Jan-Feb2020

In Reverse Proprietary Products Dominate This Issue of Reverse Mortgage Attempts to Get Behind Some Trends By Thomas A. Barstow PREPARATIONS FOR THIS FIRST ISSUE in the new year began in the fall, as we were listening to the experts who were pointing to a future where proprietary reverse mortgages would continue to garner increasing market share. Writer Joel Berg set out to get more details about these trends, and his efforts begin on p. 18 with the cover story for this issue. Those in the know discuss how and why proprietary reverse mortgages will continue taking off, as the traditional HECM market slowly rebounds. Michael McCully, a partner with Naples, FL-based New View Advisors, told Berg that the next year to 18 months could see proprietary products making up more than 50 percent of the reverse-lending market. “This is what should be happening, and I think HUD welcomes it. The market seems to be embracing it, too, and the culture of the industry is going to be staked to moving away from the HUD program,” McCully says. “The proprietary product is competitive not in every scenario but in many scenarios. That’s all positive news for the growth of the non-agency market.” Similar sentiment dominated a lot of the discussions at NRMLA’s 2019 Annual Meeting in Nashville, where FHA officials indicated support for the growing proprietary market and loan officers and managers talked about the best paths forward. Support for products that veer from the traditional HECM program remains strong, especially as new features continually are added and more states clear the way for the products, Berg reports. “That is an area where I suspect there will be continued improvement, as people look at how to make their offerings different,” John Button, president and CEO of ReverseVision, tells Berg. Eric Ellsworth, consumer direct sales channel leader for Reverse Mortgage Funding, noted that the newer products will have far greater appeal in some markets. “We want to be able to help more people and make the product more accessible to the masses,” Ellsworth tells Berg. Proprietary products come up in nearly every article in this edition. Reverse Mortgage Associate Editor Darryl Hicks discusses the topic with Vanessa White, eastern regional sales manager, Reverse Mortgage Funding, in a question-and-answer profile that begins on p. 12. Hicks asks White how proprietary reverse mortgages have changed the marketplace. “I see proprietary reverse mortgages as an enhancement,” White answers. “With the changes to the HECM program, it’s nice to have another option that can help more people.” We also have a story, which begins on p. 32, about one of the borrowers who has benefitted from a proprietary In Reverse continued on page 4 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020 3