Disqus - Latest Comments for Louise321

Re: L.A. Times on Reverse Mortgage Alternatives

Louise321 — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:19:22 -0000

I agree that the article is well written and balanced. Having dealt with the CA state run program for PTDs as well as some local loans to homeowners to refurbish their homes, I find that the programs are great and I never suggest that a homeowner get a reverse mortgage that would damage the PTDs, the DPLs, or SSI which the homeowner has in place. Several issues I have brought up in the past are: how current is the program info the BCU provides -- as we know, CA has funding problems and I doubt other states are too far behind and I wonder how long the state will fund deferred property taxes that local governments need in order to operate; how many local governments do you know that are extending DPLS at this time; and while taking SSI is a temporary fix, doesn't it lower what the senior receives of Soc Sec benefits in the long run?

I am not asking questions I know the answer to. Is there anyone who does and could shed light on the subject?

Re: Lenders are Late to the Game, But Gaining Steam with Online Marketing

Louise321 — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:50:04 -0000

Wow, Cynic. Your cynicism knows no bounds. While I agree that the oversight of this brave new world or brave slightly aged world depending on where you stand on the timeline will soon be infiltrated by regulators if it isn't already, the increasingly savvy seniors who friend, tweet and troll the internet will require the marketing skills presented in this article. It behooves all of us to at least understand how this marketing works.

I agree with Bret Gunther that this is a continuous exhaustive and possibly exhausting way of marketing, but, it coulc provide an audience that looks to a certain brand as authoritative.

Re: OneWest Exits Reverse Mortgage Business, Shuts Down Financial Freedom (update)

Louise321 — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:33:32 -0000

Wow TC, I couldn't have said it better myself! And I thought I was the only one spreading Sturm and Drang!

Re: Pat Boone Signed as New S1L Spokesman

Louise321 — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:26:16 -0000

Kudos to all those on the Security One Lending team who made this happen! I have heard great things from people who worked at the call centers that formerly used Mr. Boone's services. I think this is a big plus for Security One Lending.

Re: NRMLA West Conference Report

Louise321 — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:38:43 -0000

Anybody who tuned into the Fed's webinar yesterday about broker's compensation had to be frustrated when the speakers said over and over again that they would not be responsible for implementing or overseeing the new law, but in their opinion, . . . They opined for close to 2 hours about the noose around our necks. Now Congress wants the whole overseeing agency ruled by committee. We will never know what to expect will we?

Re: MetLife Study: Retirees Must Plan for the Unexpected

Louise321 — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:49:05 -0000

See the proposed new CA law AB 793. Preempting the preemptive planners seems to be part of the intent. Never been a fan of predatory annuity salesmen, but I have to admit that annuities do make sense in certain situations. It's a shame that so many have muddied the waters so much that the CA legislature would feel the need to even consider enacting such a draconian measure, taking responsibility for planning the senior's future out of the senior's hands. Is MetLife going to concede the CA market or are they working behind scenes?

Re: Condo Boards Blocking FHA Reverse Mortgages?

Louise321 — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:40:44 -0000

I had a client who really wanted to stay in her home of 20 years, but needed the extra money the reverse mortgage would give her to pay her condo dues. The HOA was not willing to put up the 10% reserves, and this was in a "tony" neighborhood. Well, a senior who lost her portfolio (my client) was out of luck. She cried.

Re: House Committee to Examine Fed’s Loan Originator Compensation Rule

Louise321 — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:35:28 -0000

New principal limit factors, rising interest rates, and the hesitancy of the secondary market to buy the loans may have already taken care of the perceived greed of mortgage brokers selling HECMs, but it certainly doesn't provide transparency as to what the big banks get (although BofA getting out the business suggests RMs are not as rich for anyone anymore. As Mortgagemaven points out, Congress and the Fed may not want to limit income and restrain trade with some other group such as the insurance industry, insurance companies and financial institutions, but doing that sure sounds good to me! And I am not a bleeding heart, but I do wonder how the largest voting block in the US benefits from decreased competition and decreased proceeds in a time when everything else is squeezing the senior's wallet.

Re: Bank of America to Exit Reverse Mortgage Business (Update)

Louise321 — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:16:51 -0000

Shock and awe. Have worked with BofA's RM division since they were Seattle Mortgage. This is a little disorienting. Best wishes to all of you at BofA that you land on your feet in these hard times.

Re: Regulators Open NMLS to Bank Loan Originators

Louise321 — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:49:26 -0000

Poor bank originators. They have to work so hard to keep up.

Re: Registration of Bank Loan Originators for NMLS Coming Soon

Louise321 — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:08:51 -0000

I have commented on this so many times. Anyone who thinks banks are better able to control their originators than mortgage banks and brokers might want to remember -- oh, I don't know -- maybe CountryWide aka BofA, Wachovia aka Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual aka Chase. Swallowing up those banks does not swallow up the history of lax bank regulation. But, hey, we need banks so they can lend to the little guys, so businesses can start up and oh well, :):););)

Re: Ginnie Mae Changes HMBS Policy on Life Estates, Net Worth Requirement Update

Louise321 — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:06:23 -0000

You know, Bill, the article says that the security instrument should be executed by the holder of the life estate and "any future interests." Couldn't that cause some problems? Who knows who will hold the future interest at the time the current life estate holder passes away.

Re: Reverse Mortgage Volume Falls 35% During 2010

Louise321 — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:11:15 -0000

I am a fan of the Kentucky Derby because of the seeming democracy of it all. Apparently any of the competitors given the field of contenders and conditions on any given day might have the possibility of winning. I don't bet, but I do know a little bit about the oddsmakers just from watching year after year. Two out of every 9 endorsements as TC says of Well Fargo gives a pretty big edge in our particular "horse race." And its not just an interesting micro picture, it is a stark reality and wake up call to any of those who are not in the top tier of "racehorses."

There is no upside to this picture. The little guys and even the intermediate guys are being squeezed out of the market by the two ton gorilla in the room. While I prefer not to give in to doom and gloom, what The Cynic did with the information Admin provided has lowered my tolerance for a candy coated poison pill happy ever after view of the future as provided by some of the Pollyannas of our industry.

So while you find your comparisons very interesting, I find them as depressing as if I were the guy who bet his shirt and lost it. All of us little guys are the losers in this "interesting micro picture."

Re: Obama Signs Continuing Resolution, Extends GSE and FHA Loan Limits for 2011

Louise321 — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:40:28 -0000

Interesting take on the omnibus budget bill. I have heard that passing a bill in Congress is like herding cats. With the emphasis in the last election on over-spending with little or no visible results in depressed areas of the country, I can see where there would be "cats" on both sides of the aisle who were difficult to round up to quickly pass the budget bill. 2011 should be interesting, but will it be better or worse for our industry?

Re: Bachus Announces House Financial Services Leadership

Louise321 — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:02:52 -0000

Pay attention, people! We need to know these names and their staff's names and NRMLA needs to point out to us how to get their attention in a positive way!

Re: Visualize the Growth of Reverse Mortgages in the United States

Louise321 — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:11:22 -0000

Wow, John!
Great job! The visualization is great. What's next?

Re: Consumer Groups Want Increased Oversight of Reverse Mortgage Market

Louise321 — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:21:32 -0000

It is not enough that we have pass the testing required by NMLS (well, some of us, anyway). It is not enough that counseling has become an increasingly invasive and time consuming ordeal for the senior borrower who, in most cases, knows what a loan is.

As has been pointed out in the past in this forum, many of the government programs we and counselors are supposed to point the seniors to are not even available to them in this time of increasing pressure on state and local budgets. Seniors are increasingly being pressured by the government to pay their own way. Now these "helpful" consumer unions want to throw the onus of talking the seniors out of the reverse mortgage on the mortgage lender sales staff? That does not make a lick of sense!
I mean, I see where the Nursing Home Advocates are coming from. A full paying resident is a lot easier to deal with than one who is dependent on government money. And maybe, eventually, a senior has to go into a nursing home. But isn't it better to live as long as possible in your own home and out of warehousing facilities for our senior population? My borrowers feel that way. That's WHY many of them consider a RM in the first place. So yeah, John, Matt and Jim, I'm with you. Is it just DC we need to tackle? It sounds like these guys are going for the state legislatures.

Re: MetLife Ends Sale of Long Term Care Insurance as Costs Increase

Louise321 — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:36:46 -0000

Wow! Sometimes the blogging on RMD provides a great education. This is boning up on LTCi (maybe a little late in the game since a major carrier is dropping the coverage and another seeks premium increases) made easy with pros and cons presented so eloquently. References are provided as well as debated.

After caring for family members with and without LTCi, I admit with dduck 12 that LTCi makes home care easier on the family and also that it is never as neat, clean, and analytical as we make it sound. I do worry for those that may find financial hardships in making their payments to MetLife timely in the future. After all, every dime is getting squeezed until it squeaks these days. What if they miss a payment, lose their coverage and find they no longer qualify for the coverage that is available? Isn't that what happens with most term life insurance?

But, gentlemen (and ladies if there are some among the various cover names among you), I thank you for an excellent education on the fly as it were.

Re: Congress Kicks Off Event to Promote the Importance of Saving for Retirement

Louise321 — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:41:21 -0000

No matter how we save for retirement, the market can eat up our savings, and circumstances beyond our control -- rising prices in gas, heating oil, electricity, and food -- can take a chunk of retirement savings. I deal with seniors all the time who have depleted savings because of such losses. Are we sticking a finger in the dike by instructing people now that they have to "plan for retirement" or are we sticking our fingers in our ears by not recognizing that a vast majority of them who are in trouble DID plan? I don't know. Should we take instruction from Congress on how to save? LOL! I don't know, do you?

Re: New HECM Counseling Protocol Means Longer Sessions, Higher Costs for Borrowers

Louise321 — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:14:43 -0000

Maybe NCOA could fund it since they proposed the new FIT and BCU and worked so hard to have them integrated into the new protocol. It is ironic that in an effort to help seniors, the best interest of the seniors is being compromised by the need of the counseling agencies to be recompensed for the additional burden of government bureaucracy. I am sure this could be argued seven ways to Sunday and will be, but in the end, the seniors with little money and less options will always be the ones put in the most fragile position: namely, paying for the privilege of having private financial matters exposed to a third party (however disinterested and detached from sales that party may be [oh, wait, time, even for the most disinterested party, is money and counseling agencies might as well stick their hand out too] ).
Shannon Hicks is right! The best we can do for our borrowers is prepare them for this endurance session. It is too bad that even the most prepared borrowers will not be paying by the hour but by the session. The price will still go up for all of them along with gas, food, utilities and all the other items of daily living that cause the seniors to seek a reverse mortgage in the first place.
Oh and speaking of negative reactions, I heard of a senior who recently got a reverse mortgage who felt totally intimidated by her counselor to the point that she called the loan originator very scared and asked if the counselor had the authority to force her to sell her house rather than get a reverse mortgage. Since a counseling cert had already been issued, the LO told her no.
I have to say, the kind of power that has been put in the hands of the counselors may go straight the heads of some. Intimidation is surely not what Congress originally intended when the counseling requirement was put in place. And for this, the borrower will pay more money? Hm-m-m-m. . . .

Re: New AMC Launches to Target Reverse Mortgage Sector

Louise321 — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:54:39 -0000

Then there is "Coaster" versus "Coester" but with as many spell checks as I run, there is always something that squeaks through so who am I to complain?

Re: Reverse Mortgage Refinances Need New Disclosure Form

Louise321 — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:39:12 -0000

If a senior needs the money, they need the money and neither counseling nor forms will change their mind. But I think if they are presented with how much that little amount will cost them over time, we will have done all due diligence. No one would be able to say they do not the costs of the reverse mortgage loan at that point. The question is, would HUD make such a form necessary?

Re: Reverse Mortgage Industry Reacts to Changes and HECM Saver Opportunity

Louise321 — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:25:40 -0000

Didn't the professional panel on the Reverse Fortunes webinar on Monday comment on the issue of churning and how HUD would looking very closely at any HECM refis that came in? And if HUD is looking very closely, doesn't that mean that HUD doesn't think refi-ing will be such a good idea for most senior borrowers? Doesn't that tell us as loan originators that we should be very careful how we approach our recent borrowers?

Am I the only one who heard Dan Mooney say that?

Re: Prescriptive Guidance to Address HECM Defaults Coming says HUD Official

Louise321 — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:41:26 -0000

I agree with the Cynic on this. And I wonder, are the property taxes and insurance issues the only ones being used to track defaults? Are all reporting agencies adequately tracking owner occupancy, home upkeep, or, in the case of condos, HOA dues? Could that run the figure higher?

Re: Sandwich Generation: 78% Worried About Having Enough Money for Retirement

Louise321 — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:08:29 -0000

This morning, President Obama gave a town hall meeting sponsored by CNBC. As I listened to a portion of his speaking I began to understand why seniors have such a difficult time making their case to this administration.

President Obama made clear that his agenda is all about securing the American Dream for "future" generations. This, he claims, is his vision and why he continues on an unpopular path. The majority of Americans are approaching retirement age at a train-wreck pace, most without adequate funding of their retirement, but he has a "vision and agenda" for future generations.

I fear for the majority of Americans who are aging if this visionary is allowed to go unchecked. Already my mother is feeling the medicare squeeze and her pittance of SS and a small annuity of $70 a month makes little dent in the increases in her expenses. She also retired debt free as the Schwab survey indicates the majority of boomers expect to retire debt free. But time and roof expenses and car repairs and rising costs of gas, food, utilities and medicine have eaten away her resources as they will those of seniors now retiring, and that good old stand-by, the reverse mortgage, is being legislated into non-existence. What will those future seniors have to fall back on? We as a nation are removing all of the props supporting our senior population and we will face a bleak future when we arrive at their age.

Oh well, enough doom and gloom for a Monday.