The three Skaggses now collaborate across their separate firms. John Skaggs has noticed that when he and his son attend the same events, each will introduce himself as representing their different companies, without referencing family ties or competition. “We’re not trying to one-up each other,” John Skaggs says. “It’s all about relationships. If you have an agent that somehow connects with Sean more or connects with me, so be it. That’s up to them.” Differing job descriptions help create boundaries, adds Sean Skaggs. In reverse mortgages, opportunities abound to take varied roles in the field or the office. “There’s a lot of room for people to collaborate,” he says. The Coopers work together within Mutual of Omaha but are located 25 minutes apart. They easily keep their family and professional lives separate. The trust built by family bonds helped Launi Cooper take a risk in partnering with her son for the two years it took him to start making money, he says. “It’s really helpful to have a partner in this business, someone you know you can trust just to talk things through,” says Mitchell Cooper. “It’s not an easy business by any means. We have different strengths and weaknesses to pass off tasks to each other.” Her son has always been coachable, adds Launi Cooper. She gave him the same treatment she would any other protégé, joining him on calls but staying quiet until they could review his performance privately. “He asked a lot of great questions, which is absolutely the No. 1 sign of a good salesperson,” Launi Cooper says. “He’s really curious and wants to understand. It was fun to watch him try and to watch him succeed in some places and have some stumbles in a few others.” To George Downey, bringing family into the business means learning to keep your mouth shut sometimes. “Chris is really the driver of our business now,” he says. “I’m here to help him and to build the business and continue doing what we’re doing. This is a relationship business. As we continue to strive to maintain existing relationships, we need to develop and expand new relationships. Chris is the point person in our business today.” Chris Downey believes that separating family and business life is a necessity, “whether you’re in a family business or not.” “The last thing in the world my wife and daughter want to hear me talk about when I get home is business, so I just don’t,” he says. “Business is business when you walk in the doors of the office. When you leave this place and turn the key in the lock, the business day is over. You can end a Friday afternoon disagreeing on something, and Saturday morning, you go fishing together.” Bright Days Ahead Families who have forged multigenerational partnerships in reverse mortgages have confidence in the industry’s future. Attracting youth is crucial to moving the industry forward, says Launi Cooper, and Mitchell Cooper has the industry’s future in his sights. He recently convened reverse mortgage professionals in his area to game-plan strategies for growing an industry that, he notes, has only two percent market penetration. “Financial advisers need to learn about what this can do for people,” Mitchell Cooper says. “It’s a game-changer for people’s lives.” Younger professionals can gain traction among adult children whose parents qualify for reverse mortgages, Sean Skaggs says. “People are looking for ways they can battle inflation on an individual, family or household level,” he says. “That’s one of the common conversations I’ve been having with younger people who want to find somebody who can help their parents.” Chris Downey is following in his father’s footsteps in the business and at NRMLA, serving as a small- business presence on the NRMLA Board of Directors. George Downey finds it “incredibly rewarding” to watch the second generation succeed. “This is the culmination of being in business,” George Downey says. “It’s been a great ride to be able to work with my kids over the years and to see them come along. They’re taking control, and they’re building and expanding what we started. It is a great source of pleasure to me to be able to say that.” Parker Turk believes he is dogged and unafraid to roll up his sleeves because “the pattern was already set and the values and expectations didn’t even need to be said.” “There is a genuine love here for what we do and love for the people we serve,” he adds. “I genuinely believe that’s what leads to success.” M. Diane McCormick is a writer and editor based in York, PA. REVERSE MORTGAGE / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024 27
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