RESTRAINED ECONOMY. VOLATILE politics. Ever-present barriers and opportunities. Amid the turbulence, vigilance is needed to protect the people and ideals of reverse mortgages. So Reverse Mortgage magazine spoke with three leaders of NRMLA’s outside counsel team at Weiner Brodsky Kider PC about the top issues, challenges and opportunities facing the profession. Counsel Joel A. Schiffman, Partner James A. Brodsky and Member Soroush Shahin offer insights into developments involving housing appraisal bias, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) transition, resolving liquidity challenges for mortgagees and state legislative trends expanding access to reverse mortgages. Combating Appraisal Bias Early in his administration, President Joseph Biden signaled one of his top priorities by convening 13 federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Federal Housing Administration (FHA), to examine the causes and consequences of housing appraisal bias and to recommend solutions. As Brodsky notes, NRMLA shares the goal of ending appraisal bias, while also alerting members to the initiative’s impact on their practices and the need to protect themselves from liability. Being Vigilant continued on page 24 Being Vigilant NRMLA’s Legal Advisers Discuss New Developments By M. Diane McCormick Joel A. Schiffman James A. Brodsky Soroush Shahin REVERSE MORTGAGE / SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2023 23
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