Written by Aman Makkar Monday, 31 March 2008 13:28
Have you ever reached a tipping point? Many of you may know what a tipping point is, some may not. A tipping point, according to Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, is a level at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable. Here’s a short story about how I reached my tipping point.
I attended the February 2008 National Reverse Mortgage Lender’s Association (NRMLA) regional conference in Denver, Colorado. Compared to the annual NRMLA conference held in San Diego last year, this was an intimate gathering of reverse mortgage professionals who were here to educate, or to be educated. I was there to be educated.
I’m the CEO of an appraisal management and technology company, AppraiserLoft.com. My interest in the reverse mortgage industry came to life through AppraiserLoft a year ago when we saw a noticeable increase in FHA reverse mortgage appraisal requests. As the requests came in, every week and every month we would see more and more originators ordering FHA appraisals for reverse mortgages. This intrigued me. I knew what a reverse mortgage was, but I didn’t realize how or why the industry was growing… which was very rapidly.
As I normally do when something intrigues me, I “Googled” reverse mortgages, and then “Googled” again every company that turned up in the search results. The results were endless. There were a plethora of websites with oversized fonts and cozy images of elderly couples. I was now on a mission to learn everything I could about reverse mortgages. Attending reverse mortgage conferences and trainings was just a way for me to further educate myself, even though I wasn’t involved as a retailer or wholesaler.
While being educated in Denver, I reached a personal “tipping point”, the point at which I was pushed over the edge and caused to do something I may not have normally done. For me, that was starting a publication. I quickly realized this industry was growing rapidly, we were starting to see the early signs of saturation, and this was caused by many forward mortgage originators seeing the light. With my technology background, starting a print publication was not a part of my game plan; but I saw a different light.
Our mission in launching this publication is to educate and create awareness in the industry. The gleam of big commissions and seemingly easy sales causes many to originate reverse mortgages for the wrong reasons. We love that originators are getting involved, but it must be for the right reasons. We have an opportunity to help seniors through their retirement years with a special product that can ease their financial worries.
The purpose of this publication is therefore to work together, help one another, and create a community of reverse mortgage professionals that will continue to help this industry grow in the right direction. I personally invite everyone who reads this to contact us, find a way to contribute, and help us protect this industry in the many years to come.
Thank you for picking up our premier issue of The Reverse Review. We look forward to working with you in the near future.
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