Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Walton.
Hi Kevin, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I have been in consumer and real estate lending for 35 years starting with ITT Financial and Beneficial Consumer Finance which gave me an introduction to real estate lending. From there I went into conventional retail and wholesale estate lending where I have remained since. I stumbled into the reverse mortgage in 2008 during the mortgage meltdown.
While working in the wholesale market, I would go door to door soliciting mortgage loan brokers to fund their loans during the stated income aka “liar loan” era. Brokers could just fill in whatever income they wanted for borrowers who fit an “acceptable” credit and equity/down payment profile and most lenders accepted the income and would not ask for income documentation to verify the written in income figure.
But…at the bottom of the application, there was a statement that said the income must be reasonable for their job description.
One time I was looking over a loan a broker gave me and it had an older couple with one applicant working at a Hallmark store as a cashier making 10k/month. I advised the broker that isn’t reasonable income and this is more of a reverse mortgage type of borrower.
the broker said “what’s a reverse mortgage?” I didn’t know exactly how they worked either. So I said, let me come to your next loan originator meeting, and will tell you how a reverse works. I had been trying for months to no avail to get into this office.
By learning the reverse mortgage, it made me more of a valued resource for the loan agents and i did speak at their meeting.
Even though the wholesale mortgage bank I worked for didn’t do reverse mortgages, I started getting reverse mortgage deals which I referred to a friend who did them.
A reverse mortgage is more of a needs based loan, and the interest rate isn’t quite as important so during the meltdown I started putting more emphasis on them and moved to a retail lender where I could place the business.
On my first funded reverse mortgage, I realized what a special loan it is, and I my first client profusely thanked me. Without the reverse, she would have had to move, since she couldn’t afford the mortgage payment, now she could stay and have no more mortgage payments for the rest of her life.
From there I obtained an RSSA, Registered Social Security Analyst designation, which allows me to advise people on social security issues and also obtained my life and health licenses and sell Medicare plans as well.
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Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being in lending for 35 years, you see cycles, peaks and valleys. People in real estate who intend to do it for the long haul must be able to be good financial managers of their own money since there will be times when the money orchard goes dry.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What sets me apart is that I am transparent. I don’t sell a loan, or Medicare plan, I compare different options side by side and let the client decide.
Many times Loan Originators and Medicare agents steer their client to a product that earns more commission instead of doing the right thing.
In lending, I also use a lot of video. I create a unique video for each client and their situation so they can watch it over and over to absorb the material instead of just sending them a stack of papers, asking them to sign and send back and expect them to understand the process, especially with reverse mortgage which is a complicated product.
A video can be forwarded to their kids, relatives and financial people to view as well which makes it easier.
My videos are not little fluff pieces either. I include amortization tables and detailed explanations, so that they exactly how the loan works. I don’t see my competition doing this, so it makes me standout from my competition.
What does success mean to you?
I work on a referral basis, I’ve not had to buy any leads. I’ve not had any complaints lodged against me, in fact it’s the opposite, my clients become life long friends. Since I also service my loans, I advise my clients when ever they receive something in the mail they have a question on, to call me and if need be, I will get on a conference call with the lender and help in any way I can, I don’t just tell them to call the lender customer service department. Longevity in the same line of work I think stands for something. Perseverance comes to mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.californiareversemortgage.biz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forwardinreverse_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578476082745
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-walton-reverse-mortgage
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kevin+walton+reverse+mortgages
- Other: https://beyondyourbenefits.com/
