It is with great sadness that RMD remembers long-time reverse mortgage industry veteran Monte Rose, 65, who passed away last Wednesday afternoon in his bed, cause unknown at this time.
An active participant in the reverse mortgage industry since 1991, Rose is survived by his wife, Debbie Rose, and their respective family.
Rose’s career in the reverse mortgage industry dates back to the sector’s early days, when he worked as a reverse mortgage consultant for San Francisco-based Transamerica HomeFirst Inc. from 1991 to 1993.
After that, Rose worked as the national retail sales manager for Financial Freedom Senior Funding from 1993 to 2007, before taking a position with MetLife’s reverse mortgage division, where he served as a sales manager for the Southern California region from 2009-2012.
More recently, Rose served as senior vice president for Premier Home Equity, a reverse mortgage division of HighTechLending, Inc.
Among his contributions, everlasting influence and legacy to the reverse mortgage space include his book “Go Sell. Go Serve.” (2009), which distills two decades of sales experience as a producer, manager and executive in the reverse mortgage business.
Several reverse mortgage professionals responded to RMD as they remember and pay their respects to a beloved industry veteran.
“We were honored to have Monte work at HighTechLending for the past five years,” said HighTechLending President Don Currie. “When he walked into a room his stature beamed of class, honesty and professionalism. When he spoke in front of groups he would light up the room with humor.”
Rose, who loved to talk about his beloved grandchildren, Currie recalls, shared taking them to swimming lessons during a recent HighTechLending company seminar.
“The new teaching method to keep the kids heads above water using their legs was to ‘just grab your shorts and kick!’” Currie said. “He thought that to be a good motto in life, too. Monte will be terribly missed and the only way through this loss is for us to ‘just grab our shorts and kick.’ God bless Monte Rose.”
Other industry members recalled Monte’s leadership and mentoring traits.
“Monte was my mentor and we started working together at MetLife when they offered reverse mortgages,” said Dirk Pierce, home equity retirement loan specialist with Retirement Funding Solutions. “Monte was a man of great faith and today is surely walking on streets of gold with our/his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”
“For those of us that never took a loan application or sat at the kitchen table, Monte’s generosity of spirit in sharing his 10,000+ hours at the kitchen table was essential to understanding the impact of all our decisions,” said John Lunde, president of Reverse Market Insight.
“I met Monte when he was already a recognized expert with over a decade in the field, but he patiently explained to me and everyone else in the training class just how impactful the reverse mortgage is to each of his customers,” Lunde added. “Monte brought a servant’s heart to everything he did and was the greatest advocate for our senior customers I’ve met. I’ll miss him greatly.”
“Monte was known to us all as a thoughtful and caring industry veteran who always kept the borrower’s interest in mind,” the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association told RMD in a written statement. “He was a dynamic manager who took time to educate and empower his team and a powerful and commanding public speaker who motivated and inspired. Beyond his love for cars, we will remember him as someone who represented the best in our profession and he will leave a lasting mark on our industry.”
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Monte,” Reverse Mortgage Funding said in a statement provided to RMD. “For over 25 years, he served as a trusted and influential voice for the reverse mortgaged industry. During this time, he positively impacted the lives of so many of our customers and helped them achieve the retirement lifestyle they deserved and imagined. He will be greatly missed, but his legacy is ever-lasting.”
“I met Monte when I was introduced to the reverse mortgage industry back in 1993,” said Jeff Birdsell, vice president of professional services at ReverseVision. “He was one of the pioneers in our industry and one of the most respected loan officers and educators our industry has ever seen. His friendship, ethics and abilities will be truly missed.”
Memorial services for Monte Rose will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 30, at Mariners Church located at 5001 Newport Coast Dr., in Irvine, Calif., according to a GoFundMe page created to help cover the funeral costs and incidentals for his loved ones.
If you’re a reverse mortgage professional who knew Monte Rose and have a story or memory you’d like to share, feel free to leave your condolences in the comment section below.
Written by Jason Oliva
