July-Aug 2020

counseling because of “the hangover reputational issues of reverse mortgages.” “That’s been driving the train with a lot of people,” he says. “We’ve had this problem since the beginning of the program, but with the cratering of the economy, home equity is the saving grace for many seniors, so we have to educate legislators and the public and make this a priority for them. Massachusetts has the reputation of being a consum- er-oriented state that is looked up as being more progressive and a bellwether on these kinds of issues. So, what happens here can be imitated elsewhere in the country.” Downey and Kirkpatrick have been working with the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Financial Services, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Bankers Association, to get bills through the two legislative bodies. The stay-at-home orders, overall, have forced people to get comfortable with digital platforms, such as Skype, Zoom and even FaceTime, to connect with family and friends. Some concern has been expressed over privacy considerations and the lack of security on certain apps, but the app developers are addressing these issues. “COVID-19 may facilitate what we’ve been trying to do for years,” Downey observes. “Then, when the new sys- tem is in place and people get used to it, they’ll be asking, ‘Why was this such a big deal?’” Irwin says the crisis will change a lot about the industry. “Personally, I think it’s a whole new world,” he says. “We won’t come out the other side unchanged. All facets are going to come out changed, and hopefully, changed for the better. “There will be a new normal baseline across all plat- forms of how the industry conducts its business,” Irwin adds. “There are opportunities to deploy new technologies that would fit what a consumer wants. Given the current circumstances, there need to be choices.” REVERSE MORTGAGE / JULY-AUGUST 2020 27