CRMP: Across the Kitchen Table
real estate. She learns and teaches, always intending to understand the intricacies of creating a comprehensive financial plan. As she tells her clients, “I can help you integrate the financing you select with your overall financial plan.” One couple recently came to her for a reverse mort- gage, expecting to stay in their current home. Early in the conversation, Jensen noticed the clues that they really wanted to find a new home, but they felt hemmed in by the price gap between their current home and average homes in their market. Jensen walked them through a HECM for Purchase and sent them to their real estate agent for guidance on pricing their current home and finding a replacement. The nuanced conversation touched on goals, health and finances. “I was able to listen for the clues on estate planning,” she says. “I was able to listen to the clues on pension planning. I was able to listen to the clues for investment advising—not that I am going to give investment advice, but I can pick up on what they are saying and understand the impact it has, and we can bring those other profes- sionals into the conversation.” Working With Reverses Jensen first encountered reverse mortgages after joining Cherry Creek Mortgage in 2001. In the rocky years of 2008 to 2010, while forward mortgages were “implod- ing around us,” she says, reverse mortgages were gaining steam. The Federal Housing Administration-insured HECM, especially, was growing stronger with built-in consumer protections and features that promoted its fit within long-term strategies. “The CRMP brings so much more credibility when people are trying to determine if I’m the one they want to work with.” —Christine Jensen, CRMP, senior vice president of Reverse Lending at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.
fulfill their financial plans and their dreams for savings, homeownership and retirement. When the savings and loan closed amid the industry collapse of the 1980s, she gravitated toward mortgage banking—her favorite part of the business because of its power to help clients build wealth through homeownership. “That’s the vantage point from which I approach the industry: helping people meet financial goals and build wealth,” she says. After a stint in mortgage servicing, where she learned the mechanics of mortgage operations, her heart led her to the planning, consulting and origination side. That is where she has been for more than 30 years. To Jensen, every reverse mortgage is a team effort, a huddle with clients, financial advisers, families and real estate agents. “The best decisions are decisions that are made when you have the input of all of the different folks who can bring expertise to the process,” she says. Working with other professionals means learning how their specialties dovetail with hers. She obtains insight by attending industry conferences in long-term care insurance, financial planning, legal issues and
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