“Making the transition from our own technology to working with Mortgage Cadence will allow us to focus on our business processes and strategies,” said Mark Sohl, Chief Operating Officer from Generation Mortgage, in a statement. “The ability to leverage Mortgage Cadence will enable us to focus our time and energy on continuing to provide the superior customer service in which we pride ourselves.”

By upgrading to this product suite, top-ten reverse mortgage lender Generation now has “complete and comprehensive system integration” that promises “greater efficiency and scalability in multiple business channels under the umbrella of a single solution,” according to Mortgage Cadence.

Mortgage Cadence touts its technology as enabling lenders to streamline processes and refocus attention on growing their business and increasing overall profitability.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Generation says the expansion will help retail outreach in the nation’s third most populous state. Led by Ed O’Connor, the company’s eastern regional manager, the New York operation looks to secure Generation as a top-5 reverse mortgage lender.

“With more than 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, and former President of Advanced Funding Solutions Inc., a reverse mortgage broker based out of New York, I’m very excited to come on board with this industry leader,” said O’Connor.

The office currently employs five loan officers and additional staff with plans to expand. Generation is currently hiring experienced loan officers for the New York office, within the Tri-State area and throughout the entire country, O’Connor told RMD.

“The timing has turned out to be very good because of [large bank exits],” he says. “We didn’t know those things were going to happen, but the timing is good. The industry needs some stability.”

Written by Elizabeth Ecker

Prior to joining Generation, Anderson worked as an Account Manager for both Premier and E*Trade Financial. With five years of experience in the reverse mortgage industry, Generation calls her a “proven performer” at partnering with her clients to grow their businesses.

“I’m looking forward to working with the Generation Mortgage team, known for their superior customer service, to help build their business and share industry expertise with our partners,” says Anderson.

Anderson, a California native, graduated witha degree in Business Administration from California State University, Fullerton.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

The national retail division will have two retail leaders: one will be in California, and the other in New York. Generation has hired Ed O’Connor as East Coast regional manager, where he will recruit and manage all loan officers in the eastern half of the country. Ed is former president of New York-based Advanced Funding Solutions.

Additionally, Kevin Kaltenbach will serve as O’Connor’s West Coast counterpart. Kaltenbach has as history of leadership within Generation in its California national retail division team.

Before it can do new business in New York, Generation is awaiting the official approval of its branch there, which it expects to obtain very soon.

The Atlanta-based lender closed 1,414 reverse mortgage loans in 2010.

Written by Elizabeth Ecker

The awards will help not only company recognition, but also positive recognition for the entire reverse mortgage industry, Generation says.

“Winning these awards means Generation Mortgage is doing a terrific job of living up to our company mission of setting the standards for customer service excellence in our industry,” says the company’s chairman, Jeff Lewis, who also recently replaced former CEO Scott Peters in the chief executive position. “We fully believe the recognition we receive from the BBB carries strong credibility among our senior audience, as well as the industry at large.”

Lewis believes garnering these local awards will help shape the overall image of the reverse mortgage industry.

“Generation Mortgage was selected for these BBB Torch Awards from a list of companies representing diverse industries,” he says.  ”Winning awards for marketplace ethics, customer service and community service contribute greatly to demonstrating that seniors can do business with a reverse mortgage provider that’s trustworthy, ethical and customer-focused.”

Client testimonials and documentation of business practices applicable to the specific categories are used to determine which local businesses should receive each award; Generation Mortgage placed first for the Customer Service and Marketplace Ethics awards, and was first runner up for the Community Service award.

This is the second year in a row Generation has won the annual BBB Torch Awards, and the company says this signifies its good relationship with the BBB. In December 2009, Generation Mortgage earned the Bureau’s highest accreditation rating of A+.

Generation has endorsed a steadily growing number of reverse mortgages throughout the past year with 164 in March 2011, according to ReverseBase. In November 2010, Reverse Mortgage Insight ranked the company in the top five retail reverse mortgage providers in the U.S.

The company’s press release can be seen here.

Written by Alyssa Gerace

Generation, a Top-10 lender and the largest privately-owned reverse mortgage company in the U.S., has opened a branch office in San, Juan, Puerto Rico, to market and service reverse mortgage loans throughout the island.

“We’re very excited about being the first Top-10 reverse mortgage lender to open a retail branch in Puerto Rico,” said Scott Peters, President and CEO of Generation Mortgage. “Puerto Rico boasts a home ownership rate of 74% versus 67% in the United States. Additionally, 29% of the households in Puerto Rico have at least one person 65 and older compared to 23% in the U.S. We’ll be providing older homeowners in Puerto Rico a safe way to access the equity in their home to obtain cash for use as they think best, and still remain in their home.”

Luis Alberto De Jesús will lead the Puerto Rico operation for Generation. De Jesús brings experience from Senior Mortgage Bankers, where he aided in expanding the reverse mortgage business to the territory.

“It’s tremendously exciting to bring to the Puerto Rican market a financial solution that could literally change the life of a senior in financial need, and Generation Mortgage has a long and proud history of being the leader in customer service in this industry,” he said.

The company says it expects to grow volume to serve the population and staff accordingly.

Generation will face strong competition in Puerto Rico where two lenders occupy the lion’s share of the market there. Money House Inc. posted 587 reverse mortgage loans in 2010 and Senior Mortgage Bankers Inc. closed 561, according to data from ReverseBase. The third-largest lender there closed 120 loans during the year.

Atlanta-based Generation closed 1,414 reverse mortgages in 2010, according to ReverseBase.

Written by Elizabeth Ecker

RMI has tracked the declining number of originators in the industry for some time, but the TPO originations by non-FHA approved originators (working through an approved sponsor) have the potential to offset that trend, RMI says, showing “dramatic” growth in March. (See a RMI’s chart tracking TPO performance.)

For wholesale leaders, four of the top 10 lenders saw 12-month highs in March as the industry set its own high water mark, RMI reports. Of those lenders, Wells Fargo was responsible for 31.9% of all loans through retail and wholesale channels, which is above the lender’s 12-month share average of 26.4%. Other lenders noted by RMI were Generation, nearing 10% of market share; One Reverse, which has been growing its direct lending business and shows 5% market share; and Sun West, which is back in the top 10 for the first time since November.

RMI notes that non-FHA approved TPO originators cannot yet be tracked individually, but expects the data will be available within a few months.

View the Reverse Market Insight report.

Written by Elizabeth Ecker

During the call, representatives from HUD indicated the Federal Register Notice that is to contain details on the assessment for HECM borrowers has yet to enter departmental clearance. This seems to put it slightly behind schedule based on the latest time frame RMD received from the FHA.

When RMD spoke with FHA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single-Family Housing, Vicki Bott, in early March, Bott indicated the rule was being written and could hit the street within 45-60 days. Once the notice is released, a comment period will follow, Bott told RMD.

Regarding the financial assessment, Jeff Lewis, chairman of Generation Mortgage said an assessment is useful—to an extent.

“We are anxious to have the tools to prevent future tax and insurance problems. Escrows and Set-asides could be very useful. We would just like to avoid a scenario where to prevent a problem, we overdo the restrictions,” he says.  ”If issuers and underwriters were simply given the freedom to financially underwrite as they see fit, the marketplace will reduce the tax and insurance problem without going too far. Issuers have tremendous incentive to keep defaults out of their pools.”

A pilot program introduced earlier this year to work with T&I borrowers has helped to improve response rates according to people on the call.  However, many quesitons remain about how the process should work and the industry is working to develop a standard practice that complies with HUD guidelines.

Written by Elizabeth Ecker