WHEN CLIENTS ARE in distress but end up with a reverse mortgage that keeps them in their beloved homes, Laura Kiel feels fulfilled. “I have so many clients who live on Social Security income,” Kiel says. “They don’t have any other money. It’s hard, but a reverse mortgage can change their life. It’s a life-changing product.” Kiel is a pioneer. Introduced to mortgages in the mid-1990s, she has focused exclusively on reverse mortgages since 2007. She and her husband, both Seattle natives, created a family business that’s respected in the community where they were born and raised. The journey began in 1992 when they were in a desperate situation. Both are natural entrepreneurs, and like most entrepreneurs, they suffered a business failure and didn’t know where to turn. A friend suggested that they look into an independent mortgage broker who was hiring and training. From there, the work was too interesting to leave behind. “The first couple of years, I felt like I was getting a college degree,” Kiel says. “There was so much to learn. It was new, stimulating and interesting. I was meeting some amazing people.” The learning curve was steep. She remembers telling an underwriter that she was close to being ready, which the underwriter misinterpreted to mean she was going to closing. “That’s how I learned,” she says. “It was one mistake at a time. I would find out what the problem was, and I would go to the person I thought could give me the answer.” Kiel worked for the broker for two years, and then for an attorney who owned title, escrow and mortgage companies. If she stayed two years, the attorney told her he would help her establish her own business. “I worked with him and learned all the ins and outs of not just mortgages but also title and escrow,” she says. In her early years, loan originators would hand her blank applications with the customer’s signature and tell her to finish the rest. CRMP Reflects on Long Career A Chat With Laura Kiel, Kiel Mortgage, Tukwila, WA By M. Diane McCormick Laura Kiel CRMP: Across the Kitchen Table Across the Kitchen Table continued on page 14 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JULY–AUGUST 2023 13
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