Top 10 reverse mortgage lender Liberty Reverse Mortgage, a division of PHH Mortgage Corporation, has been named a 2023 affiliate of the year by the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB).
The award is descended from a recent partnership that NAMB and Liberty entered into for the development of new educational materials about reverse mortgage loans. It also includes a NAMB-sponsored reverse mortgage certification — Certified Reverse Mortgage Specialist (CREV) — to support NAMB members adding the products to their own offerings.
Liberty was selected for the award by the association’s award committee earlier this month at NAMB’s national conference, which took place Sept. 8-11 in Las Vegas.
“We congratulate Liberty Reverse Mortgage on being named NAMB’s 2023 Affiliate Company of the Year,” said NAMB President Ernest Jones Jr. in a statement. “This honor is a testament to their efforts in supporting the goals, projects, and activities of NAMB, as well as helping make the CREV program a tremendous success. We look forward to our continued partnership with Liberty.”
Liberty itself is also enthusiastic about both the award and the partnership, according to Robert Ross, VP of third-party originations at Liberty/PHH.
“We are honored to have been recognized by NAMB as Affiliate Company of the Year. We are proud of our relationship with NAMB and the wealth of knowledge and resources it offers to the broker community nationwide,” Ross said. “We are excited to leverage our reverse mortgage expertise to help educate brokers on safely originating the product to reach and serve senior homeowners who want to access their home equity to meet their retirement needs.”
The partnership and certification program development was first announced by both organizations in March. This was followed at the national conference itself by featuring a more substantive reverse mortgage presence this year, including a series of professional development opportunities it has made available to members.
These include material related to two new designations: Certified FHA Mortgage Specialist (CFMP) and CREV, which both featured courses for attendees on-site.
The event also featured other informational sessions hosted by Liberty/PHH executive Mike Kent and Plaza Home Mortgage VP of Reverse Mortgages Mark Reeve. The first CREV class took place led by Liberty’s Director of Training Jud Lyman.
That class included information related to age, property and home equity requirements; information about how loan amounts are determined; the importance of the product type; potential impacts of a credit report on a reverse loan; sales tips and best practices for working with borrowers of HECM-qualifying age; and insight into “overcoming objections and working through underwriting issues.”
