officers who didn’t understand the product “weren’t that excited to refer to us.” However, the calls coming directly from eligible seniors continued climbing, underscoring the need. Working With Forward Loan Officers In response, the Nelsons launched a training effort to encourage referrals from V.I.P. Mortgage’s forward loan officers. “We concluded that for the loan officer to refer that loan to us, the loan officer needed to be educated to understand the product better,” Tim Nelson says. The process worked. Forward loan officers are making more referrals, and those who take the training can, if they choose, originate the loans—with wraparound support from the Nelsons’ office. Team members complete the applications and assist at every turn. When forward loan officers meet with borrowers, Tim Nelson is there to answer any complex questions. “We’re starting to see some very nice results from this change,” he says. “After several months, 50 percent of our loans are originating from forward loan officers. We put controls and supports around it, and we’re having great success with them taking on that business.” Today’s bumpy real estate climate helps explain, in part, why the forward loan officers are coming on board. Plus, he says, many loan officers are aging along with their clients, helping them see the value of reverse mortgages as retirement strategy tools. Helping Clients For clients, the reverse mortgage experience is transformational. Mary Nelson remembers the borrower whose home was “literally falling down around him.” Through NRMLA, she found a contractor that performs repairs on spec, to be paid at closing. The loan officer himself helped with the rehab. The renovations made the home livable and gave the owner the income he needed to stay there. “To see the before and after pictures was unbelievable,” she says. “This man is still living in the house. That was a case where we changed his life by repairing his home and allowing him to stay in it.” Another client could no longer tend to the needs of her husband, who had dementia, but she couldn’t afford to place him in a nursing home. With a reverse mortgage, she found a facility where he would be cared for while she stayed in their home. “That was a huge, lifesaving change for her,” Mary says. “Otherwise, the only way she could have afforded to take care of him would have been to sell the house.” Increasingly, clients resemble the man who called recently to say that inflation and skyrocketing homeowners insurance were eroding his fixed income and making his mortgage payment unmanageable. “More and more people are retiring with a mortgage payment, and that’s a tough pill to swallow every month,” Tim Nelson says. Education Is Key Through it all, education continues “almost one-on-one,” he says. The product has evolved in drastic ways, but old myths and misperceptions linger. When Tim Nelson gives presentations, Mary Nelson likes to watch body language changing, as real estate agents and financial planners in the audience start with a defiant slouch, gradually begin leaning in, and end with, “Wow! How did I not know about this before?” “You’re watching the lightbulb go on,” she says. “Education is a huge part of this industry, and we’ve barely scratched the surface of people we can help.” Going forward, the Nelsons are piggybacking off V.I.P. Mortgage’s new initiative to offer wholesale conventional loans. Adding reverse mortgages as a wholesale channel “is a huge step for us,” Tim Nelson says. “We saw their venture as an opportunity for us to grow that business, as well.” The unwavering support of V.I.P. Mortgage is a key factor that keeps them going, the Nelsons say. “Whenever we’ve gone to the owners to ask about something to take the business to the next level, they’ve always supported us in every move,” he says. The V.I.P. Mortgage slogan, “Where People are Priority,” applies to employees, as well as clients, Mary Nelson adds. CRMP: Across the Kitchen Table CRMP continued from page 15 16 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JULY-AUGUST 2024
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