March-April 2021

people envision what their future could look like, that’s what is really rewarding to me.” Lyn earned her CRMP while at Mortgage Network. She believes in lifelong learning striving to “be the best you can be and do the best you can in all aspects of life. The CRMP designation helps to accomplish this.” The CRMP credential keeps her current on trends in the field and “ever grounded in doing what’s best for the cli- ent. The certification contains a code of ethics. It talks about being not only competent, but trustworthy, reliable, honest.” She also hopes that the CRMP gives her colleagues assur- ance that the clients and referral partners they send her way— including banks and credit unions that don’t offer reverse mortgages—are in good hands. After all, Lyn’s colleagues work diligently to build those connections, “and I strive to complement and grow those relationships,” she says. At Lyn’s first meeting with clients, she takes a counseling role. She listens. Some want to retire but can’t “based on how life is unfolding. If a reverse mortgage can reduce their finan- cial burden, it helps them shift their focus toward the future.” “My loans typically take a while to nurture,” she says. “I give them that introductory information, and sometimes, it’s not the right moment, but at least they’ve learned about it before they decide they actually need it, so when the unexpected emergency or opportunity happens, we can jump right into things.” When it comes to reverse mortgages, few circum- stances are typical. But in the pandemic year of 2020, Lyn saw a rising need for reverse mortgages that help home- owners pay for home health aides. As COVID-19 raged, she heard from a pair of sisters whose recently widowed mother was struggling to pay the mortgage. A reverse mortgage eliminated the mother’s required monthly pay- ments and brought in a monthly tenured payment to make up for the loss of her late husband’s Social Security payments. The arrangement provided funds for home care—and a bit of respite for the daughters. “The mom is in mourning and doesn’t want to sell her home, and her daughters don’t want her to sell her home, so hopefully, this will give her some breathing room,” Lyn says. Another client, Jennifer, was her mother’s long-term caregiver. Both had used up their savings. Jennifer cut back drastically on expenses—insurance payments, some home maintenance, car expenses, eating out, the cable bill—but she knew that she couldn’t live such an isolated life. She prayed. She looked into reverse mortgages, which seemed like a way “to relieve my mind for monthly income and tax payments,” she wrote in a note to Lyn. The note con- tinued: “I liked the fact the line would grow if I did not draw on it too heavily. Thank you for being there for me and leading me through the process. It meant so much.” Outside of work, Lyn and her husband, Mark, are sail- ing a course that’s all their own – literally. The two out- door enthusiasts met through mutual friends during an adventure ocean kayaking weekend in Bar Harbor, ME. When he saw her struggling, he suggested they get a dou- ble kayak. They married in 1998. Today, they are overhauling a small Gemini catama- ran sailboat. In time, they hope to sail the Great Loop, the North American circumnavigation that encompasses about 6,000 miles of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, New York state and Canadian canals, the Great Lakes, inland rivers and the Gulf of Mexico. “You can do it in segments,” says Lyn. “You can take it as long or as short as you want. We will go north and take it through the seasons.” Lyn’s husband is retired from engineering and product development. Mark’s handyman skills have been useful when clients needed small repairs to their homes. When Lyn’s son, Alex, was about ten years old, he accompanied Mark on one of those jobs, and the homeowner was so impressed to see a little boy giving up his Saturday morning that she gave Alex a dollar bill. “He beamed,” Lyn says. “He kept that bill for a while.” She remembers realizing at that moment the benefits that her career has created for her family. “We’re Albanian, and there’s a proverb that goes, ‘The sun at home warms better than the sun elsewhere,’” she says. “My career has impacted my family. It really solidified that my children have grown up to be fabu- lous adults. Because of this, I feel I’ve become better. I was a better daughter to my parents in their final years. I became a hospice volunteer. We shifted to living a less- is-more lifestyle. I now live with Type 1 diabetes, so I can relate to some of the chronic illnesses my customers have. I’ve become stronger in my faith. There’s so much good that’s come out of this. I’ve had many blessings.” CRMP: Across the Kitchen Table REVERSE MORTGAGE / MARCH-APR I L 2021 17