“The simplest way to present this program is actually the purchase,” he said. “I think we’ve missed that over the years. And in fact, those of us in the reverse business, including myself, miscategorize the reverse for purchase as something a little more tricky, because we were always used to the standard, traditional refinance reverse mortgage.”
But the H4P is easier to describe, he said, mainly because it flies in the face of some stigmas carried by the product category.
“The reverse for purchase is all positive,” he said. “You’re helping somebody get into a home, taking away most of the issues a family would have with doing a reverse mortgage.”
Changing the conversation
An improvement in this dynamic was also noted by Peter Sciandra, executive vice president of reverse lending secondary marketing at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. While Sciandra acknowledges that the dynamic still exists, he also said that some reverse mortgage professionals are simply more confident in their specialization to properly communicate what the HECM product can do for qualifying borrowers.
This has led parts of the industry to become more isolated over time, he said, which may have led forward professionals to regard the reverse product as too niche to become involved with.
“I think what we’re going to focus on this year is figuring out how to make things simpler — not just for the forward mortgage space but also for the general public,” Sciandra said. A lot of times when seniors go through counseling and really take a close look at the loan, they can get confused. They may feel that they don’t fully understand the product, and that hesitation can lead them to decide against it.”
The industry, he said, can do a more efficient job of simplifying the language used to describe the product while also making it easier for forward professionals to originate reverse mortgages. This could mean providing additional support for forward professionals beyond what is currently available.
“A lot of forward originators don’t want to go through extensive training or certification for a product they may only work with occasionally,” Sciandra said. “As an industry, we need to identify the changes we can make to better support forward originators and adapt the product so they feel more comfortable and willing to participate, and that’s up to us.”
A ‘thrilling’ dynamic
At New American Funding (NAF), reverse mortgage division leader Shannon Robinson said that it has been “thrilling” to watch the collaborative dynamic evolve over the course of 2024. She expects that momentum to continue this year.
“The collaboration is so strong, and we’ll continue to drive that opportunity in 2025,” she said. “Personally, I’ve been actively out in the market, working with our forward leaders. I participate in all of our monthly and weekly sales calls with the leadership team. We maintain a very close relationship here at New American Funding.”
Robinson has also attended regional sales rallies in different areas where the company’s forward lending professionals operate, and the reverse division actively collaborates on these events too.
“At these sales rallies, which often gather 100 or more loan officers in a room, we have the opportunity to sit down together,” she said. “We participate in breakout sessions, introduce ourselves, collaborate, and discuss the clients we serve and how we can assist them.
“I’ve given many presentations at these regional meetings, talking about our product and the opportunities to partner with us. It’s been a great way to foster collaboration and build relationships across divisions.”
