IN 2008, NANCY Everitt’s mentor, Robert Yeary, offered her a position at his new firm, Reverse Mortgage Solutions. From her previous work with him, she knew that if he was entering the field, “there’s got to be a good reason for it.” “He just had a way of inspiring people and giving them their due, saying thank you to the last person who left every single day,” she says. “He had a great depth of knowledge. I knew I could learn a lot from him.” Today, Everitt is a longtime CRMP actively involved in the reverse mortgage industry, even while her career has evolved to concentrate on compliance. Her passion for learning drives her to maintain her CRMP credential and to be there for colleagues on the loan side who need guidance on the tricky nature of staying within compliance guardrails. When she joined Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Everitt only knew of reverse mortgages peripherally. She began her career in commercial banking in the late 1970s, staying there for 11 years until switching to traditional mortgages. Certified by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as a direct endorsement underwriter, she started at Reverse Mortgage Solutions underwriting all the loans. She stayed for seven years until joining Finance of America Reverse (FAR). It was her first official role in compliance. Over the years, compliance had been kind of rolled up in all her other jobs, she says. While many elements of compliance apply to all real estate transactions, reverse mortgages carry a handful of unique compliance issues, Everitt notes. Is the property owner-occupied? Is the primary borrower 62 or older? Everitt has witnessed a transformation in the public image of reverse mortgages. They started as curiosities that sometimes attracted distrust from people. Today, they are respected products that offer personalized solutions. The entry of large companies into the market created a system that pools and securitizes loans purchased from smaller brokerage shops that might lack the capabilities to fund the loans they generate. That’s where Everitt comes in, because, in those situations, compliance is crucial to successfully completing the transfer of assets. Everitt’s job at FAR was assuring that loans offered for purchase were in compliance and that all licensing required of loan officers and brokers was in place. If an out-of-compliance detail is minor—perhaps a missing signature or a wrong date—Everitt will usually ask the borrower or broker to correct the mistake. She also might scrutinize elements of the borrower’s record that aren’t consequential to getting a reverse mortgage but that speak to their capability to meet their obligations, including credit scores and income projections. “If what’s coming in versus what’s going out results in a negative number, they do not qualify,” Everitt says. “We don’t have ratios like a typical mortgage, but we do look to see if there’s a positive residual.” A deep dive into alert systems, such as Optimal Blue, the FHA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, can confirm a broker’s required credentials, such as HUD approval. That process can send up red flags when it finds suspicious activity or insufficient wherewithal to buy back loans if needed. “In those cases, we CRMP’s Career Evolves to Compliance A Chat With Nancy Everitt, CRMP and Compliance Expert By M. Diane McCormick Nancy Everitt CRMP: Across the Kitchen Table 16 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JULY-AUGUST 2022
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ1MzY1