A primary way in which the reverse mortgage industry moves forward its business goals is by enlisting outside partners, from business vendors to referral partnerships. QC Ally, an enterprise loan quality and audit services provider, has increased its involvement in the industry recently.
The company’s chief innovation officer, Kristin Broadley, sat down with RMD to discuss her perspectives on the reverse mortgage industry, the partnership potential, and the future prospects in a new episode of The RMD Podcast.
Learning about reverse
Broadley joined QC Ally in 2022 after 20 years with Rocket Mortgage. Rocket’s reverse mortgage division, One Reverse Mortgage, ceased activity in early 2020, just prior to the pandemic.
While at Rocket, Broadley learned about the reverse mortgage product and its potential.
“Reverse has always been one of those financial products that has tugged at your heartstrings,” she said. “People who know clients, [or] who have had family members who understand the product and how it can benefit an aging population, it’s a little bit of a passion product. So that’s how I was first introduced to it.”
A leader at QC Ally, Broadley also noted the company’s interest and involvement in the space.
“Now as chief innovation officer at QC Ally, I am heavily focused on the quality control space, and that includes reverse,” she said. “So, we want to make sure that when it comes to the manufacturing health of the origination process, the servicing process, all of those things that benefit clients, lenders and servicers, we want to be a part of that solution as well.”
Understanding the potential
Broadly said her understanding about reverse mortgages prior to Quicken/Rocket was virtually nonexistent. As she familiarized herself with it, however, she grew to understand its potential and the unique challenges.
“Once I started to familiarize myself with the reverse product, I understood the stigma that was attached to it, which is another hurdle that the industry has made extraordinary strides in overcoming,” she said. “And I still think there’s opportunity there as well. And then once I understood the product [and] had that level of knowledge, all of those things went away. And I wondered to myself, ‘Why isn’t this more widespread and mainstream? And why aren’t more folks originating this?’”
Learning about the loan’s complexity helped to answer some questions.
“It has been an evolution of my knowledge base when it comes to reverse over the course of many years,” she said.
Immersed in reverse
Attending the NRMLA conference earlier this month was eye-opening, Broadley said, due in large part to conversations held with industry professionals in attendance.
“What was reinforced is that the folks that are focused in the reverse space are passionate,” she said. “They’re very, very passionate individuals about the product, and they’re passionate about the borrowers. You’re talking about a forward process that is under 30 days, but a reverse process can be extended. You’re talking to clients, you’re helping them understand a complex financial transaction. And it can [have] a lot more touch points.”
The more consultative interactions between reverse professionals and borrowers are a hallmark of the reverse mortgage business, she said.
“The folks that I talked to are committed to those interactions to help borrowers as best they can,” she said. “So that passion really showed itself, and those folks that were sitting at those tables, that were participating in the panels that were helping educate the community at NRMLA, you could see it.”
As dominant as the forward side is, Broadley said she found the passion exhibited by reverse mortgage professionals to be unique.
“You get certain passion in the forward space, but it’s just a little different because the clientele is very different in the reverse space,” she said.
