Board Room
HECMs Are More Than Loans By Mike Kent
I’VE SPENT THE past 43 years in the mortgage origina- tion business. I’ve been a broker and a
a way to pass opportunities to the next generation. It is more than the vacation of a lifetime. The HECM loan is all of that but much more—it is a “mission.” Today, millions of eligible HECM borrowers do not even know about this product. Millions of seniors could potentially change their lives with a HECM loan, even with current principal limit factors and higher interest rates. Spreading the Word In addition to serving our customers in a caring, profes- sional and ethical manner, we should all be working to expand the reach of the HECM product. We should be reaching out daily to other professionals in the financial industry and offering to educate and train them to become proficient in the HECM program. The Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae have done a great deal of work this year in improv- ing the program, primarily to help ease the liquidity needs of issuers. Hopefully, these changes will encourage more compa- nies to offer the HECM product.
mortgage banker. As a broker, my company offered many different loan products, including fixed- and adjustable-rate conventional loans, jumbo A-paper loans, subprime loans, construction loans, fix-and-
Mike Kent
flip loans and straight-up equity lending. As a mortgage banker, I have been involved in conventional A-paper, subprime and Alternative A-paper products. Every loan has a borrower, and every borrower has a story worth understanding and considering in how you serve that client. Satisfying borrowers’ needs, hopes and dreams is a big part of the business I have chosen as my profession. A HECM Is More However, the HECM program is more. It is more than just a loan. It is more than hopes and dreams. It is more than a financial tool. It is more than an affordable pathway to access home equity. It is more than
6 REVERSE MORTGAGE / SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2024
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