HomeAbout Todd
Todd Walcott, CRMP
The summer temp who never left.
Since 2018, my practice has focused on reverse mortgages — and I’m one of only 206 Certified Reverse Mortgage Professionals (CRMP) in the country. But that specialty grew out of a much longer career.
[Todd to confirm]
Or call or text
(760) 808-4500
Reverse Mortgage Specialist
40+ Years in Mortgage Lending
1985
A summer temp
My first job in mortgages
A decade
My own brokerage
Owned and run in Oregon
2018
Reverse mortgages
My practice’s focus since
206
CRMPs in the country
Certified Reverse Mortgage Professionals
[Todd to confirm]
“I have no other skills — this is simply the profession I enjoy.”
Brokers answer to you.
I took my first job in the mortgage industry in 1985, as a summer temp. I never left. As I tell clients, I have no other skills — this is simply the profession I enjoy. Over the years I’ve worked for mortgage brokers, national banks, and national independent mortgage bankers, and I owned my own mortgage brokerage in Oregon for a decade before relocating to Palm Springs. Brokering is where my passion has always been: brokers aren’t limited to one bank’s product shelf, and we act as fiduciaries for our clients — a standard big-box lenders aren’t held to. That fiduciary mindset is a big part of why I gravitated toward reverse mortgages. It’s a product built on education, not a sale, and few loan officers take the time to teach it properly.
Mortgage brokers
National banks
National independent mortgage bankers
My own brokerage, Oregon
Palm Springs
Earned once. Earned again, on schedule.
CRMPs are required to meet minimum experience thresholds, pass a proctored exam, complete annual continuing education, and pass a background check every three years — and we’re held to a higher ethical standard than a standard loan officer. That depth of expertise is also why I teach continuing education classes on reverse mortgages to CPAs, financial planners, and Realtors throughout California, something a general loan officer isn’t qualified to do.
Minimum experience thresholds
To qualify
A proctored exam
To qualify
Continuing education
Every year
A background check
Every three years
Nothing on day one you didn’t see coming.
Reverse mortgages have a reputation problem, mostly built on outdated information. In reality, today’s HECM comes with fewer risks and more flexibility than most people assume. My job is to walk you through exactly how it works, identify anything that could go wrong on day one, and build a contingency plan for it before you ever sign anything. There shouldn’t be any surprises in a mortgage.
1
Walk you through
exactly how it works
2
Identify
anything that could go wrong on day one
3
Build a contingency plan
before you ever sign anything
“There shouldn’t be any surprises in a mortgage.”
I also don’t look at a reverse mortgage in isolation — I look at how it fits your entire retirement picture. Owning your home free and clear sounds solid, until a stock market downturn forces you to draw down retirement accounts at the worst possible time, or you’re relying solely on Social Security to get by. A reverse mortgage’s draw features or monthly tenure payments can directly offset that risk — what financial planners call managing “sequence of withdrawal risk.”
Todd and his mother
Ask me the hard question first.
If you’re 62 or older and want a straight answer on what a reverse mortgage could actually do for your retirement — or you’re a financial planner or advisor looking for a resource for your clients — give me a call. I’ll tell you what’s really going on with your options, not just sell you a product.
For financial planners and advisors
A resource for your clients.
Continuing education for CPAs, planners and Realtors
The loans other lenders walked away from.
Reverse mortgages are my focus, but I haven’t stepped away from forward lending. I still handle traditional purchase and refinance loans — including complex, often-declined-elsewhere scenarios like financing on BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) leased tribal lands. If a loan is unusual enough that another lender walked away from it, that’s exactly the kind of problem I like to solve. [Todd to confirm]
Asked often
Can I get a reverse mortgage on BIA leased land?
Reverse Mortgages are not available on BIA leased lands.
Todd Walcott
Also, life isn’t just about 40 years of work doing mortgages for a living.
Mom and the Thunderbird
The one adult in the room who wants nothing back.
I am also a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for two kids in the foster care system. While each parent and the state have their attorney, as does the child, no one represents the needs of the child in court to advocate for what THEY want, and that’s the goal of a CASA. We try to cut through the family drama and dynamics to help the court decide what is best for the kiddos, and that includes making sure THEIR needs are being met.
It could be covering the cost of sports equipment needed for school, guiding them to get their driver license, working on an education plan or independent living plan, or just someone to talk to outside of their sphere that doesn’t want something from them.
40%
40% of foster youth end up homeless.
30%
30% of foster youth already identify as LGBTQ+.
75%
75% of our incarcerated have experience with the foster care system, either as a foster child, or as a parent whose child is in the system.
50%
50% of foster kids do not graduate high school.
With a CASA, the outcome for these kids increases exponentially. Almost all graduate high school, and very few end up in our incarceration system.
I am too old to be someone’s foster parent, but not too old to advocate for a kid or two. We are supervised by the non-profit Voices for Children. It is a great program, and I encourage you to check it out: https://speakupnow.org
Coachella Valley Coyotes, CV Pride Hockey
A rookie at 60.
At 60, I decided it was time to learn how to play hockey! It was a great way to get back in shape, meet some new people, and do something other than going to the bars on weekends. There is no AHL Firebirds dream in my future. At my age, it’s more about trying not to get hurt!
After a rough start with a rotator cuff tear only two games into the season, I am fully recovered and starting the 2026-2027 season with the Coachella Valley Coyotes, part of CV Pride Hockey.
Season
2026–27
Team
Coachella Valley Coyotes
Old is optional.
And, I find you are only old if you let yourself get old. I drive a 2016 Rubicon and I wouldn’t trade it in for anything else. It’s been a couple of years since the vehicle has made it on to a trail, but I’m getting that itch again now that the season is getting a bit cooler. The fire roads up to Big Bear are always fun, as is the Pinyon Mountain Recreational area out in Borrego Springs, CA.
Trail
Fire roads up to Big Bear
Trail
Pinyon Mountain Recreational area, Borrego Springs
The 2016 Rubicon
Start with a straight answer.
I’ll tell you what’s really going on with your options, not just sell you a product.
Or call or text