Posted by NJW/FL on 2/7/09 3:19pm
Msg #276837

Reverse Mortgages

I have done quite a few Reverse Mortgages and find that the signings usually take 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Some agencies try to pay the same as a single re-fi in my experience. I have now requested more for the Reverse Mortgages due to the amount of time they take. Has anyone else had similar experiences? I read the threads regarding the borrowers not knowing much about what they are signing, etc. In some instances I have found that to be true and that is part of the reason the signings take so long. They have to phone their loan officer for many explanations. One yesterday went 2 1/2 hrs. with 45 minutes of that time that the borrower was on the phone with the loan officer. When I left there I had a call from a different signing agency to do another Reverse mtge today for only $90. I told them no, as it was not enough for the amount of time it takes. Too unpredictable especially when you have another appt scheduled after that one.

Reply by Todd/OH on 2/7/09 4:46pm
Msg #276845

I always charge more for a reverse mortgage for those reasons. If I find out later that it was a reverse mortgage, I'm on the phone right away telling the signing company that my invoice must be adjusted. They take longer and there's more paperwork.

Reply by Richard Ingram on 2/7/09 5:27pm
Msg #276849

I did a Reverse yesterday and spent 2 hours. Had one son present and had to spend another 30 minutes on the phone with another son. Borrower had to take two breaks from signing due to being exhausted. I had to tell her on each document the date to print and the smell and overall environment was sickening. I always quote $150.00 but have found that some of the SS will try to not tell you that it is a Reverse.
Also, having to come back and fax 40 pages should be another charge which generally includes waiting on final approval to get the shipping label.
If signing agents would hold out for $175.00 minimum for Reverse Mortgages the Broker's making the big fees would wake up to the additional work required on Reverse Mortgages. I did one last month with an 87 year old man in the hospital and spent nearly 3 hours.
These companies depend on signing agents to get their final product but don't think enough of us to adequately compensate us.

Reply by Maureen_nh on 2/7/09 6:03pm
Msg #276851

I hope you meant that you had to point out that the doc needed a date and not that she couldn't remember the date from one doc to the next.

Reply by jba/fl on 2/7/09 6:57pm
Msg #276853

I take a piece of paper, regular size folded in half like tent, write date in marker and place in center of table. That way one can glance and refresh their memory. Sad to say, helps me too when someone starts talking...lol.

Reply by Bravo on 2/7/09 8:05pm
Msg #276860

You are absolutely right about signing agents charging more for their services. I still have a few of the agencies attempting to get me to travel 50 miles for a $50 fee. If we all took a stand in this regard it would be better for all of us. I also feel that if we required payment upfront instead of being made to wait for 2 months for payment, it would serve us well. When I am contacted to perform a rush signing job, drop everything, download and copy a 150 page loan package and dash out to a borrowers home, I do it efficiently and quickly because I have been hired to perform a job. I am finding however that when it is time to get paid for my services, suddenly my services weren't all that valuable!

Reply by MW/VA on 2/7/09 6:55pm
Msg #276852

I can't imagine spending 2 1/2 hrs. on any signing. In my experience RM's haven't taken a lot longer. My usual signing time is about 40 minutes, and RM's may take 10-20 minutes longer. I did an RM application that took almost as long as a signing. One of the borrowers signed with an x, and daughter witnessed. I think I learned am important lesson recently, in that I will ask if they have any physical limitations in signing a lot of paperwork (arthritis, etc.) Otherwise, I don't treat the RM clients differently than anyone else. Everyone deserves the same amount of respect & consideration.
I do need to add that I also advise the company hiring me that I can't do it for a regular fee, and add at least $25. I was getting $150 for RM's consistently, but the market has changed and there aren't many companies out there willing to pay $150 for anything right now.

Reply by A S Johnson on 2/7/09 7:41pm
Msg #276858

My fee is $150 plus travel at $30 per 50 miles RT.
And, YES most SS want you to do them for less than $100.

Reply by Bravo on 2/7/09 8:00pm
Msg #276859

I have discovered that the best thing to help you in deciding whether or not to accept a Rev. Mtg. signing job is to inquire of the company hiring you as to whether or not the borrowers have completed their mortgage counseling session. If they say no, then bow out of the job. (Normally this causes the inexperienced signing agency to make a call to the loan broker to inquire.)

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 2/7/09 8:09pm
Msg #276861

I always thought that the borrowers had to

show proof of completion of their counseling before the lender would approve the loan...

All the rev. mortgages I've done, the borrowers have been very well informed - never had one that had no idea what they were signing...but I, too, allot more time for most of these as sometimes they do take quite a bit longer - my longest was 3 hours at the table - two elderly ladies, one the caretaker for the other - talk, chat, sign, answer the phone, call the LO, etc., etc..

Ya just do what ya gotta do...

Reply by Shoshana Roller on 2/7/09 8:37pm
Msg #276869

I agree with you Linda.

They must have the counseling session before the docs are drawn. I find that most FHA loans take more time than reverse mortgages.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 2/8/09 2:40am
Msg #276871

<chuckle> I can clean the kitchen, do the laundry, and

wash all the windows in the time it takes to *print* FHA package...and I have a big daddy printer.

I do love reverse mortgage signings. So many wonderful people, great stories, interesting homes.

This business is a such a great one. There is a freedom of movement, it's extremely social, and us genuinely beneficial, for the most part.

We have the same gremlins attacking equipment, same collection woes, and the same variations of satisfaction.

But, our entire economy is in shambles. Neighborhoods of all walks of life are in shambles; failing. Our work is sporatic, payments from the smaller services are more precarious, and banks are closing from coast to coast and border to border.

Those of us who depend on our incomes for subsistance are facing ever-shrinking incomes until the banks start lending (the gazillions of bucks they're getting) and people start back to work to create the demand for goods and services, like ours.

Every country runs on paychecks. Educated, and exprienced labor has value, as has newbies in trainingdom (our minimum wage - or in our case, entry-level offers.) From motel maids to CEOs. Corporations, and their Masters of the Universe now receiving our grandchildnren's bounty are forgetting that. Tax cuts for the rich are why we're losing jobs nationwide at a faster rate than in anytime in history.

No jobs = no demand. I've noticed many changes in my neighborhoods; so many 'for sale' signs, so many local businesses closing down. State and Municipal services cutting more and more; schools losing teachers, classified workers; courts cutting days; fire and police protection shrinking; and foreclosure auctions. Homeless families are rising, no low-income housing is being built anywhere. We pay over $5K/yr property taxes and don't have a sewer system yet (which is adding to the problems of lake pollution...)

Anyhoo, as it has been proven, tax cuts for the rich don't translate into anything 'trickling down.' The abyss between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' just grows. If people don't have jobs, there isn't a demand for the goods/services there are left to buy. And the rich and wealthy? They have their 'gated communities.'

As I see it, a real stimulous puts people to work, whether it's a motel maid, waiter, cab driver, school teacher, park maintenance worker, stationery store owner, shoe store owner, trucker, engineer, civil service worker - so many people willing to earn a paycheck - so they can buy stuff, build stuff, and make life better all the way around. Pump money into the Sates, and Neighborhoods. Into school and fire districts, into training programs and food stamps.

Give billions more to the rich, or spend all the billions creating jobs, a bunch at a time, in all facets of commerce, health, manufacturing, education, energy, fixing our infrastructures - the list goes on. Jobs.

Sorry for the hi-jack...but it's impacting so much more than our work.

Reply by PAW on 2/8/09 7:10am
Msg #276872

Not always

Privately funded (non-government) reverse mortgages do not require the counseling. It is up to the lender to set the rules. With HUD/FHA approved and guaranteed mortgages, the counseling is required. I have found that some counselors are better than others, as are some homeowners. Most Financial Freedom and Wells Fargo RM homeowners seem to be pretty well counseled overall.