Reverse Mortgage News & Insights from HECMWorld

October brings a unique convergence of retirement decisions: Social Security adjustments, Medicare open enrollment, insurance renewals, property taxes and rising seasonal expenses.

For many older homeowners, it’s the time of year when one question becomes increasingly important: “Am I going to be okay next year?”

In this edition of Food for Thought, Lisa Moriello, CRMP, National Retail Reverse Sales Manager at loanDepot, explains why reverse mortgage professionals should be paying particular attention to October.

Lisa shares three practical ways originators can add value right now — reconnecting with clients before they call, building relationships with Medicare agents, and helping bring home equity into the broader retirement-income conversation.

As Lisa puts it: “You’re not the loan officer calling to sell. You’re the professional who knew what month it was.”

Watch the full episode for Lisa’s practical approach to making October count.

Read the full article: https://hecmworld.com/2026/10/07/food-for-thought-october-retirement-planning-reverse-mortgage/

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What changes when a successful originator becomes responsible for building a team, coaching others and scaling production?

In Part 2 of HECM World’s Leaders Roundtable, Shain Urwin, CRMP, Christina Harmes, CRMP, and Gabe Bodner move beyond individual performance to tackle the bigger questions around leadership and growth in the reverse mortgage industry.

The panel discusses why successful processes need to be documented, how to coach different types of originators, where strong forward mortgage producers may fit into reverse, and how leaders can build a high-performance culture without losing sight of the borrower.

They also get candid about compensation, client-first decision making and what the industry needs to do differently if it wants to reach more older homeowners.

Watch the full Industry Leader Insights conversation and read more here: https://hecmworld.com/2026/10/05/industry-leader-insights-leaders-roundtable-build-teams-scale-production/

Inflation offered some relief this week, with the Fed’s preferred measure coming in softer than expected and easing some of the immediate pressure for another rate increase.

But the broader picture remains challenging. Mortgage rates are still above 7%, sellers are cutting prices at the highest September rate in years, and new research is highlighting growing financial pressure on older homeowners.

This week:

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A long wait is one thing. Not knowing what’s happening is another.

In this Food For Thought, Jason Back of Broker Essentials uses a frustrating airport experience in Barcelona to highlight a common weakness in the mortgage customer journey: silence.

As mortgage businesses increasingly rely on automation, CRMs, portals and digital processes, Jason argues that efficiency only works when customers still understand where they are, what happens next and what they need to do.

He shares three practical ways mortgage professionals can improve the client experience, including identifying communication gaps, providing updates before customers have to ask, and making someone responsible for viewing the process from the customer’s perspective.

Read the full article: [INSERT LINK]

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What separates the reverse mortgage originators who consistently perform from those who struggle to gain traction?

In Part 1 of this special Industry Leader Insights roundtable, Andrew Montesi is joined by three leading voices in reverse mortgage sales:

Together, they unpack the habits, disciplines and sales fundamentals that drive individual success — from prospecting and preparation to metrics, mentorship, empathy and long-term follow-up.

The panel also gets into one of the biggest challenges facing originators today: how to respond when rates, housing conditions, regulation and consumer perceptions are largely outside your control.

This is a practical conversation built around real experience, including what these leaders have learned the hard way and how they coach originators who are working hard but not seeing enough results.

Watch or listen to Part 1 now, and come back for Part 2 as the discussion shifts to scale, coaching, team development and building a high-performance reverse mortgage business.

Get the full article and details: https://hecmworld.com/2026/09/28/industry-leader-insights-leaders-roundtable-successful-originators-tough-market/

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Mortgage rates are back above 7%, FHA is proposing specific changes to property requirements that would apply to reverse mortgages, and HUD has formally moved forward with a $1.3 billion HECM loan sale.

In this week’s HECM World Weekly, Gabrielle Hayen also looks at a new legal challenge involving home equity investment agreements, research showing nearly half of adults under 30 are living with their parents, and what new findings on inheritance and market uncertainty tell us about the changing financial pressures facing Baby Boomers and their families.

Plus, new analysis highlights an important gap between identifying fall risk and helping older Americans make the changes needed to remain safely at home.

In this episode:

Read the full article here: https://hecmworld.com/2026/09/25/hecm-world-weekly-7-percent-rates-fha-rules-family-balance-sheet/

And get more news and analysis for the reverse mortgage and home equity industry at HECMWorld.com.

Reverse mortgage professionals may be fighting the wrong battle when it comes to HELOCs.

In this Food For Thought, Lisa Moriello, CRMP, National Retail Reverse Sales Manager at loanDepot, argues that the real opportunity is not convincing seniors that a reverse mortgage is better than a HELOC.

It is building relationships with the bankers who already have their trust.

Lisa explains why bank managers can become valuable referral partners, how reverse mortgage professionals can position themselves as the solution when a HELOC does not fit, and why getting into the conversation earlier matters.

Read the full article: https://hecmworld.com/2026/09/23/food-for-thought-heloc-vs-reverse-mortgage/https://hecmworld.com/2026/09/23/food-for-thought-heloc-vs-reverse-mortgage/

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Understanding your local reverse mortgage market is only useful if you know what to do with that information.

In Part 2 of our Industry Leader Insights interview, Reverse Market Insight’s Jon McCue explains how originators can turn local market knowledge into stronger referral conversations, smarter marketing and more consistent business development.

Jon shares a powerful example of one originator who used local reverse mortgage data to challenge assumptions with a group of financial advisors — and generated 26 referrals within two weeks.

We also discuss how local data can support borrower conversations, ZIP code targeting, websites, SEO, AI search, content strategy and long-term pipeline building.

Watch or listen to the full conversation to learn how local market knowledge can help you stand out from other originators and become a more credible authority in the markets you serve.

Read the full article: https://hecmworld.com/2026/09/21/industry-leader-insights-local-reverse-mortgage-data-referrals-growth/

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The Federal Reserve has moved back into tightening mode.

This week on HECM World Weekly, we look at the Fed’s first rate increase since 2023, what it means for an already difficult housing market, and why the mortgage lock-in effect remains so important.

Also this week:

For reverse mortgage professionals, housing, home equity and retirement finances are becoming increasingly difficult to separate.

Read the full HECM World Weekly article: https://hecmworld.com/2026/09/18/hecm-world-weekly-fed-hikes-rates-housing-retirement-pressures/

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A reverse mortgage transaction nearly stalled over a $17,000 subordinate lien.

The problem? It may never have actually been a problem.

In her first Food For Thought contribution for HECM World, Shana Roach, CRMP, Reverse Mortgage Advisor at Mutual of Omaha, shares the story of an Arizona borrower whose HECM appeared to face a major roadblock.

Rather than accepting “that can’t be done,” Roach started asking a different question: Why?

What followed was a lesson in guidelines, institutional assumptions and the role reverse mortgage professionals can play as advocates for their borrowers.

“Advocacy is not about bending rules. It’s about understanding them well enough to recognize when there may be another path.”

Read the full story: https://hecmworld.com/2026/09/16/food-for-thought-biggest-barrier-is-the-myth-about-the-rule/

Subscribe to HECM World for more Food For Thought contributions from professionals across the reverse mortgage industry.

Visit HECMWorld.com for the latest reverse mortgage news, insights and industry perspectives.