The RMD Podcast

In this episode of The RMD Podcast, RMD Editor Chris Clow sits down with Sarah Bolling Mancini, staff attorney for the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) to talk about her work on behalf of reverse mortgage borrowers.

Mancini is a reverse mortgage subject matter expert who has even been called to testify before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on the topic of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, and has worked on consumers’ behalf to navigate issues that could arise from their loans. She has had particular emphasis on issues related to reverse mortgage servicing, non-borrowing spouse issues and broader foreclosures.

In this discussion, we touch on topics including how she became interested in reverse mortgages as a subject, what she thinks the reverse mortgage product can provide for seniors, the NCLC’s efforts in working with the reverse mortgage industry, the posture of the federal government in the realm of borrower assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and more!

The RMD Podcast speaks with reverse mortgage business leaders, professionals, government officials, and thought leaders to provide listeners with the pulse of the reverse mortgage industry, and all of the business and regulatory realities which affect it. Hosted by Chris Clow and produced by Elissa Branch.

In this episode of The RMD Podcast, Editor Chris Clow sits down with Dr. Wade Pfau, professor of retirement income at the American College of Financial Services and founder of RetirementResearcher.com, to discuss the new edition of his book on the topic of reverse mortgages. Now in its third edition, the book “Reverse Mortgages: How to Use Reverse Mortgages to Secure Your Retirement” makes a series of changes to reflect the current product landscape and how a reverse mortgage can be of assistance to someone’s retirement.

We discuss how the original edition of the book came together, changes in the industry reflected in the new edition, and thoughts on current industry trends including the 2021 refinance boom and the expansion of the proprietary product landscape.

The RMD Podcast speaks with reverse mortgage business leaders, professionals, government officials, and thought leaders to provide listeners with the pulse of the reverse mortgage industry, and all of the business and regulatory realities which affect it. Hosted by Chris Clow and produced by Elissa Branch.

In this episode of The RMD Podcast, Editor Chris Clow takes a look back at the 10 most-read stories on the site in 2021, providing commentary and insight into the publication's reporting process and a look at why certain stories appeared to resonate so much with RMD's audience. The show will be back to its regular format in February, but please enjoy this look back at the biggest reverse mortgage stories in a very eventful year!

The RMD Podcast speaks with reverse mortgage business leaders, professionals, government officials, and thought leaders to provide listeners with the pulse of the reverse mortgage industry, and all of the business and regulatory realities which affect it. Hosted by Chris Clow and produced by Elissa Branch.

Reverse mortgage professionals are often confronted with a great deal of change that seems to come from all sides. Whether it’s in new regulations handed down by the federal government, new products or services introduced by lenders, or the interaction that can come from an advertising campaign, change is a constant. One other change that can sometimes be overlooked is the evolving attitudes of senior clients themselves.

John Luddy, SVP of Reverse Lending at Norcom Mortgage in Avon, Ct., has spent nearly 40 years in the mortgage business and has become a vocal proponent of the reverse mortgage product. He is also a dedicated salesman, oriented to the needs of seniors and the ways a reverse mortgage might be able to help certain people to solve a financial issue. Luddy sat down with RMD Editor Chris Clow for an episode of The RMD Podcast to discuss his industry-favorite “sales tips,” the landscape of the industry in 2021 and how he has observed seniors’ changing attitudes over the years.

The reverse mortgage product is prone to a great deal of misunderstanding with the general public according to most industry observers, which has directly led to initiatives at leading industry companies that are focused on product education. However, one industry participant has a new opportunity to change reverse mortgage perceptions, this time at the government arm which oversees the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-sponsored Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Carol Dujanovich, the VP of Operations at Michigan-based 1st Nations Reverse Mortgage, was recently honored with an appointment to HUD’s Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee, making her the first reverse mortgage industry representative to sit on such a committee. To discuss the significance of the appointment and what the committee will aim to do under the direction of HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, Dujanovich sat down with RMD Editor Chris Clow for an episode of The RMD Podcast.

When aiming to take stock of the current climate in any market, a good first step is to check in with whichever entity currently stands as that market’s leader. American Advisors Group (AAG) is the number one reverse mortgage lender in the country. Its EVP of Alternative Distribution, Jesse Allen, has the responsibility of overseeing the company’s vision, strategy, and execution for national field sales as well as the lender’s wholesale origination business.

Because of that, Allen aims to maintain a holistic understanding of the reverse mortgage industry’s past, the dynamics driving its present, and the potential opportunities and obstacles leading towards its future. In this episode of the RMD Podcast, Reverse Mortgage Daily Editor Chris Clow sits down with Allen to discuss the current landscape of the industry in terms of AAG’s efforts, as well as trends emerging from competitors and volume levels in the final stretch of the summer.

With financial planners serving as some of the most important potential reverse mortgage referral partners, this episode of The RMD Podcast features a conversation between RMD editor Chris Clow and Robert Klein, a registered investment advisor in Newport Beach, California, and founder of the Retirement Income Center where he specializes in a multidisciplinary retirement planning approach.

In the conversation, Clow and Klein discuss the state of reverse mortgage product education to borrowers and professionals, the reticence many financial planners have about discussing reverse mortgages with clients, and advice to reverse mortgage originators about approaching financial planners to serve as referral partners.

The RMD Podcast speaks with reverse mortgage business leaders, professionals, government officials, and thought leaders to provide listeners with the pulse of the reverse mortgage industry, and all of the business and regulatory realities which affect it. Hosted By Chris Clow and produced by Alcynna Lloyd. 

The RMD Podcast returns with a brand new episode featuring the Founder and CEO of HW Media, Clayton Collins. In this episode, Collins offers his perspective on the promise of the reverse mortgage industry, and how RMD fits into the overarching mission of HW Media and its other brands;  covering the full breadth of the housing industry.

He also describes his own introduction to housing media, how he became acquainted with the reverse mortgage category, and how the American retirement system will need to acknowledge the housing asset in the future.

The RMD Podcast speaks with reverse mortgage business leaders, professionals, government officials, and thought leaders to provide listeners with the pulse of the reverse mortgage industry, and all of the business and regulatory realities which affect it. Hosted By Chris Clow and produced by Alcynna Lloyd. 

In this episode of The RMD Podcast, we're thrilled to welcome John Lunde, president of Reverse Market Insight (RMI) to discuss the state of the reverse mortgage industry, and some of the factors that could affect it into the near future!Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the reverse mortgage industry has seen a heightened, sustained level of business in terms of its performance metrics like industry volume and Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) issuance. Are these metrics sustainable? How does increased HECM-to-HECM refinance activity play into the state of the industry? What about the marketplace of proprietary reverse mortgage products?Listen to this episode of The RMD Podcast to learn:-- What current industry volume levels could mean for the future of the industry-- How RMI and the larger reverse mortgage business has had to change during the pandemic and beyond-- What refinance activity and proprietary volume mean for the industry's prospects-- Why the business must still strive for greater adoption and new players-- And more!

RMD is thrilled to welcome Professor Jamie Hopkins, managing director of Carson Coaching and director of retirement research at Carson Group, as well as a member of the Academy for Home Equity in Financial Planning, to The RMD Podcast for a wide-ranging discussion!The reverse mortgage industry has undergone a very unique stress test during the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that crisis has also affected the field of financial planning. To further gauge what these impacts might be, we've asked Jamie Hopkins to discuss what he's seeing on the academic side in both fields, as well as his thoughts on how the reverse mortgage industry has had to transform itself after other changes have been forced upon it.Listen to this episode of The RMD Podcast to learn:-- Why emotion is such a major driver of financial decisions for people-- What the reverse mortgage industry has done well in reacting to change, including those handed down by FHA and those forced by COVID-19-- The evolving perspectives of financial planners on the use of home equity, including for reverse mortgages-- What first brought Hopkins into the fold of the reverse mortgage industry and the Academy for Home Equity in Financial Planning-- And more!