Welcome to the new ReverseReview.com! Fall is a season of change, and we took that idea to heart at The Reverse Review as we set out to make some exciting transformations to our magazine’s website. Our team has worked diligently these past few months to create a site where readers can access our publication’s online content easily in a sleek, clean and well-organized format. Take a moment to peruse our archives and read important stories from past editions, and be sure to check out our new October issue, accessible directly from our homepage.
At The Reverse Review, our goal is to provide a forum for reverse professionals to discuss important issues affecting the space. We invite our readers to comment online and start the conversation so that through lively discussion and respectful debate, we can grow together as an industry to better serve the senior community.
Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time, Jessica Linn Guerin Editor-in-chief
Want to talk to Jessica? Email her at [email protected].
A Note from the Publisher
As November’s presidential election approaches, I have speculated along with many in the industry what impact the outcome will have on the HECM program.
Over the last three years, I have had the chance to visit with more than 100 members of congress and their staff on Capitol Hill. The thing that has been most revealing to me is the fact that the HECM program genuinely garners bipartisan support. This dynamic is more intuitive than most people suggest. Many tend to get caught up in pointing out the various differences between the two parties, and they fail to acknowledge that both parties actually agree on the basic principles behind the HECM. We need a program to assist the growing senior population so they can retire comfortably, and that need defies party lines.
The HECM program is insured by the government, and this insurance enables the private sector to allow seniors to tap into their own home equity in order to age in place. For the past 23 years, this has been accomplished without leaving the tab for us taxpayers to pick up. I cannot think of a better example of the government and the private sector collaborating effectively to provide a valuable tool for an important segment of the population.
Yes, the Democrats are more focused on the regulatory aspect of the industry and want to make sure there is little room for fraud and abuse. And yes, the Republicans are primarily concerned about preserving the FHA insurance fund. And yes, one can argue that both sides have valid concerns. But at the end of the day, both parties want to provide assistance to seniors and spur growth in the economy, and the HECM is a great example of a program that accomplishes both.
So if you are like me and you need things to obsess about at night, I think this election and its potential impact on our industry is one item you can take off the list.
Reza Jahangiri Senior Publisher
Want to talk to Reza? Email him at reza@reversereview.com.
