Figuring Out the People in Your Mortgage: Originator

Your originator is the person who sets your loan in motion. The originator meets with you to determine whether the loan you’ve decided on is really the best for your unique circumstances, helps you fill out the application, and submits it to the underwriters (who verify your information) and the lender (who actually signs your checks). You’ll probably have at least two meetings with the originator: one to fill out the application and another to finalize details at closing. However, most people end up at their originator’s office three, four, or more times over the course of their loan process. You may not choose a loan to apply to right away, have questions regarding your loan in progress, need to bring in additional information, or a whole host of other reasons to visit. That’s why you and your originator become such close friends before your loan is completed.

Time is money, and although originators don’t charge by the hour, there are fees involved for originators’ services. Many of the fees you see on the Good Faith Estimate originators are required to provide are additional closing costs unrelated to the originator’s efforts. A Good Faith Estimate lists all of the approximate costs involved in getting your loan, from appraisal services to stamps. All told, these fees can add up to several thousand dollars. That’s a whole lotta cash to plunk down all at once, and the originators and lenders realize that it may present a burden. After all, if you had a few thousand dollars to spend, you may not need this loan. Because of this, you can roll the amount of most, if not all of your fees and closing costs into your loan. That way, the costs are absorbed into the reverse mortgage and become spread out over several years.

Finding a reverse mortgage originator is easy once you know where to look. Keep these points in mind when you’re narrowing down the search:
Originators should be experienced in reverse mortgages.

Do not pick a traditional loan originator, because they probably don’t have the expertise that a reverse mortgage originator has.

While it’s not a requirement, you may feel better if your originator is a member of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). They have access to all kinds of resources and materials that others may not.

Your originator should be patient, never pressure you, and encourage your family to attend your meetings (if you feel comfortable having them there).

Most of all, you have to feel comfortable with your originator. If he or she doesn’t feel like someone you’d trust with your future financial well being, trust your instincts. You won’t hurt his or her feelings.