RMM Sept/Oct 2024

Sharpening Your Saw continued from page 21

“This year, I’m bringing friends from the AgeTech space to discuss senior housing of the future. Many don’t realize that we are already living in a Jetsons-like world because it looks different than what has been imagined over the years. We will take you on a journey through the home of the future—both inside and out.”

“Roughly half of my business this year is from the radio show,” Simmons says. Others will have stories and tips to offer, creating an opportunity for loan officers to learn what is work- ing in other parts of the country. “I love the roundtable stuff,”

Julia Gordon

Simmons says. “These are things happening across the country, but people might not be aware of them—dif- ferent ways to reach real estate agents or referral partners or direct-to-consumer ideas. We will talk about what is working and what is not.” Artificial Intelligence Simmons expects some discussion to center around arti- ficial intelligence (AI). And AI will be the topic of a sep- arate seminar led by Byron Torres, founder and CEO of Reachality, which focuses on AI solutions for companies. When he gave a talk during the 2023 Annual Meeting, he primarily spoke about what AI is and that it should be embraced and not feared, Torres says.

—Tara Ballman, executive director at the National Aging in Place Council

year, there were a lot of questions,” he says. “And this year, I am expecting a lot of questions, as well.” One question that usually comes up is about security and ensuring the information being used in AI is secure, he says. Despite some of the difficulties with AI, he empha- sizes the need for the reverse mortgage industry to embrace AI and technology to cater to the evolving needs of younger borrowers. “The reverse mortgage industry has to adapt to the new technologies, or Gen X is going to reject the prod- ucts,” he says.

This year, he intends to talk more about how to apply the technology. “Last year, everyone was still consumed with the micro rather than the macro,” Torres says. “This year, I am going to go deeper into it and lay out the potential.” For example, people who work

Underwriting/Operations Audience Q&A

Byron Torres

NRMLA’s earliest conferences featured the industry’s top direct endorsement underwriters who would field audience questions and share information on the most common questions from loan officers. At this year’s Annual Meeting, HUD Issues Committee Co-Chair and All Reverse Pro President Elly Johnson will moderate a session with Sarah Young of Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, Shirley Rand of PHH Mortgage/Liberty Reverse Mortgage, Carmalon Batiste of Traditional Mortgage Acceptance Corp., Laura Almohandis of Finance of America and Kelly McCabe of CrossCountry Mortgage. Elly Johnson

with reverse mortgages can learn to use AI to synthesize complex lending guidelines so they are easier for others to digest, Torres says. “This technology is moving fast. Now, people are seeing how it can help and what it can do,” he says. “How can we use AI to generate leads and qualified leads but also speed up the process for both the lenders and the borrowers to make it easier?” For reverse mortgages, there are opportunities to use AI to educate borrowers by having AI take and answer questions from consumers, he adds. His presentation will be about 30 minutes, with an additional 15 minutes for questions, Torres says. “Last

22 REVERSE MORTGAGE / SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2024

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