choices—perhaps paying for a spouse’s cancer care instead of the mortgage—are catching up with them. For those clients, a reverse mortgage is “a gamechanger.” “To see the relief on their faces is amazing,” Bencze says. “Their shoulders aren’t hunched up around their ears anymore. I’ve had people cry at the loan document signing table because they were so relieved. Those are the kinds of clients I adore. The work is gutwrenching, but I love them.” It is great when their adult children get involved, she says. “If you trust your family members, by all means, get them involved because at some point in the future, they’re going to be calling me, and I’m going to say, ‘Remember when we talked about this?’” she says. “It won’t be a surprise. They’ll understand that they have the decision-making ability to deal with the house.” All of her business comes from referrals, through a network of financial planning professionals and attorneys she has built over the years who share her high ethical standards. “I treasure honesty, and I treasure doing the right thing for the borrower,” she says. To Bencze, the fields of wealth advisers, certified public accountants and elder law attorneys are ripe for education about the difference reverse mortgages can make for their clients. “The way you educate them is to tell a story,” she says. “Without sharing any confidential information, you tell a story of how the loan has helped the client. Now, instead of hearing this dry drivel about numbers and the process, you put it in the back of their mind to remember when they have a client in a similar situation.” She feels fortunate to be on the Alliance team, working with six other loan officers and two processors. Alliance works extensively with member-owned credit unions, which demonstrate “how to treat their members like gold” and how to prioritize the search for solutions over chasing profits. “Everything the credit unions do is to benefit their members,” Bencze says. “They have taught us to think outside the box. What can we do to help this person?” She earned her CRMP in 2016 for the opportunity to establish herself as an expert. While anyone with a California real estate license and National Mortgage Licensing System number can sell reverse mortgages and forward mortgages, it takes a specialist to properly apply and leverage the reverse mortgage for the client’s benefit. “I’ve done only reverse mortgages for the last 18 years,” Bencze says. “I’ve bought a house or two. That’s all I know about forward mortgages.” The CRMP tells the reverse mortgage community that its holder “truly is investing in the borrowers and in making certain that NRMLA’s 12 guidelines are followed, and that people are treated respectfully and ethically,” she says. “To me, it’s important that when people see that CRMP after my name, they understand that I’ve gone above and beyond.” A California resident for 30 years, Bencze recently relocated to the Lake Tahoe area. She and her husband— the parents of “three great kids”—have been empty nesters for about two years. They are learning again to “be individuals, not parents,” using their free time for adventures and travel. “We’re going to Las Vegas to see the Rolling Stones in concert,” she says. However, they might not classify as empty nesters if their four dogs are counted—two dachshunds, ages one and five; a five-year-old from the animal shelter; and a 14-year-old inherited from a client. In her professional role, she wants the public to understand that reverse mortgages are something to learn about and not fear. “It’s a wonderful, empowering product,” Bencze says. “As our country’s population ages, it’s going to be a way to care for people. There’s not going to be enough assisted living or memory care communities. The reverse mortgage is the way to help our [older adults] thrive and stay in their homes with their families.” She knows she has helped hundreds of people, including many who didn’t get a reverse mortgage. When someone comes to her with a problem, she takes a viewpoint of, “What options do you have?” “People feel backed into a corner, and it is so gratifying to provide them choices,” Bencze says. “Sometimes, the choice is doing nothing. Sometimes, the choice is selling your house and relocating, or the choice is taking in a roommate. Sometimes, the choice is getting a reverse mortgage. But still, they have four options now, whereas before they had no choice. They were being pushed in one direction. I think I’ve helped a lot of people that way.” M. Diane McCormick is a writer and editor based in York, PA. CRMP: Across the Kitchen Table REVERSE MORTGAGE /MAY-JUNE 2024 13
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