Consumers interested in exploring reverse mortgages can now turn to a loam originator who has committed to a new, high standard of training with the implementation of the Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional (CRMP) designation by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). After two years of preparation, NRMLA awarded CRMP designations to a first class of 13 members at its Annual Meeting & Expo on Nov. 3 in New Orleans. With the support of its board of directors and membership, NRMLA invested more than $200,000 to create the program.

“In our ongoing effort to assure America’s seniors that they can borrow with confidence from a NRMLA lender, we have made a significant investment of both human and financial resources and created a rigorous program focused on solid experience, continued education and ethical training,” said Peter Bell, NRMLA president.

Eligibility to apply for a CRMP designation requires that a loan originator have at least two years of experience and closed 50 reverse mortgages. Only then can they enter the process which includes 12 hours annually of continued education, participating in a three-hour interactive ethics training seminar, a background check and sitting for an exam. The certification is valid for three years, but a designee must recertify every year and obtain 12 hours of continuing education credits annually over that period.

The CRMP designation process was designed in collaboration with Professional Testing Inc. of Orlando, Fla., international experts on creating licensure and certification programs.

The program is administered by an Independent Certification Committee comprised of NRMLA members that oversee the establishment of criteria, eligibility, testing and recertification. In accepting their responsibility in governing this credentialing organization, committee members must understand that their fiduciary responsibility includes safeguarding the public’s trust through the administration of a credible credential and in exercising due diligence to uphold the integrity of the certification program.

The members of the first class of CRMP designees represent 12 companies from nine states. They include:

►Henrietta Belcher-Stack, reverse mortgage assistant vice president at WSFS Bank, located in Millsboro, Del.

►Clarence “Buck” Harbuck, Gulf Coast area sales manager for Financial Freedom, located in Ormond Beach, Fla.

►Eric Kirschbaum, reverse mortgage manager at All Island Mortgage & Funding, located in Smithtown, N.Y.

►Kenneth Klawans, president of iReverse Home Loans LLC, a subsidiary of Hopkins Federal Savings Bank, located in Owings Mills, Md.

►Anissa G. Palmatier, a reverse mortgage consultant with PNC Reverse Mortgage LLC, located in Bloomington, Ill.

►Michelle Newbold, a reverse mortgage consultant with PNC Reverse Mortgage LLC, located in Bloomington, Ill.

►Eric Rittmeyer, president, Fidelis Mortgage, located in Baltimore, Md.

►Karen Keating, president, Tradition Title Agency, located in Bayshore, N.Y.

►James King III, a reverse mortgage consultant with McGowin-King Mortgage, located in Birmingham, Ala.

►Roberto Nascimento, reverse mortgage manager, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, located in White Plains, N.Y.

►Alain Valles, owner, Direct Finance Corporation, located in Hanover, Mass.

►Song Hutchins, vice president, Capital Point Funding Group Inc., located in Silver Spring, Md.

►Anthony Gatto, owner, Morgan Hill Funding, located in Turnersville, N.J.

►Bruce Anderson, reverse mortgage consultant, Ameriplex Mortgage, located in Albuquerque, N.M.

For more information, visit www.nrmlaonline.org.