Longbridge CEO Chris Mayer about reverse mortgage partnerships with Forward Companies

Forward partnerships

A remarkable part of Mayer’s perspective for the current potential with forward mortgage partnerships is the increasing level of involvement in the back of the Mortgage banking association (MBA).

“We have really seen many changes with Bob Broeksmit take over in terms of the direction and how MBA is doing,” he said. “Bob was willing to view a fresh look at reverse mortgages and MBA is willing to do that. They have heard from some of their members, companies such as Fairway – which are very strong in the inverted things, and which are very strong, period, in MBA. “

Some of the larger members of the MBA acknowledged the potential value that mortgages reverse and serve senior demography, he said, so that the trade group can understand that a greater role could be favorable.

“One in three houses in the United States is owned by someone aged 65 and older, and every year that percentage goes up,” said Mayer. “And so, if you are in the mortgage loan and you don’t think of seniors and look at providing financing for them, you will have a problem.”

That does not mean that it was an easy way to get that kind of recognition of players on the front. But the demography is a convincing tool to allow more companies to view the evolving circumstances of the homeowner, he said.

“Why do we think serving first home buyers and young buyers need products that are unique for their circumstances, but somehow, when people turn the age of 65 and see their income fall quickly and their financial or Seeing medical conditions-WHY would we think that all the products we have should be exactly the same? “Said Mayer.

“It is logical that if you are in the mortgage activities, you would like to serve people who have a third of the houses in the country, and it makes sense that MBA wanted to do that. But that requires leadership, and the leadership at MBA, I think, must be complimented on the fresh look at the product, the industry and the program. “

Still a ‘slow build’

This has led Longbridge to add his own support to MBA, Mayer said, acknowledging that inverted mortgages will only be part of what the association is aimed at.

But the willingness to participate in the reverse mortgage interview must be recognized, in particular for companies such as Longbridge that work with leading originators in the Independent MortGage Banking (IMB) space.

Mayer said he is being encouraged by more collaboration between MBA and the National Reverse MortGage Lenders Association (NRMLA), but success with forward and reverse mortgage cooperations will probably remain a “slow build” for some time.

But this does not mean that signs of progress are absent. Mayer mentioned a recent change in the leadership of Rate‘s Reverse MortGage Division as an example of a prominent forward player who shows attention to Reverse. That movement illustrates a dedication to space, he said.

HECM for purchase

A very visible part of the slow build is bound to the Home Equity Conversion MortGage (HECM) for the purchasing program, he explained. The volume for the H4P program has been stubbornly low for years and is only a fraction of the total HECM volume. But there is increasing interest in the concept and the potential will take time to fulfill, he explained.

“We work with three of the five largest housing builders in the country on HECM for a purchase,” said Mayer. “They are now small, but they try to find it out and we work together.”

There are constant questions about how such a product can be effectively presented to borrowers, as well as lenders who try to increase their number of home purchases.

“Maybe this helps you to sell upgrades to houses for the house builders,” he offered as an example. “We see the brand names in the room, but I think the idea that the brand names will come in and suddenly we will double, triple or quadruple production [is] Not how it works. It takes the company for some time to find out, to find resources, find out what makes sense and to convert. “

But that does not prevent the building from taking place, he said. Many does not remain -realized growth potential, but it is about more than forging a solid connection between two companies.

“It’s not like just clicking your fingers, hiring someone in a large company and suddenly you do all the reverse mortgages,” he said. “There is just a lot of work involved. Our message is that it is a lot of work. We are happy to help and work together to do that. But that process has many ups and downs. “