One-on-One With Reverse Mortgage Pioneer: Steve Ranson

If you depend on a reverse mortgage for cash flow or sell them for a living, Steve Ranson has made your life better. In his quarter-century heading up Canada's first and biggest reverse mortgage company, the team he led made the product significantly less expensive, more feature-rich, less stigmatized and more widely available.

During Ranson's extraordinary tenure, Canada's reverse mortgage market grew 100x. That's not just moving the needle; that's almost breaking the gauge.
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In this exclusive interview, Ranson shares insights on:

• The biggest development in Canada's reverse market over the last five years
• The greatest challenge for reverse mortgages in the next five years
• Three reasons why reverse mortgage rates are higher than regular rates
• The impact of reverse mortgages on inheritances
• Why big banks don't sell reverse mortgages directly (yet)
• Why the company had to become a bank
• How becoming a bank helped customers
• Whether the spread between reverse and regular mortgages will narrow
• How OSFI policy keeps rates higher
• HomeEquity Bank's #1 goal (at the time he left)
• How reverse mortgages are being used to help home buyers
• Why the idea of downsizing has "gone away" in many markets
• How seniors can use reverse mortgages in a retirement planning capacity
• What percentage of borrowers don't pay off their reverse mortgage before they die
• Why HomeEquity Bank doesn't have a HELOC reverse mortgage (hint: big banks are a factor)
• The remarkable consistency of the average customer's age
• Whether we'll approach a U.S.-style reverse mortgage adoption rate
• The importance of securitization in the American reverse market
• The impact of FHA on reverse mortgages in the U.S.
• His two biggest regrets in the business
• What he's most proud of in his 27 years at HomeEquity Bank.
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That's a lot to pack into a 30-minute interview. Check out MLN's full discussion with Ranson below...