Top-5 reverse mortgage lender Urban Financial today announced it has hired Sherry Apanay, former Generation executive vice president to run its retail and wholesale sales channels. Additionally, the company announced it has hired former EquiPoint Financial acting president, Kristen Sieffert, to oversee project management of its call centers. “At Urban, we’re intent on growing loan [...]

In case you missed it…here’s what happened in reverse mortgage news this week. Urban Financial finalized its acquisition of Guardian First Funding, along with its Robert Wagner campaign. Backed by Knight Capital Group (NYSE: KCG), the acquisition brings Guardian’s call center-driven retail model and rights to its Robert Wagner marketing campaign to the Urban Financial [...]

Urban Financial Group has finalized a deal this week to acquire Guardian First Funding Group for an undisclosed sum. Backed by Knight Capital Group (NYSE: KCG ), the acquisition brings Guardian’s call center-driven retail model and rights to its Robert Wagner marketing campaign to the Urban Financial brand and operations. Urban announced the deal in October, [...]

Urban Financial Group is the first lender to receive its Ginnie Mae HMBS issuer approval after the agency lifted the moratorium at the end of last year. The addition of Urban brings the total number of approved HMBS issuers to 10 according to a Ginnie Mae spokesperson. Earlier this year, GNMA increased net worth requirements [...]

As the secondary market for reverse mortgages continues to fluctuate, the importance of how much it costs to generate a lead has never been greater.  In theory, with margins coming down, the cost of buying leads should follow. “They’re so expensive with where the margins are right now,” says Josh Shein, President of Great Oak Lending [...]

Only a few months after the release of the HECM Saver in October 2010, the new product is gaining traction with some lenders, while others are just starting to turn their attention to the low cost reverse mortgage product. Different than the Federal Housing Administration’s HECM Standard, the Saver provides consumers access to a reverse [...]