Nov/Dec 2021 RMM

AS A FORWARD LOAN OFFICER in the late 1980s, Lisa Moriello, CRMP, was familiar with reverse mortgages. But when her hairdresser said she thought she needed one, Moriello says her first reaction was, “I don’t think you do.” After they talked it over, Moriello decided to look more closely at the product. She never stopped. Today, Moriello is a strong advocate of the idea that forward mortgage originators should add reverse mortgages to the menu of options for clients. “When you’re examining all the options at the same time, there is no pressure to pick a product,” says Moriello, a producing branch manager in Shelton, CT, for loanDepot.com LLC. “Customers get to hear them all. They get to hear what they all do and how they will affect their lives going forward.” Traditionally, forward and reverse mortgages have been sold separately. They are governed by different laws, and originators follow different procedures. The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) market is limited by age to people age 62 and over, for example, and the sales process can be more time consuming, as HECMs require borrowers to undergo counseling before closing on their loans. Forward originators tend to focus on speed and volume. A few originators have long laid out the products side by side for their clients. But in recent years, more mortgage companies on both sides of the fence have tried to follow suit. However, it’s not as simple as adding a reverse division to a for- ward company, says Harlan Accola, CRMP, national director of reverse mortgages at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. in Madison, WI. That approach has already been tried and failed. For companies to succeed, it requires senior leaders and originators who believe in the mainstream potential of Going Reverse in a Forward World More Forward Mortgage Companies Adding Reverse Mortgage Options By Joel Berg Lisa Moriello Harlan Accola 22 REVERSE MORTGAGE / NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2021