Sept/Oct 2021 Reverse Mortgage Magazine

In Reverse Servicers Provide the Assists in Loan Wins Back-End Work Keeps Reverse Mortgages Moving Forward By Thomas A. Barstow IN MY YOUTH, I played lacrosse, where I learned that giving an assist to a teammate can be just as rewarding— and valued by the coaches—as scoring itself. I’ve always tried to adapt that sports metaphor in my career. I found myself thinking about it as we were pulling together this issue of Reverse Mortgage magazine. This edition largely focuses on servicing and the people behind this critical component of our industry. Without them, we wouldn’t have much scoring going on at all, especially as the industry matures and word-of-mouth referrals remain so important. As often is pointed out, loan originators work with clients for months, or maybe a few years, while borrowers might work with a servicer for decades. In our cover story, Servicers Adjust to Changes (p. 18), Joel Berg explores how the servicers’ jobs have evolved before and during the pandemic and how they always are preparing for what is ahead. Reverse mortgage customers increasingly are technologically savvy. They are the Baby Boomers who might not have been born with computers in their hands but were given one at some point in their careers and told to learn. As they retire, they are taking those skills with them. That important trend became clearer during the pandemic, as everyone adjusted to remote work and the tools needed to interact online. Consumers now expect technology to enhance the speed and accuracy of transactions, so they don’t have to be talked into using the tools. A revolution in the way we interact with customers is underway. Companies have been adapting, too. Berg looks at the experiences at Celink, which has been updating its In Reverse continued on page 4 REVERSE MORTGAGE / SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 3