From the Top I teach CE classes to real estate agents, who I think are probably some of the best potential clients for this product. They often own nice homes but don’t have pensions, so as they get older, they’re looking for a way to make things work down the road for themselves. The agents who come to my CE classes aren’t generally looking for ways to sell more houses using reverse mortgages. Very often, they just want to learn about reverse mortgages for themselves or a close family member. The hardest part of the business right now is dealing with lower principal limits. It seems like everyone comes in thinking they can borrow 50 percent of the property value. That’s probably our fault; we’ve been saying that for years. We’re closer to 30 to 35 percent, so a lot of them can’t get enough money to pay off their existing debt. The upfront two percent mortgage insurance premium is also a tougher pill to swallow for many when it represents closer to six percent of the loan amount. This is a cyclical business; it will come back. Whether it’s on the forward side or the reverse side, it’s a constant challenge dealing with market cycles. Keeping your head in the game is the biggest challenge for many. RM: Your company does a lot of social impact work. What can you tell me about Project GiveBack? NS: Many of us at Atlantic Coast Mortgage have outside volunteer projects that we work on. During COVID-19, I read an article about a guy in Florida who paid off 114 delinquent utility bills for people in his community for $7,600. That’s a huge impact for a relatively small amount of money. My business partner, Scott, and I reached out to our local utility who put us in touch with The Fuel Fund, and we started a campaign. We contributed some of our own money, and I went to our CEO and asked him if he would be willing to help out. He said, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll match what you can raise in addition to what you guys are putting in.” It was like OK, game on. I love that. We went out and raised a lot more money. The total figure was something like $15,000 total, and we got to choose which ZIP codes the money went to. It had a huge impact on the community; we even made the local news. RM: What are the biggest challenges you’ve encountered managing a reverse mortgage division, and how have you overcome them? NS: For me, the challenges of managing or originating in the reverse mortgage space haven’t changed much. Sometimes they look a little different, but the challenges have been the same. I’ve been originating mortgages since 1989. Economic cycles present challenges. Product changes and guideline changes present problems. It’s just more of the same to me. There will be years when we do well and other years when it’s a little slow, and you have to be able to get through those years. Some people come into the business when it’s great, and they leave as soon as it gets challenging. Some of us stick around and dig a little deeper during those leaner years to keep things going so that when the market does turn, we’re in the right position to take advantage. Whatever challenges we face pale in comparison to what our clients face. If you ask me how business is going, I’m one of those guys who always says, “Unbelievable!” I feel blessed to be in this business and have the opportunity to do what I do. Some of our clients have high six- and seven-figure investment accounts and are struggling. It’s a long story, but I have a client who recently lost her husband. He had some tax issues, and when he died, the Internal Revenue Service took all of the couple’s savings. She found herself in a position where she didn’t know how she was going to pay her bills. The reverse mortgage helped her back on her feet. In the email she sent to me after we closed, she said, “Neil, I haven’t slept in months. I didn’t know what my future looked like. And now I feel like I’m at peace. I feel better about myself. I know that I’m in a good place now.” A reverse mortgage can be, and often is, life-changing for our borrowers. To me, that’s what it’s all about. Darryl Hicks is NRMLA’s vice president of communications. “This is a cyclical business; it will come back. Whether it’s on the forward side or the reverse side, it’s a constant challenge dealing with market cycles. Keeping your head in the game is the biggest challenge for many.” REVERSE MORTGAGE /MAY-JUNE 2024 11
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