More than 200 reverse mortgage professionals attended the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association West conference March 15-16 in Newport Beach, Calif., where speakers and panelists addressed industry issues from loan officer compensation to the lawsuit filed by AARP against HUD.
“Loan officer compensation was definitely the elephant in the room,” said Peter Bell, NRMLA president, who told RMD that the two-day conference drew 50% more attendees than NRMLA had anticipated. He attributed the uptick to the current and ongoing issues relating to the industry, loan officer compensation being the main story.
“Everybody is curious about it and hoping it’s going to get delayed,” he said. During the conference, however, NRMLA legal counsel Jim Milano told attendees the potential timeframe for a hearing regarding lawsuits against the Fed could be as late as March 28, just a few days before the rule is slated to go into effect.
“Don’t wait,” he advised attendees on implementing the rule in their compensation structures.
Attendees also heard from the coordinator of NRMLA’s Soft Landing pilot program, which works one-on-one with reverse mortgage borrowers who are facing tax and insurance default on their loans. Legal advisers discussed regulatory change, and industry executives shared early findings on the performance of the HECM saver.
NRMLA’s upcoming Washington Policy Conference will take place May 10-11 in Washington, D.C. NRMLA encourages members to set up meetings with state representatives and visit representatives in their districts prior to the conference, which plans to include members of HUD, bank regulators, members from Capitol Hill and CFPB, among others.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
