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Top reverse mortgage lender American Advisors Group has expanded its product offerings to include VA loans. The move is part of the lender’s effort to rebrand as a holistic provider of home equity solutions.
AAG, which boasts actor Tom Selleck as its spokesperson, is a goliath in the HECM space with 25% of market share, firmly owning the top-lender slot.
But business has been rough in the HECM space, prompting the lender to make a major move it had long considered.
Spurred by drastic HECM program changes in 2017, AAG pivoted away from its reverse-only focus, announcing a rebrand earlier this year that includes an expanded product offering with the goal of helping America’s seniors “retire better.”
Now, the company offers traditional mortgage products, FHA-backed reverse mortgages, non-agency jumbo reverses, VA loans and real estate services tailored specifically to help seniors purchase or sell their homes.
“We were not achieving velocity or increasing market penetration by being 100% HECM-focused,” AAG CEO Reza Jahangiri told HousingWire. “Considering that half of the nation’s seniors experience a decline in their standard of living in retirement, with many relying solely on Social Security for income, this just wasn’t acceptable. We decided it was time to come at it a different way, to open more doors.”
AAG said that folding VA loans into its product suite will open more doors for veterans, giving them a chance to purchase or refinance with the loan, or choose from other AAG products to access their home equity.
“Adding the VA loan was a natural expansion for AAG. There are millions of older veterans in this country who represent a significantly underserved demographic,” Jahangiri said. “By offering veterans more ways to extract their home equity, we are empowering them to chart their own course in retirement, whether that means moving to a more senior-friendly home, getting in-home care, or simply maintaining their independence and quality of life in retirement.”
According to a report by the Housing Assistance Council, 13 million veterans are 55 or older, and the percentage of veterans 85 or older is expected to nearly double from 2013 to 2033.
The demographics spell major opportunity for AAG, which says it connects with tens of thousands of seniors every month.
“The men and women who served our country deserve to retire with dignity and respect,” said Selleck, who is also a spokesperson for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. “As a veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard, I’m proud to represent a company like AAG that’s committed to improving the quality of life of older veterans.”
