Reverse Mortgage Jan-Feb 2021

Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals; Better Living for Seniors; and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. Access Reverse Mortgage is also an Affiliate Business Partner with the Pinellas Realtor Organization. “The reverse mortgage indus- try has changed dramatically and has seen many companies and indi- viduals come and go over the past decade,” the Tennants wrote on their company website. “At Access Reverse Mortgage, we have not changed. While we recently moved our offices to Clearwater, our leadership hasn’t changed, and we are still striving to provide the best possible customer service, expert advice and to always put your needs first.” Early on, both Pam and Mac saw the advantages in qualifying as CRMPs. “I really think the designation helps with credibility,” says Pam. “So many loan officers out there only do maybe one reverse mortgage a month, or even fewer, and we believe clients deserve a better level of ser- vice and expertise. Our mission was to provide exceptional service and expert advice to our clients, while always put- ting their needs first. We can refer customers to NRMLA’s website and resources.” “We get a lot of referrals from financial planners, and some from Realtors,” she continues, adding that the CRMP training expanded their skill sets. “Many of them are interested in reverse mortgages for themselves, and then recommend it to their clients after they’ve tried it out. Mac does webinars for the professional community.” The Tennants have divided responsibilities at Access so that Mac handles origination and Pam oversees admin- istration and processing. “We pretty much each do our own things now,” she says. “I keep my license up, though. I know all of the rules and regulations, so quite often, I’ll talk to the customers and explain things to them.” Pam even once helped save a client from imminent foreclosure by processing and funding the reverse mort- gage in just eight days, instead of the industry average of closer to 60. “We’ve been very busy, so we’ve hired someone else to help with the origination,” Pam continues. “COVID-19 has actually helped the reverse mortgage business. I think it’s focused people on planning more and considering what it will take to stay in their own homes rather than go into assisted living.” They also keep close track of clients and potential cli- ents. “We’ve had a lot of referrals from previous clients over the years, and we have a huge database of custom- ers we’ve worked with in the past. It’s amazing to me that we’ll have had a conversation with someone, but that at the time, a reverse mortgage just wasn’t right for them. Then ten years later we’ll make contact again or they’ll come back to us, and now it’s a perfect fit. And we’re doing a lot with previous clients these days. Refinance had never represented much of our business before, but with interest rates so low, it can be a great benefit to our customers.” When they’re not working in the family business, the Tennants lead equally busy personal lives. “We both run, we bicycle, and we bought kayaks once COVID started,” Pam says. “We recently purchased a RV, and we’re hoping to be able to get away more often for more than a long weekend. And all of our children live in the area, so we spend time babysitting our grandkids.” The ages are 13, eight, three and two who are six – cousins, not twins. And their concern for the well-being of others doesn’t stop with either family or business clients. Both Pam and Mac are also active in overseas missions sponsored by their church, where Mac is an ordained deacon. Sometimes they are able to go on these trips together, though lately it has been difficult for them both to get away from the office at the same time. “I’ve done 12 to 15,” Pam says, “and Mac’s pretty close.” Many of them have been medical missions to North Africa, where Pam has gone nine times and says is her favorite place in the world to visit. As busy as they are, Pam and Mac finally found time to become American citizens in late 2019. “The rule on the application about crossing borders finally changed to only having to account for the past five years,” she notes. “And that was something we could keep track of.” As far as the future of Access, Pam says they’re “really hoping at some point one of the children would be inter- ested in taking over. Otherwise, we’d like to bring in some- one to be a general manager so we can get away more and spend some time in that RV.” Mac Tennant CRMP: Across the Kitchen Table REVERSE MORTGAGE / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021 15