Firm Believes in Very Selective Recruiting.(Atare Agbamu- ThinkReverse)

OAKDALE, MN -- Recruiting and training of reverse mortgage professionals should be "very, very selective," according to Atare Agbamu, owner of consulting company ThinkReverse, Oakdale, Minn.

Reverse mortgages are a different animal in the world of loan products, which can require more than three times as many documents as others, Mr. Agbamu said. Thus, "Empathy is important, [as well as a] capacity for patience," he said, noting that reverse mortgages require a "consultative, not transactional, approach to business" - in contrast to more standard mortgages. In addition, he believes that reverse mortgage teams should be comprised of those who have a voluntary interest in the business.

Mr. Agbamu has been offering three topical reverse mortgage training sessions that can be four hours long or longer. He charges for the sessions based on the time, the number of people and his expenses. Clients have included originators at a credit union and older American who have a potential interest in the loans. He also is currently scheduled to teach a community education class for Realtors, insurance agents and appraisers.

The first is on the "ABCs of reverse mortgages," a basic course that he said gives trainees information that is "important to know before proceeding to other areas."

The second is on marketing, a topic Mr. Agbamu described as being about how to "take a position in the mind of the borrower or in the mind of the consumer" for the products. He noted that this differs from both traditional mortgage marketing and U.S. marketing in general, both of which tend to focus on the needs of younger consumers rather than reverse mortgages' target market of ...