2009 Underwriter
Sunday, 30 November 2008 16:00
Many of us try to change our lives with huge corrective intentions to undertake at the beginning of the New Year. Alas, one chilly January night we find ourselves sipping on a drink, with lit cigarette in hand having just completed a high calorie, high fat, sinfully indulging meal which we resolve to ourselves resulted from too much pressure to go cold turkey on all of the good stuff in life in a short moment of time!! No willpower.


For 2009, now that you have probably broken most of your sole searched thoughts from 2008, why not reinvent your resolution list and take a focused approach on the reverse mortgage activity you do so well.


We forgive you for breaking your resolutions so quickly, and know you will try again next year, but, you are not off the hook. Take the resolution pledge below as your punishment for that piece of cheesecake you just ate after midnight on December 31, 2008.


My hope for the New Year is that we are a smarter, more efficient, more focused provider of reverse mortgage products and resources for the senior in 2009. I would like you to consider reaffirming your internal will, by standing, put down your fork, raise this article eye-level with one hand, and raise the other hand past the table while reading aloud:


I resolve, to be the best reverse mortgage loan originator I can be...


...to place the needs of the senior as my borrower above my own, to assist them in every way I can with issues of remaining in their home and attaining financial stability...


...to originate better, to be more accurate and complete in what I put into their loan application package…..


...to fill in all of the boxes on the 1009...


...to ask the right questions, to know what my borrower truly wants by providing my borrower with choices and solutions that meet their needs...


...to read the Important Terms document and be able to explain LIBOR, CMT and the Fixed Rate...


...to ask detail questions as to the credit profile of the borrower so my processor or the underwriter won’t be surprised...


...to ask for complete copies of trusts, death certificates, POA’s, and other information that will expedite the approval and closing of my borrower’s file...


...not to undertake a manufactured home as my first loan submission, to know about tags, foundation inspections and issues related to this collateral form which if left unattended to will result in frustration for all of the loan participants...


...to remember that size matters when it comes to photocopies of identification documentation for the borrower including pictured id’s, drivers licenses, social security cards, and other proof of identity documents...


...to ask questions about my borrower’s primary residence with regard to the roof, the electrical, the well, the septic system, the HVAC systems, the structure and needed repairs before the appraisal is ordered...



...to both take good notes and pass on helpful information notes to my processor and underwriter...



...to assist, to speak with my borrowers and keep them up to date with the status of their file and quickly obtain any additional needed information...



...to be tolerant and pleasant when overcoming objections by my processor and underwriter that the information I have provided is not sufficient to answer a question or satisfy a condition...


...to properly verify funds to close or source of down payment on all files...


...to continue to educate myself, to seek available training to enhance my origination, processing or underwriting skills...



...to review my application package before I turn it in, to make sure signatures are complete and the information contained therein is factual and able to be verified...



...to assist with matters of title by asking for needed releases, evidence of lien payments and mortgage related issues...


...to be aware of declining values in my marketplace and understand my appraiser is using the best information available...


...to make sure I am aware of insurance issues related to flood and hazard coverage and the mortgagee clause...


And lastly, I resolve to resolve that I shall keep my list of reverse mortgage resolutions handy when I fear a moment of weakness…..


Wishing you a healthy and prosperous new year…..

Ralph Rosynek is President and CEO of 1st Reverse as well as a HECM DE Underwriter. Mr. Rosynek has been involved in mortgage lending for over 30 years with the last 5+ years exclusively providing reverse mortgage lending solutions. To contact Mr. Rosynek or to learn more about 1st Reverse Financial Services, Please visit www.1streverse.com or call 877.574.1000.
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