July-Aug 2020

In Reverse before the crisis to change the requirement for face-to- face counseling. Because that legwork has been ongoing, the lenders convinced state leaders to change the law to allow for digital counseling once stay-at-home orders were enacted—at least temporarily. But that started efforts to make the change more permanent. “COVID-19 may facilitate what we’ve been trying to do for years,” George Downey, CRMP, of Harbor Mortgage Solutions in Braintree tells staff writer Mark Olshaker ( Counseling in a New Reality , p. 25). “Then, when the new system is in place and people get used to it, they’ll be asking, ‘Why was this such a big deal?’” The disaster that swept the nation prompted neigh- bors and professionals to selflessly react to help those most vulnerable—people with underlying medical con- ditions and the elderly. The bravery of the healthcare workers, police, nonprofit groups and others cannot be overstated. But it also became clear that the financial hit was being keenly felt by the potential clients for reverse mortgages. With stock markets falling rapidly, some people turned to financial advisers who would suggest clients look at untapped equity in their home that could be released. The effort to rid reverse mortgages of the stigma that has lingered since the Great Recession was being helped by the crisis, allowing lenders to get much- needed cash into the accounts of those who needed it. “A lot of the preconceived notions are not as much of a roadblock as they were,” Shane Lester of Reverse Mortgages of Arkansas, in Little Rock, AR, tells Berg in an article about the market in the upper Midwest ( COVID-19 Boosts Reverse Mortgage Appeal in Upper Midwest , p. 28). All along, lenders are doing what they can to get out information to vendors, clients and customers. At NRMLA, the leaders created a COVID-19 resource page on its website that includes best practices and updates. The articles in this edition also note that companies found out that working from home isn’t as easy as plug- ging in a laptop. Disaster plans must ensure proper secu- rity, and that means putting the pieces together before a disaster happens. And while Flynne and her colleagues have a good road map to work from, the authors didn’t think of everything, including making sure that vendors were prepared. “We’re accustomed to dealing with a disaster,” Flynne says. “We’re just not accustomed to a worldwide disaster where so many of the companies and individuals that we depend upon are as adversely impacted as, if not more than, we are.” The lessons, however, have better prepared companies to work smarter in the future, such as by using technology to streamline operations. Those efforts include more dig- ital signing of documents, allowing video appraisals and holding efficient meetings. “We are using video conferencing quite a bit—not as much with borrowers but more so with our strategic and referral partners,” Steven J. Sless, reverse mortgage division manager at Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. in Owings Mills, MD, says in an article about how loan officers were using technology during the crisis ( Using Tech to Connect , p. 22). “Virtual coffee meetings have become the new normal. I’ve actually found it to be a great time saver. … I’ve been able to complete more tasks over the past few weeks because I’ve been in the office more.” Others also believe that the innovations to workflow will be long lasting. “I find it hard to imagine that peo- ple won’t learn from the experience and say to themselves, ‘Why don’t we do way more virtual business?’” John Button, CEO of San Diego-based technology provider ReverseVision, tells Berg. In the counseling story, NRMLA President Steve Irwin suggests that change will be widespread. “There will be a new normal baseline across all platforms of how the industry conducts its business,” Irwin says. “There are opportunities to deploy new technologies that would fit what a consumer wants.” In Reverse continued from page 3 “Virtual coffee meetings have become the new normal. ... I’ve been able to complete more tasks over the past few weeks because I’ve been in the office more.” —Steven J. Sless, Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. 4 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JULY-AUGUST 2020