From the Top
“We encourage loan officers to make sure borrowers and heirs know that staying in touch with the servicer, especially if there is a default or when the borrower passes away, is key.”
our business. If there’s not enough scale, this product won’t survive. That’s why I’m focused on this. The product needs to be more prevalent. More loans need to be originated. The need is there. Servicing will only be healthy if there is an origination that’s created. RM: Are there key differences between servicing a traditional mortgage versus a reverse mortgage? MM: The average age of a reverse mortgage borrower in our portfolio is 75, while on the forward side, it’s the mid-40s. Reverse mortgage borrowers require more hands-on assistance. Nine out of ten contacts on the forward side are digital, while five out of ten touch points are digital on the reverse side. That’s a huge improvement from three years ago when we were prob- ably closer to eight or nine touch points through our call center. Now it’s about 50 percent digital, 50 percent through the call center. RM: What are some of the common questions that consumers contact Celink about concerning their reverse mortgage? MM: The most asked question is to confirm their line of credit balance, followed by how much money they can access during the initial year and how to access those funds. The third most asked question revolves around completing the annual occupancy certification, which can now be done verbally by phone through Celink’s IVR, or interactive voice response, system. Number four involves inquiries about property taxes or insurance, while the fifth most asked question involves changes to payment plans. RM: Tell me more about your IVR. MM: Our IVR is predictive. So, for example, if you’re calling, our IVR will recognize it’s you because it does the authentication electronically and predicts why you’re call- ing. The IVR menu is customized to you. If you just got a letter that said we need your occupancy certification, the IVR will start with that. Or, if you got a letter about your taxes, the IVR will start with taxes. We’re predicting why you’re calling, so it’s faster for the borrower. It’s a
—Marion McDougall, Celink CEO
better borrower experience to get that menu in the order that we believe is the reason for the call.
RM: HUD has implemented numerous reforms over the past year to benefit consumers. Which of these reforms will most impact improving the servicing process? MM: The most significant change is one I just mentioned, which is the ability to verify occupancy verbally, which HUD announced in Mortgagee Letter 2023-23 this past November. This change allows borrowers to have another avenue than just the mail. It’s a great convenience to the borrower and helps prevent loans from going into due and payable status, which you know, of course, causes concerns and stress that’s not needed. This has been huge. RM: Celink has been at the forefront of adopting tech- nologies that enhance servicing efficiencies. What can you share about these improvements? Is there anything new that’s under development that you can discuss? MM: We modernized our legacy system starting in 2019, which has resulted in some big wins. For example, we’re able to process line of credit (LOC) draw requests 60 percent faster compared with a few years ago. We also implemented a tool to make the loan assignment pro- cess more efficient. Ninety-seven percent of the loans that we service are assigned immediately after reaching 98 percent of the maximum claim amount (MCA), all through a technology tool that we deployed about a year and a half ago that helps us better manage timelines and obtain documents from our clients more quickly. Lastly, we recently expanded our IVR. The enhanced logic offers extensive options for borrowers. I mentioned that the IVR anticipates why the borrower is calling and then
From the Top continued on page 12
REVERSE MORTGAGE / SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2024 11
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker