Many reverse mortgage “experts” will tell you that the amount of people obtaining reverse mortgages will continue to grow at an extraordinary pace. Conflating the industry’s claim of 100 per cent growth in prior years, with the fact that the oldest baby boomers will reach their 62nd birthday at a rate of 10,000 per day, provides all the proof needed to suggest that this industry will continue to enjoy exponential future growth. Those of us that love this industry must continue to fight this complacency to think this way.
It is time to wake up somnambulant reverse mortgage companies that believe incredible growth will continue as a matter of right. The sophomoric reasons proffered ignore the "misconception" barrier that needs to be overcome. Those of us that love this industry must continue to support and get involved with the colossal efforts of the NRMLA (National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association - the industry trade group).
It has been 19 years since the first FHA/HECM reverse mortgage closed. Yet there still remains an aggregation of misconceptions that continue to be repeated as if they were concrete facts. I have heard these statements from clients, prospective clients, family members and professionals. The power of the internet provides the Petri dish for spreading & cultivating these falsehoods.
As a student of this loan program, I confess that I am dismayed by this constant stream of misconceptions that, like the proverbial stop sign, halts seniors dead in their tracks. Sadly it is often this program that provides the solution (too often ignored) that solves the seniors’ problems.
All of us in this industry must work together to give our elders the best information available. This means telling the client who has better options, to pursue those options. It means telling the client that you do not know the answer, instead of making one up. It means abiding by the industry’s code of conduct. It means caring a lot about honesty and integrity. And it means challenging yourself each and every day to be a little bit smarter and better than you were the day before. This partly means being an ambassador for the industry. If you haven’t published an article-start writing. If you do not have public speaking experience, do it. A Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is TODAY”.
For all your reverse mortgage information, go to www.secureseniorliving.org
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