Sequal launches reverse mortgage accreditation
Kieren Dell
Western Australian mortgage broker Pauline Murray has become the first to receive a new reverse mortgage accreditation from the Senior Australians Equity Release Association of Lenders (SEQUAL).
The new SEQUAL accreditation comes just as it was announced that the Australian reverse mortgage industry had more than doubled in size over the last 18 months.
According to Kieren Dell, executive director of SEQUAL, the popularity of reverse mortgages as a financial planning tool has been growing steadily in Australia in recent times, with over 20,000 loans, a total loan book of almost $1.1 billion and an average loan size approaching $54,000.
Murray, of Horizon Mortgage Planners, became a SEQUAL Accredited Reverse Mortgage Consultant after completing the equity release course run by the Mortgage Industry Association of Australia (MIAA).
The course assists mortgage brokers in understanding available products in order to provide a standard level of assistance to clients, helping to ensure they make informed decisions regarding any potential impacts on pension or Centrelink payments.
The MIAA equity release course covers the operation of equity release markets, types of product, legal requirements, regulatory requirements, risk assessment and risk management.
According to Dell, the accreditation is valid for two years; subject to compliance with a code of conduct that he said is an “important part of the consumer safeguards SEQUAL provides to retirees”.
Western Australia is strongly represented within the burgeoning reverse mortgage market, representing 14 per cent of the industry, with the number of reverse mortgages in the state doubling since last year.
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