Terry Schmidt says the Guild is seeing more interest in reverse mortgages
CEO Terry Schmidt said in a statement Wednesday that Guild's reverse mortgage division continues to contribute to company-wide strategies and has seen additional interest in reverse.
Guild's existing reverse mortgage division expanded its reverse mortgage operations this year. The California-based lender recently introduced a Flex Payment Mortgage package designed to broaden the appeal of its counteroffers to more potential partners.
When asked during the earnings call about what the company is seeing in the credit space, Schmidt said the opposite opportunities are emerging.
“We have a fairly broad product base, and conversely, we've seen that increase in recent months, so it's going in the right direction,” he said. “Our second (foreclosure) programs have been really successful, so those with equity (homeowners) have an option there if rates stay at 0.”
Schmidt added that the Guild is “really focused” and emphasizes the importance of a local presence in communities to capture market share for “the homebuyer of the future.”
“We think there is more opportunity and we will continue to focus on that,” he said.
In the past, Schmidt has characterized the company's reverse channel presence as a key contributor to Guild's “customer for life” strategy. It wants options available for first-time buyers, as well as age-appropriate offerings for one's later years. These include home equity and reverse mortgage products available to homeowners 62 and older through the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage () program.
“With Cherry Creek, (our interest) was the opposite,” Schmidt by The Gathering HousingWire. “We've got a good reverse mortgage division at Guild now, and they're doing really great hiring there, so we're learning a lot.”
According to him, the reverse channel gives the Guild a chance to serve more customers for a longer period of time.
“A large percentage of customers are reaching an age where (reverse mortgages) may be their next type of transaction,” he said. “Aging and demographics (provide) great opportunities. It's a great product, so we see it as a growing niche.”
Jim Cory, managing director of HousingWire's Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD) Guild's reverse division, said the company's overall investment is evident in the reverse division itself.
“The company made a huge investment in contrast,” Cory said in September. “We service most of our loans conventionally and on the reverse side. 'Customer for life' is something that speaks volumes about the Guild even before this reverse section is added, and it means the perfect combination of a customer for life (to win business).”
He added that incorporating reflection is essential to this business strategy.
“I always like to say that if you don't have a reverse mortgage offer, you can't really provide a 'customer for life,'” Corey explained. “So our unit is a perfect fit for that. Our marketing team is world-class and does all kinds of amazing work, and we're just starting to take advantage of that with reverse mortgages.”
