Reverse mortgages are really moving
“Open Mortgage has really ramped up its reverse lending in recent years, and you can see it in the scorecard,” Hicks said in a prepared statement. ”What excites me is the opportunity to come in and collaborate with a group of seasoned originators and deliver the training, tools, and support they need to take their business to the next level.”
Hicks touted the lender’s business model, noting its ideals match his own. “There’s a commitment shared between myself and Open Mortgage leadership to both give our originators a platform where they can succeed while continuing to deliver on the vision and mission for our customers to experience the best possible retirement by utilizing their home’s equity,” Hicks said.
CEO going full steam ahead
Mortgage Professional America reached out to Open Mortgage’s founder/CEO Scott Gordon (pictured right) to assess his enthusiasm for the reverse mortgage market. Despite market shifts, he’s all in – even if it sounds counterintuitive.
“The combination of the latest interest rates and limits on loans have just made it harder for reverse mortgages to qualify,” Gordon said. “But for us, we’re more forward than reverse, but the reverse division is kind of integral to us. We kind of like having both.”
Another challenge is a lack of understanding. He said more loan officers should understand the reverse mortgage landscape given its dynamics – including being the type of product that yields referrals. “You need to get more loan officers,” he said. “We can’t just be trying to recruit the from each other.”
