Reverse Mortgage Information

And now for something completely different;

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in North Platte, Nebraska, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions,they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Missouri. The old man’s sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses? . . . .. . What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . . . When you’re looking at me?
A crabby old man . . . . . Not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . . . With faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food . . . . . And makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . . . ‘I do wish you’d try!’
Who seems not to notice . . . . .. The things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . A sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not . . . . . Lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . . . The long day to fill?
Is that what you’re thinking? . . . . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . .. . . You’re not looking at me.

I’ll tell you who I am. . . . . . As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, . . . . . As I eat at your will.
I’m a small child of Ten . .. . . . With a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . . Who love one another.

A young boy of Sixteen . . . . With wings on his feet..
Dreaming that soon now . . . . . A lover he’ll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . . . My heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . . .. That I promised to keep.

At Twenty-Five, now . . . . . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . . . With ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons . . . . . Have grown and are gone,
But my woman’s beside me . . . . . To see I don’t mourn.
At Fifty, once more, babies play ’round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . . My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me . . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . . . Shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . . . Young of their own.
And I think of the years .. . . . . And the love that I’ve known.

I’m now an old man . . . . . And nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age . . . .. . Look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . . . Grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . .. . . Where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass . . . . . A young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . My battered heart swells.
I remember the joys . . . . . I remember the pain.
And I’m loving and living . . . .. . Life over again.

I think of the years, all too few . . . . . Gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . . That nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people . . . . . Open and see.
Not a crabby old man . . . Look closer . . . See ME!!

Remember this poem when you meet an older person you might be tempted to brush aside without looking at the young soul within. We will all, one day, be there, too!!

PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM

Footnote: the above circulates across the internet via email. This poem, titled Too Soon Old, was actually written by Dave Griffith of Fort Worth, Texas. Griffith wrote the poem more than 20 years ago and meant for it to be simple, and to the point, from youth through old age in his own personal life, high school football, Marines, marriage, the ravages of his own disabilities. Someone took the poem from his site, created a false story about it, and started circulating it on the Internet. While the story might be false, the poem and the images it creates remain powerful.

Author – Robert H. Irving, CSA®
Senior Reverse Mortgage Consultant
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Before you do business with a reverse mortgage lender it would be prudent to confirm that the loan officer who will be working closely with you is actually licensed to do business in your state.  This might sound shocking but many loan officers have never been required to pass a formal licensing test in your state.  Even more have never been vetted with either a criminal records check or a credit check.  How do you know who you are dealing with?  How confident can you be that your personal information is protected?

Different State Regulations

Up to now, licensing requirements for brokers and loan originators have been quite different from state to state.  In some, all that is required is payment of a modest license fee.  In other states, licensing requirements are both tough and costly.  Massachusetts, for example, requires payment of a substantial annual fee ($500 for loan originators – much more for brokers), plus a criminal record information check (MA keeps a record of every criminal court appearance in its state courts), a comprehensive credit check, license application submission and tracking via the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS), basic education courses with annual continuing education requirements.  It may be one of the toughest states to become licensed in and stay licensed in.

Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS)

Massachusetts and a growing number of states throughout the U.S. have joined the NMLS system and more will follow in 2010.  See map at beginning of this discussion.  Tracking license information will be easier when details are collected and licensing is initiated through a central source.  But each state continues to set there own rules and regulations.  Eventually, NMLS will be opened up to consumers so that borrowers will be able to learn if complaints have been recorded against any licensed individual.  NMLS helps states to standardize licensing requirements and add/track educational components.  This is a good first step but thorough or not-so-thorough licensing supervision still depends on the location and varies greatly.

Loan Officers With No Licenses

If the loan officer works for a bank or a federally chartered institution, state licensing requirements may be completely avoided.  This situation is changing, but right now you should know that you could actually be talking to someone who (1.) is not licensed in your state, who (2.) may have no specific education in reverse mortgage lending and who (3.) might be advising you on your finances while their own fiscal house is a disaster.

Solution

By year end some loan originators will be required to take the federal SAFE Act test.  For others, the test may not be required until later in 2010.  In the meantime, I would advise my own mom & dad to deal face-to-face with an originator who is licensed in the state where the home is located.  I would specifically recommend that they avoid any lender that does not or will not come to the home.  Who knows who you might be talking to?

Author – Robert H. Irving, CSA®
Senior Reverse Mortgage Consultant

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