T. American Capital, Inc. | El Segundo | Calif. | |
Patriot Home Mortgage | St. George | Utah | |
Arlington Financial Corporation | Yonkers | N.Y. | |
Bank of England | Jacksonville | Fla. |
Overall, 58 companies have joined the association in the past year.For the next Annual Meeting, we’ll all be heading back to New Orleans on November 3-6, 2013.