LEARNING TO TEACH For many in the reverse industry, their career is a second act. Several of those we spoke with say they left other professions to try their hand at reverse mortgages. Janice Cohen, a New Jersey-based advisor with Security One Lending, worked as a cantor in a synagogue for 25 years before entering the reverse space 10 years ago. Cohen says the learning curve for her was steep at first. “I came from a very different background. I had no sales experience and the only thing I knew about mortgages was that I had one,” she says. “In my first year, I just about covered my draw, but in my second year, I think I made three times that. It grew very, very, very quickly.” Last year, Cohen, who purchases her leads, was the No. 2 top-selling loan officer for S1L. She does all of her business over the phone and she says in past years she has closed more than 100 loans. “I have found that working with my borrowers is very similar to teaching an adult education class or conducting an adult choir,” she says. “It requires the same type of patience and finesse.” AAG’s Joseph Kurelic worked as a Realtor selling properties in a senior community before he left the business to originate HECMs in 2009. “I was working for a builder when the HECM for Purchase was introduced, and nobody understood how
it worked,” Kurelic says of his motivation to change careers. Now, he says the vast majority of his loans are Purchase transactions, and that he works mostly with Realtors and builders to connect with clients. “To be a good originator in the reverse market, you’ve got to be able to communicate,” Kurelic says. “You must be a teacher and not just someone out there to sell the loan. You’ve got to teach people how it works, the philosophy behind it, and explain it to them so they understand it.” Pamela Kirkpatrick, who works for Urban Financial of America, worked in the nonprofit sector before entering the business 16 years ago. “I think it’s similar in the sense that it’s an ethical mission to provide something. In our case, it’s financial independence.” Kirkpatrick focuses on connecting with financial planners and attorneys. She also says communication is key. “You’ve got to learn the language of different professions,” she says. “We have an accepted jargon in our individual industries, and a lot of times we think that we’re communicating, but we’re not… We need to make sure that the message we’re trying to communicate has actually been received, understood and digested.”
GREG McDERMOTT
“On my website, I call myself a HECM evangelist. That’s really what I have to do, be out there preaching the good news. I find it a blessing to be able to do the work. I’ve made a lot more money in corporate sales, but this is by far the most rewarding work I’ve done.”
BETH PATERSON
“It’s meeting people and touching their lives and hearing their
A PERSONAL APPROACH
stories. I’m creative, I’m a
Like any salesperson, most advisors have their own philosophies when it comes to approaching a potential client. 8
this as a job—it’s a career, it’s
problem solver. I don’t look at a life… I love the work that I do and using my skills and talents to make a difference in the lives of others.”
FLORIAN STECIUCH
“Demystifying the reverse mortgage for financial planners is probably my No. 1 challenge. They will say, ‘My clients don’t need any money.’ I say, ‘Well, they don’t need any money now.’ Or they just refuse to learn; they just don’t want to know about it.” reversereview . com
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