In case you missed it… here’s what happened in reverse mortgage news this week.
Robert Wagner made a reverse mortgage advertising comeback. After cutting ties earlier this year with Urban Financial Group, which had been running the most recent Robert Wagner reverse mortgage campaign, Genworth Financial Home Equity Access announced this week it is in the process of airing new commercials featuring longtime reverse spokesman Robert Wagner’s voice and will produce upcoming ads featuring his image this fall.
A Chicago Tribune columnist took a dig at reverse mortgage spokesmen. Citing the need for the spirit of a “reverse mortgage guy” the Tribune columnist wrote prior to the election that it would take a real edge to with the presidential debate that took place Wednesday between President Obama and republican candidate Mitt Romney. Read the column on the “reverse mortgage guy.”
Romney reportedly said he might look to mortgage interest deduction in tax policy changes. A Denver news outlet spoke with Romney prior to the presidential debate, reporting on a plan to cap all tax deductions, which could trickle down to impact the mortgage interest deduction claimed by homeowners nationwide.
Reports indicated fallthrough rates are dragging reverse mortgage volume down. Reverse mortgage volume sank sharply in September to 3,706 loans—a 10.1% decline from August and marking one of the lowest months for endorsements in recent memory. “What becomes obvious when we look at the trends in the basic endorsement chart is that there’s an increasing gap between case numbers issued and endorsements,” wrote Reverse Market Insight. Read more.
…and our very own John Yedinak took a look at the industry post Wells and MetLife. Read his article to find out more about life post-big banks and what it means for the market.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
