If you've kept up with your reverse mortgage news this week you've learned that we have moved a step closer to the subsidy that has been requested for the Federal Housing Administration Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program. This is certainly positive news but we have a way to go yet. What can you do as a reverse mortgage originator to help keep the message alive?
Get involved on a grass roots level. It's that easy. Seek out your local elected officials and let them know how important the reverse mortgage program is to the seniors in their area. Take advantage of the August recess in Washington and meet your representatives.
If we all do our part, craft an appropriate message and emphasize how the reverse mortgage program benefits local seniors, that message will start to resonate. Be sure to have some examples of seniors in your area who were helped, perhaps by avoiding foreclosure or by supplementing income which enabled them to remain a part of the community.
Contact your local media, if you are experienced in this arena. Don't discount what you can do on a local level. Your efforts will pay off and the seniors in your area will benefit.
Sue Haviland is a reverse mortgage consultant in Baltimore and the founder of Reverse Mortgage Success, a leader in the training and education for originators around the country in the rapidly growing reverse mortgage arena. Sue has worked in the lending industry since 1981. She has been originating reverse mortgages for the last six years and still originates loans every day. She has helped hundreds of families all over the country in the last several years. Sue also shares her knowledge of this market in presentations before the Women's Council of Realtors, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Professional Mortgage Women, and SRES - Senior Real Estate Specialists, Brian Sacks' Insider Seminars, as well as the public. Sue is a Certified Senior Advisor and is active in many professional organizations. Sign up for her free seven-part mini-course at
