Reverse Focus Weekly Podcast Episode #402
In this week’s Reverse Focus podcast, Shannon Hicks welcomes the Leap Year with a discussion on reverse mortgage volume in 2016. This year, the reverse mortgage industry will need “aggressive growth” in Home Equity Conversion Mortgage volume in order to recover from 2015’s roller coaster of a year as a result of the Financial Assessment. HECM endorsements finished 2015 with 56,363 units, putting the full-year tally 6.4% higher than the previous year. Despite the increase, recent data indicates the industry will need to aggressively increase endorsement volume in 2016 to combat the impact of the Financial Assessment.
Also discussed, a recent Forbes article went beyond the basic HECM eligibility requirements of age and home values to spotlight the math behind reverse mortgage payouts. The latest in a series of reverse mortgage-related articles in the past week, the Forbes piece examines the meaning of several key terms associated with HECM loan proceed calculations.
In another podcast story, Hicks discusses RMD’s recent interview with John Kennedy, a Seattle-based reverse mortgage advisor with The Federal Savings Bank. At age 90, Kennedy, who has been active in the reverse mortgage industry for the better part of the last two decades, talked about why he choose to focus on the industry and the winding path that eventually led him there.
Lastly discussed, search engine and all-around technology giant Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) recently announced its decision to discontinue the company’s online mortgage comparison shopping tool known as Google Compare. Citing the tool was not generating “substantially more revenue” than standard search ads for products like mortgages, auto insurance and credit cards, Google said it will begin winding down the platform with a termination date slated for March 23.
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Talking Points:
- Aggressive growth needed to rebound from assessment’s impact
- Forbes on HECM eligibility: It’s more than age and home values
- RMD interviews 90 year old reverse mortgage originator
- Google to pull recently launched mortgage shopping tool
Listen now. Reverse Focus is the ultimate resource for reverse mortgage professionals providing the technology, training and marketing to grow your business. We are your one-stop resource for those committed to taking their business to the next level.” Editor’s Note: These posts are sponsored by Reverse Focus.
Written by Jason Oliva
