How I Work

Most people open the conversation with a question about rate. It is a fair question, and it is almost never the one that determines whether the loan turned out to be a good decision. Term, structure, how the property sits next to everything else you own, and what you intend to do in the next five years all carry more weight, and none of them show up on a rate sheet.

I spent years as a financial advisor before I did this, which is why the first conversation usually looks more like a planning session than an application. What else do you own, what is the business doing, when do you want to stop working, and what is this property supposed to accomplish? Those answers change which loan makes sense, and sometimes they change whether now is the right time at all.

As broker owner I am not tied to one lender's product shelf. We shop a wide panel of wholesale lenders, which matters most on the files a retail lender has to decline because it only has its own guidelines to work with. Self-employed borrowers, high net worth balance sheets, reverse mortgages, and investors adding to a portfolio all tend to land in that category.

I work with clients in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. I also wrote The Road to Home Ownership: How to Avoid 7 Costly Mistakes Along the Way, and I teach continuing education to real estate agents, which keeps me honest about explaining this clearly rather than in industry shorthand.

If you are weighing a decision rather than shopping a rate, that is the conversation worth having. Bring the whole picture.

Reverse mortgage borrowers remain responsible for property taxes, homeowners insurance and property maintenance.