New reverse mortgage industry entrant Mid America Mortgage has selected the loan origination system (LOS) created by San Diego-based ReverseVision, ReverseVision Exchange (RVX), to support its introduction of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and proprietary reverse mortgage offerings.
As a relatively new player overall but with an experienced reverse mortgage industry participant at the helm, Mid America sees an opening to grow its reverse business in a couple of specific areas, according to Dan Barksdale, director of HECM lending at Mid America Mortgage.
“We believe the partnership will allow us to best execute our Simple Reverse program,” Barksdale tells RMD in an email. “Simple Reverse is a program for traditional brokers without experience in reverse to partner with our Loan Officers to originate a HECM.”
While Mid America had previously developed its own LOS for its forward mortgage business, selecting RVX for its HECM and proprietary reverse mortgage products will help Mid America’s new reverse mortgage division achieve its goals as it more solidly enters the proverbial “arena” of the reverse mortgage business landscape.
“The ReverseVision platform is designed for traditional lenders to leverage the very best aspects of senior lending products, both HECMs and private reverse mortgages,” said John Button, president and CEO at ReverseVision in a statement to RMD. “As a lender that strives to serve every borrower effectively, we are thrilled Mid America has chosen ReverseVision’s platform to get senior lending programs in front of even more borrowers.”
With Mid America’s pre-existing niche of exploring business opportunities in underserved market sectors, the reverse mortgage industry is a prime candidate for further growing Mid America’s business opportunities according to owner and CEO Jeff Bode.
“Mid America has always sought opportunities to establish itself in underserved areas of the market, and reverse mortgages are a prime example, said Bode in a press release announcing the pact. “Adding reverse mortgages to our existing product mix allows us to better cater to the unique financial needs of senior borrowers and foster customer retention by offering financial products relevant to borrowers at every stage in life. Given ReverseVision’s reputation in the reverse mortgage space, we knew the firm was the only partner we could trust to power our reverse division.”
Previously housed at Nashville, Tenn.-based FirstBank, the reverse mortgage team now at Mid America Mortgage transitioned to its new home this past May. It is led by Barksdale, who previously served as FirstBank’s VP director of specialty products.
Last time Barksdale spoke with RMD, he related that the search for additional reverse personnel had just begun, as the division turned its attention to establishing itself in the space.
“Our ideal volume is going to somewhere around 20-30 [monthly] units [by the end of 2018], that’s where we want to be in the next 18 months,” Barksdale told RMD in May. “So, we’re not looking for world domination. We’re not looking to do 200 loans or to compete with [bigger players].”
Now, the division is off to a healthy start, Barksdale tells RMD.
“We now have 14 loan officers in eight states, and are actively recruiting to add more,” Barksdale says.
