Other news going into 2023 also offers reasons to be confident. In the article Technology Advances Take Hold (p. 28), writer Joel Berg outlines how companies are putting technology improvements on hyperspeed. Reverse mortgage companies have watched as forward mortgage companies pushed into the digital future and have established goals and processes to catch up. Such gains not only will help streamline the processing of loans but also, perhaps, give reverse mortgages a wider audience. Speaking of spreading the word about the benefits of equity release products, Berg also writes about efforts by leaders of reverse mortgage companies to beef up marketing. The article What’s Ahead? (p. 24) covers the leaders who were part of a roundtable at recent NRMLA’s 2022 Annual Meeting & Expo. Mike Kent, president of Liberty Reverse Mortgage, offers a unique idea that would help grow the reverse mortgage market, while helping the Biden administration achieve some of its goals involving climate change. For example, he suggests that HECMs might be a great tool for seniors aging in place to afford renovations that would help them reduce energy bills—money for insulation, modern windows and doors, and solar panels. “We have to be far more vocal about the social aspect of this program and the good it does,” Kent says. We also hear from Steve Sless, who until recently was president of reverse mortgage lending for Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. (PRMI). In From the Top (p. 10), Sless talks about his company’s growth and how PRMI has a plan to continue developing new business this year and beyond. “PRMI is very methodical. We’re long-term, visionary thinkers,” he tells Darryl Hicks, NRMLA’s vice president of communications. “At our planning meetings and strategy sessions, nobody is thinking about rising interest rates and the immediate impact on business. We’re planning five, six, seven years out.” I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but that view certainly appeals to my sense of realistic optimism. In Reverse In Reverse continued from page 3 Partnership you can trust. Dedicated to never competing with you - your success is our success. Ready to experience the difference? Visit Celink.com Deep Industry Experience 96% Borrower Satisfaction Rating Independence and Alignment with Clients Robust Specialized Technology Reverse Mortgage Is Our Core Competency © Celink. All rights reserved. NMLS #3020 - http://nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Compu-Link Corporation dba Celink (WA license# CL3020 and 603 018 607) 4 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2023
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