I spent yesterday at the 2009 NRMLA Chicago conference. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was it 70 degrees in Chicago (a rarity recently), but the conference was informative, I met some great people, and I got some cool stuff (thanks LiveWell Financial and Genworth!).
I took away some interesting industry insights from the conference. Some noteworthy pieces of news:
– In Illinois at least, the Attorney General’s office will step in to help get short pays and keep seniors in their homes (or connect them with social services when they cannot). Brenda Grauer represented the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, and it made me hopeful to hear so many positive stories where short pays were negotiated or foreclosures were stayed. It also reminded me to beware of Countrywide, which seems to be the least likely to provide a shortpay to those in need.
– An interesting discussion about the future of the press took place at the session on “Spreading the Good News About Reverse Mortgages.” Peter Bell, Marty Bell, and Lew Sichelman began a debate on the future of the press. We wondered aloud whether newspapers will survive, and discussed how newspapers were more casualties of the niche marketing revolution than of the Internet.
– The session on “How Can You Help Serve a Client’s Need for a Comprehensive Financial Plan? The Challenges of Working under New Restrictions on “Cross Selling” definitely made one think. More to come about this session on Monday.