New IndyMac Owners Bring Layoffs To Financial Freedom

March 20th, 2009 | by John Yedinak Published in Financial Freedom, News, Reverse Mortgage | 42 Comments

When OneWest Bank announced that it had closed on the deal to purchase IndyMac, the company said it would continue to operate Financial Freedom but didn’t mention anything about laying off some of its employees.

Earlier this morning there was a conference call where I’m told Michelle Minier read a script to announce layoffs and was followed by an HR woman answer questions. It’s not clear how many Financial Freedom employees were laid off yet, but former employees told RMD it wasn’t a small number and Housingwire reports layoffs of at least 20 percent of its staff.

Notices were sent out today to alert brokers that Financial Freedom Senior Funding is changing its name to Financial Freedom Acquisition LLC but there was no mention of layoffs. Any new loan application received by Financial Freedom on or after March 20, 2009 will be processed and closed in the new name.

“We will continue to offer and service reverse mortgages under the Financial Freedom brand and you will experience the same exceptional customer service and reverse mortgage expertise,” said the alert from Financial Freedom.

RMD asked OneWest Bank for a statement regarding the layoffs and was sent the following:

OneWest Bank Group acquired Financial Freedom and we will continue to operate as one of the nation’s largest reverse mortgage businesses. A number of people were hired today as OneWest employees to operate that business but I don’t have information on exactly how many people were or were not hired.

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Mr. DE

Unbelievable!

I hear through the grapevine that the entire Rancho Cordova, CA facility was let go today, except for a handful of workers (anywhere between 10 and 20 people) to assist in transitioning the pipeline over to Atlanta operations.

It appears the new ownership group is clearly investor-minded and in shutting down Rancho Cordova, they are clearly attempting to cut costs on IMBs greatest asset- a move that strongly implies a non-interest in long term growth and success of Financial Freedom, rather short run flip of this asset.
Tom Edwards

The total let go was far above the 20% mentioned in the article above. The number was around 200 as per a former manager at Financial Freedom.
Financial Freedom was the most profitable part of the IndyMac organization and could have easily been sold off to any number of willing buyers.
If these new owners are this short sighted I pity the rest of the OneWest organization. Apparently the inmates are running the asylum.
Former FF Man

Who thought up the name “Financial Freedom Acquisition LLC”? Doesn’t “Acquisition” mean “To Take Over”. So is FF “taking over” a seniors home? j/j Try selling that name to a senior – LOL.

It is sad that whom ever thought up the name was doing so over a drink as I can’t imagine someone that BONEHEADED.
David Cook

This a very sad day for the entire reverse mortgage industry. Unfortunately, this is likely to have a negative impact on seniors who have their loans currently in the Financial Freedom pipeline. I agree with previous respondent regarding the name change which could have been better thought out.
common sense

What a coincidence, Michelle Minier lets hundreds of employees go via a conference call. Her husband is Frank Silman, a former executive at Indy Mac wholesale. Silman let thousands of Indy Mac employees go via a conference call.

Neither one of them have any true mortgage business acumen. Does anyone remember when you needed to be qualified to have an “executive” title.

I feel bad for the FF employees that were let go. I don’t see how this helps FF in the long run when they are notorious for slow ops.

I hope they all land on their feet.
KidReverse

It is unfortunate for those that lost their jobs, however there is a general lack of talent in the reverse mortgage industry so I am sure they will all land on their feet. Reverse mortgage lenders are always looking for skilled and TRAINED staff. Don’t lose hope, there is a job out there for you!
MD

They are “moving operations” to Atlanta. I too feel sorry for the seniors with loans in the pipeline and the name does suck. The way this lay off was handled was appalling. I know. There is no soul left in Financial Freedom. To not care about the negative impact this will have on so many people. Is this the way the FDIC protects hardworking citizens? This will negatively effect Financial Freedom service and turn turns and the whole image of the Reverse Mortgage Industry.
Thanks for the hope, Commen Sense.
James A. Nelson

And, what “Wealthone” calls the opposite of “little guys”–BIG GUYS, I guess–get rewarded and the “Little Guys” get the ax. Wonder if there were any taxpayer money involved here (or how about those infamous bonuses?). While I believe the Obama Administration is trying its level best to turn the economy around, this action leaves much to be desired. But then, what the hell do I know, I’m just a “Little Guy.”
Worldview

Government seems to have NO CLUE how financing works. It would be so helpful if the people in government who sold FF to OneWest knew how to be good stewards of the peoples interest. They need to take the attitude of some European governments and stop catering to the feelings of the thieves on wall street.

I wonder what criteria they used in selling off IndyMac and FF. I would not be surprised if OneWest wrote the criteria. Problem is there are no financially savvy people in government who are not beholden to wall street.
Reversemaniac

Well considering there retail pipeline has dropped by 50% and they have also lost a considerable amount of the their wholesale channel, my assumption is that new ownership needed to trim some fat. FF is a big clunky dinosaur that needs a swift kick in the ass. People this is capitalism and trimming the fat is not a bad thing if it helps to make our banks more profitable which in turn will lead them to take more risks which in turn will open up credit which in turn will help our industry. Sometimes you have to can’t help but make a mess when you are trying to clean things up. LIke I said, FF is a dinosaur in eed of a makeover, they should problaby shit can Minier while they are at it, that lady has dne nothing but run FF into the ground.
http://www.reverselifecapital.com Frank

I think ‘Former FF Man’ nailed it.
Anyone who would name a RM company what they did does not have a clue of what the RM biz is about.
In my 20 plus years in the loan biz I think what they did must be in my top 10 of dumb things done by a lender.
Bad name for them and bad for the RM biz in general.
http://wwwcoastallendingreversemortgage.com gil greene

It is unfortunate some many people have lost their jobs.Many of the quality people have been leaving to join Genworth right across the street. The name change is consistent with the poor management. Remember indymac is the lender that was taking in deposits from consumers to the tune of 90,000,000 knowing they were closing down and pushed off milliuons of dollars to fannie mae days before closing of bad loans. I think you will see more reputable insurance companies like genworth, and met life taking on more and more reverse mortgages in the future.
Mr DE

Reality check- I cannot see FF providing better service to seniors or their wholesale channel with this move. I cannot forsee how this positively impacts the long term success of FF. The operations team in CA that I have dealth with are incredibly knowledgeable about the reverse world. “Trimming fat” will kill you when that ‘fat’ was sustaining you through a time of famine (see present economic crisis).

Mr. Soros and Co. are a group of investors, plain and simple. They haven’t a clue how to operate mortgage banking institutions. It appears the FDIC was hard up for any buyer, even if included inept executive council with no financial mortgage banking experience. Time will show how terrible of a move this was to the long term prospect of this reverse mortgage giant.
MA

Yesterday was another sad milestone for FF. Those of us who were let go felt both sadness and relief. Sadness – for the ongoing downhill slide of a once-rising star, for the 200 others who were blindsided along with us, for the failure of the FDIC to support Mr. Obama’s attempts to retain jobs, for the stupidity of the new owners in retaining M Minier (and her minions)and for their thinly veiled contempt for FF.
Relief- for walking away with a better package (WARN ACT+Retention bonus+accrued vacation+ if applicable, the some additional $$ rounding up to a small severance amount), than the poor employees who stayed behind will ever get when the new owners cut them loose at a future date.
Yesterday was a joke = a conference call that was delayed due to technical difficulties, a whole group of people at Rancho Cordova were placed on hold and did not get to hear the beginning of the call-they came into the call halfway through and were highly confused, a CEO who came in to the conference room to address the “Irvine Doomed” laughing nervously and talking about the plans for the new company as if anyone cared, and more…..One thing that was painfully evident was that the Irvine doomed consisted of the “Legacy” employees who came in under Mahoney’s regime. None of the IndyMac employees specially hired in since MMinier came aboard, nor any or the protected “minions”, were included in the doomed group. One has to wonder about that…..We lost many field RMSs, a whole processing center, a whole call center, and many dedicated, knowledgeable, truly senmior-oriented employees.I hope they can land on their feet sooner rather than later -
Shorty

I am a former FF employee, Atlanta had a larger pipeline and staff but we closed more than them 3+ months in a row? Whoever thought we were ” the fat ” didn’t know what they were talking about. The conference call was cold, unprofessional and traumatic, in my opinion. Plus seeing everyone pack their desks was incredibly sad. I wonder what will happen to the customers. I hope it all works out for the seniors. I feel confident all of us from Rancho are strong, experienced and our talent will benefit another company.

Smile
Reversemaniac

Hey Critic,

If writing well = helping seniors with reverse mortgages you’d be #1 on the HECM Endorsement list, however it doesn’t and again we are all subject to your inflated ego with no substance to back it up. There you go Bobbling along.

Management does not layoff when volume is scaling up. It is unfortunate that people lost their jobs, but the reality of the situation is that our industry is growing and those jobs will be picked up if the volume and client needs warrant the need for those positions. That is the beauty of capitalism and efficiency. I obviously was not on that call, as I would never work for a clunky dinosaur such as FF. Critic, that maybe more up your alley as we all know that you just as FF are a clunky non producing dinosaur.
Reversemaniac

Cynic,

Very original name, are you Critics Alter ego in Bizarro world?

RMniac
Reversebraniac

Well Said Reversemaniac!!!
Reversemaniac/Reversebraniac

Mr. DE, can you explain how the fat was sustaining FF through this famine you refer to? My hopes would be that the bottom 20% got cut, however I know in big clunky Cynic/Critic Paleolthic type companies such as FF, office politics somethimes plays a bigger role. I am purely looking at the decline in their numbers and stating the obvious that you have a company who has consistently lost volume and market share on both the retail and wholesale side over the past 2 years, I do not expect any former FF employees to agree with me on this as they were the ones that just got screwed, but the facts are the facts and since IMBwent under almost a year ago nothing has been done but with strategic future planning in mind.It would only make sense that new management would clean shop given the drop in volume that has taken place for FF in the past 9-12 months….how can anyone argue with this logic.
Reversemaniac/Reversebraniac

Also lt’s look at this from the strategic standpoint of keeping an Ops center up in The OC, with CA wages and taxes or throw it to the ATL….where the cost of living is cheaper and you have one of the most business friendly states in the Union. If it were me, I’d trim the fat in CA, watch the fear in my new employees eyes as they suddenly started working more than 4 hours in an 8 hour shift and would add bodies as needed to ATL, where employees are cheaper and the state is more friendly to my initiative of running a business. Anyone who has a CA business knows that state is terrible to its businesses. No question about that. Again I feel bad for the families that may have to deal with tough times, but the truth of the matter is business is business, so everyone needs to take off their kid gloves and pipe down.
KRN

WOW… I would love to hear Mr. Mahoney’s perspective of this ‘ending’ to the once great company he built; this truly could not have been what he envisioned. I feel a great debt of gratitude to FF for introducing me to the reverse mortgage industry (a product I whole-heartedly believe in and support), and for providing the numerous opportunities for professional and personal growth. I was fortunate enough to work in both the Atlanta and (formerly) Roseville offices, and I honestly believe OneWest issued FF a death sentence on Friday.

Whether the Atlanta office has a larger pipeline or more staff is irrelevant – the Atlanta office has always been ‘the fat’. It was never able to provide quality service to its internal and external customers, let alone produce quality loans for sale and insuring. I spent months and months cleaning up Atlanta’s backend, only to be barraged with new problems and harangued by senior management. Atlanta employees didn’t take pride in their work, nor were they held accountable; instead Ms. Minier and her #1 cronie pointed their finger at whichever manager had most recently left (voluntary or not), and rather than address the problem’s source, they brought in new cronies to cleanup. Prior to and after my departure from FF in 2007, there were major operational changes implemented in both offices to accomodate the ineptitude of the Atlanta ops center – e.g., implementing a 10-page funding checklist.

Although Mike Perry is no longer affiliated with FF, clearly his business politics live on. Reversemaniac was correct in stating FF is a dinosaur in need of a makeover; unfortunately, what happened yesterday was lethal injection. The ‘swift kick in the ass’ needed was to Mr. Perry, for thinking FF (or any RM company) could be run like any ol’ bank, for appointing Michelle Minier & other IMB ‘executives’ to run FF, and for slowly-but-surely ousting the truly talented staff that made FF great.

I am deeply saddened by the idiocracy of IMB and OneWest. My heart goes out to all of the FF employees, employed or not. Although I left, I wished nothing but continued success for FF – it was a wonderful company to me, and I regret that others won’t know the greatness that was Financial Freedom, S.F.C.
Shorty

Reversemortgagemaniac

Did u lose your prozac? Why would u call my co- workers and I old fat clunky dinosaurs?? You don’t know us at the rancho office. We were the stars and it is sad the financial freedom ship sunk. But I was and am proud to have gone down with it. Serving seniors will never be an old way of doing business and I am positive you will be one before me. I pray you have people like us when you need it. Your carma is in need of restoration right now.
Reversemaniac

Critic,

I am happy to see you threw away that ridiculous alias. You should get a job verifying facts for Wikipedia, you are so spot on. Although I may be off about the location of the offices, and a few other small details, it still does not change the fact that doing business in CA vs GA has huge dissadvantages, nor does it change the fact that FF was a clunky dinosaur that was run into the ground, much like yourself. Get over the apology to Wallace,it will never happen simply because you are the one asking. Bobble.

Again as I said before, if writing ability = HECM production, you’d be topping the charts. My editing skills may be poor, as are your producing skills, as evidenced by the enormous amount of time you spend on this site, vomitting useless questioning and information.

As for the HECM endorsement list, I make up about .5% with my actions. I doubt if you even make up 1/10000 of my production since all you do all day is sip on Jasmine tea and get off on correcting spelling errors on this site. You should get a job teaching 6 year olds how to write, with your editing ability. At least you would have some sort of contribution to this world, something which is obviously not happening with your Reverse Mortgage Production. FYI, I know the difference betwen a HECM and a RM. A HECM is a RM endorsed by HUD, of which you close about 1 every 12 months (and giving your mother a RM does not count, yes I am bringing mothers into this =). A RM does not exist in its Proprietary form, of which you were not closing any when they were still around.

Pull the stick out, pick up that dirty little thing you call a phone and spend less time annoying everyone on this site with your OCD, spell checking lameness and help get the word out about this product. Maybe then your voice will warrant some respect.

Bobble Bobble.

Rmaniac
Reversemaniac

Shorty,

I called your company a FAT CLUNKY DINOSAUR, because that is exactly what it was and is. You and your coworkers, were simply employees of this beast. You are right I don’t know you at you RC office, but I do know your company and being a “star” at that beast means very little to me, as well as new management. You may be right that they made a mistake in cutting your team, although the Cost of Origination in RC may not have made as much sense as the Cost to Originate in ATL, that is a fact, as is the fact that your company has lost business and volume during the past 12 months.

Let me ask, during that time were there previous layoffs to account for the drop in business? Because there should have been. Less volume = Less of a need for employees. Also my understanding is that IMB had a reverse mortgage division that merged with FF…which would have meant that you were overstaffed. Sorry but this is capitalism and if a company is overstaffed they need to make cuts. I am sorry if this came at your expense, and there is no question that new management needs to get rid of Michelle Minier and her pathetic team, they ruined a brand that as cluncky and weak as it was, owned this market at one point. Of course there was no competition so how could they have not.

RMANIAC
Reversemaniac

Critter aka Bobble aka Critic,

I found a great article about taking things too literally …made me think of you. Enjoy…

http://seriouslygoofy.wordpress.com/essays/taking-the-bible-literally/

You sound like one of these peeps. =)

RMAniAc!
Reversemaniac

Critter,

I never said FF will be operating at a profit….there you go again putting words in my mouth. If that company wanted a shot in hell of bringing back there old glory they would toss Minier out on her sorry underperforming ass and hire someone like me. I would turn that company around faster than you can spellcheck a blog. Of course they won’t do that, they will leave in that underperforming clog in the system, which most candidly resembles your production in RM and will more than likely dig the grave for this once giant. Too bad for FF, great for their competitors.

RmaNiac
Mr DE

Fact check-

IMB didnt have its own reverse mortgage to merger with FF. FF is (and always has been) the one and only reverse mortgage portion of IMB, now OneWest Bank.

Pardon my ingorance, but to my knowledge this “clunky dinosaur’ FF is still the nation’s leader in reverse mortgage servicing. Not bad for an old hag. Again, my unbiased take is the same- OneWest’s choice to close CA operations will hurt the long term viability of this once-legendary company. I really cannot see people in GA knowing anything about inflated collateral to the tune of what is know and seen on the west coast (CA, NV, AZ, etc).

From the people I have spoken with who have some kind of inside knowledge to this happening indicated the new company’s decision to close CA operations center for FF was to, in fact, slow production. Not sure what the sense of that is, yet, but this is what I hear. Any idea why they’d wish to slow production at FF?
Reversemaniac

Cry-tic,

Bobble Bobble Bobble Bobble. You are the mother Teresa of RM. Give us all a break. The fact of the matter is you may be a golden hearted soul doing your pious work with the AARP, but you still are annoying. I choose to not give you the details of my numbers because unlike yourself who dwells in the bottom 1% of HECM endorsements, my numbers would give away who I am.

I will leave it at that. I will tell you that I own a company that is a top 50 HECM producer for 2008-2009. I may sound apathetic, however I unlike yourself, will be hiring these displaced FF employees in the coming weeks. My company unlike FF is not a clunky dinosaur. I unlike you let my actions and productivity in our field have its affects in promoting this product and helping seniors. I am sure your clients , all 1 per 12 months, is very excited to know that you are who you are on this blog. You my friend are the Perez Hilton of RM. Only nobody cares. I am glad I make you laugh, because quite honestly , I get a great deal of pleasure reading your pathetic rants and hearing the peanut gallery on this site chime in. It is very nice to know you are all my competition, I look forward to leap frogging you and everyone else on the HECM endorsement list. Bobble Bobble.

rMMMMANNNNIAC!!!!!!
Cgirl

Reversemaniac you are an idiot!!! These are real people with real families. I would not work for you if you were the last Reverse Mortgage company in the world. I really truly feel sorry for your employees.

Critic is always here helping the board giving valuable information. His insights, are a direct representation of what this community is all about..THE SENIORS!!!! It’s not about who ranks the highest per month. Can’t you see that.

To all you displaced from Financial Freedom, good riddens! Everytime things like this have happened to me, I always say “It was meant to Be!” and more often than not things turn out for the better. My prayers are with you and your loved ones.
CCM

Reversemaniac,
If you are hiring, do you need call center staff? FF decimated the remains of the Irvine call center – I know there are 7 people looking for jobs right now…
Reversemaniac

Critter,

I would write a response to your nonsense, however I am working which is something that I know is very foriegn to you. Catch you on the flip side.

http://www.perezhilton.com

RMannnnniaaaaaaaaCCCCCCCCCCCC!
http://www.reversemortgage.org reversedude

Critic,

I don’t know who you are, but any discussion I’ve ever looked at, you’re posting multiple times, usually in a fight with somebody. I don’t necessarily agree with reversemaniac (even though he’s pretty much right) but what I do know is if you got off your ass and stopped spending all your time with these ridiculous posts of yours, maybe you’d originate some loans and make some money.
obvious

This has been coming for some time now. It would be foolish to believe that the changes are complete. The FF the industry once knew and owed thanks to has been laid to rest…Minier started the funeral proceedings once she took office.
ReverseAdvocate

As a former FF employee, I agree that there was a lot of fat to be trimmed. Not all “fat” is in the form of employees. “Fat” comes in many shapes and sizes. From a capitalist perspective, trimming the fat is sometimes what is best for the business … otherwise everyone suffers (for those of you who are anti-capitalists .. aka Democrats or Socialists … you probably will not understand this. My recommendation to you is to read Atlas Shrugged).

I also agree that FF was nothing more than a clunky dinosaur; however, I don’t agree that, from a service perspective, Rancho Cordova should have been the “fat” to be trimmed. Atlanta is by far the inferior operations center; but, cost is what drove this decision . . not service.

The good news . . those of us who landed on our feet with another RM company will gladly glean from the poor decisions made by OneWest Bank.

As for Michelle Minier, it does not surprise me that she read from a script (maybe like Barack Obama, she cannot speak from her own intelligence and simply needs the “teleprompter”). It is heartbreaking to look back and see how IndyMac Bank took a wonderful company and completely destroyed it. My condolences to all who are affected by this horrible event (employees and senior borrowers alike)!!
KRN

ReverseAdvocate:

Coming from a ‘socialist Democrat’… well said! You succinctly stated what some commentors have failed to recognize – “It is heartbreaking to look back and see how IndyMac Bank took a wonderful company and completely destroyed it. ” Best of luck in your endeavors at your new RM home
ReverseMortgageProfessional

I was one of the originators “let go” from FF back in the September layoff round. It too, was a blindsiding; via a conference call with 45 or so other RMS’s around the country; we had no idea what was coming. We were cut off from all resources, email, etc. as of 5 pm that night, although we were “technically” still employed by FF due to the WARN act. Not only the cold-bloodedness of the group conference call layoff, but the way they handled the money, as well as other things, has left a very, very bad taste in my mouth regarding FF. And I agree with previous postings, I am grateful that I was brought into this business and allowed to work with the people that made it what it is (or was); I’m grateful to have gotten to meet Jim Mahoney, he was an inspiring individual and the most real, accessible CEO I’ve ever heard of. But I should have seen the writing on the wall when he left; when Monte Rose left; when Gordon Jaus left…when countless others that had been in the business decided to leave. I am with a different company now, and am grateful to be there, because they are more like the “old” FF, the pre-IndyMac days, or so I am told. Anyway, I know it’s a horrible time for this to happen, but keep your chins up, those of you that got smacked down, and keep going. This may well turn out to be a very positive development for you.
ReverseMortgageProfessional

Oh, and maybe the people that are engaging in the back and forth stuff with each other can just exchange email addresses and do it in private? Unless the debate is of benefit to the rest of us…I stopped reading those posts about halfway through.
http://j4cows@yahoo.com JCook

Hi ReverseMortgageProfessional!

I agree with you and the call on 3/20/09 was unexpected for me as well. The statements we received was that financial freedom would be operated by one west bank the fact they planned to close the west coast operations was kept secret all of those months. I knew there would be some layoffs in the transition but I remained hopeful not imaging this large of scale. I am looking for a reverse mortgage company hiring in california. I believe in the product still and Bill Mahoney and bart Johnson’s original mission. I would like to stay in it, if possible and hopefully someday we will all work together again!

Take care and I hope what you said about this being a positive development comes true for us and the customers!

Jen Cook
Processor
http://j4cows@yahoo.com JCook

Hi ReverseMortgageProfessional!

I may have worked with you? I agree with you and the call on 3/20/09 was unexpected for me as well. The statements we received was that financial freedom would be operated by one west bank the fact they planned to close the west coast operations was kept secret all of those months. I knew there would be some layoffs in the transition but I remained hopeful not imaging this large of scale. I am looking for a reverse mortgage company hiring in california. I believe in the product still and Bill Mahoney and bart Johnson’s original mission. I would like to stay in it, if possible and hopefully someday we will all work together again!

Take care and I hope what you said about this being a positive development comes true for us and the customers!

Jen Cook
Processor
Pingback: Recent(ish) News: Financial Freedom Recently Acquired by IndyMac | Reverse Mortgage Observer
Elder Advocate

The bickering between certain responders is not helpful to persons seeking information about the recent Fannie Mae margin increase. I am not a mortgage broker but I am somewhat knowledgable about reverse mortgages. I work with seniors and I have a client who has applied for a reverse mortgage through a major regional bank. The bank loan officer just informed my client by telephone that his loan product was changed from the HECM 350 annual ARM to the HECM 450 annual ARM with no explanation as to why the change was being made. He advised my client that the only diffference with the new product is the margin used to calculate the interest rate…”everything else is the same”. In an email to me the same loan officer stated there was only one “change” to the client’s loan…”The margin used to calculate the interest rate is now 1% higher than it used to be (as of April 1). This change has caught all reverse mortgage lenders off guard as were not given a long enough lead time to complete transactions we had in process before April 1st”. He goes on to say that the client will have the same amount of money to access, however, his 1st year rate is now 5.1% instead of 4.1%. I reviewed the new disclosure forms and it was shocking to see how much of this new 1% margin rate affected my client’s loan. The available principal limit dropped by almost $30,000. The monthly advance dropped by $150/per month and the remaining equity in the home decreased significantly. I have been searching the Internet to educate myself as to reasons for the change. This web site/blog has been helpful to me in learning about Fannie Mae’s reasons and the actions taken by Financial Freedom. However, today, I am getting a headache reading the bickering between several responders. To an outsider, it is very unprofessional and juvenile sounding. If you dislike each other so much and need to name call, etc., please contact each other by your personal emails and please do not clutter this website/blog with your brickering.
James E. Veale, CPA, MBT

Elder Advocate,

Any experienced HECM loan officer in this industry knows a 1% increase in the margin will:

• Generally lower the principal limit unless the expected interest rate before the increase is below 5.5% and after the increase is still below 5.5% or only slightly above 5.5% — without even running the calculations.

• In all cases lower the servicing fee set aside.

• Generally lower tenure payments.

It is not always true that a higher margin will result in lower equity. It all depends on whether the borrower will take out the maximum proceeds at funding. If the amount of money is to be the same in any scenarios, then naturally the total accrued interest and MIP will always higher if the margin is higher. But to fully understand the situation of the senior you mention, more information is needed.

There are at least three distinct ways to look at the manner that the loan officer (“LO”) treated the elder you mention:

• First the loan officer was so inexperienced that the LO missed the impact of a 1% rise in the margin. But in that case where was that LO’s supervisor who is training the LO and should have reviewed the email?

• The LO was not thinking and did not think the whole thing through.

• The LO wanted to hide what had happened from the senior so that if the senior failed to review the loan docs and just signed the redisclosures then the borrower would hopefully not notice the actual changes.

Personally I have a problem with any of the three items cited above. The first shows a lack of supervision; the second, incompetence; and the third, deceit. All three are cause for lender action against the LO (or the LO’s supervisor).

This LO should be reported to the LO’s supervisor and any state licensing agency the LO may be originating reverse mortgages under. Further, the LO should be reported to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association and the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is a definite violation of the lender’s fiduciary responsibility of overseeing its originators. If the LO had said that the margin increases the interest rate and that was it, even though the statement was incomplete and not informative, it is not nearly as damaging as claiming that the increase will increase the interest rate but will not change anything else.

Being a senior advocate, please advocate on behalf of the senior.

It is a shame you got a headache from reading the bickering you mention, but if reading taht particular thread caused your headache, then the easiest way to avoid such headaches in the future is not to read them in the first place.

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