Here, the "affordability principle" applies.  "I can't afford it" is no longer an acceptable excuse for delaying estate planning and beginning the process of investing for one's retirement.  Also, during tough financial times (like being laid off), some might cancel a monthly contribution into a mutual fund to reduce their monthly outlay during transition.  

As a financial planning professional, you may want to introduce a mortgage professional to explore a debt consolidation refinance to keep the clients complete financial strategy intact.  In the process, you will preserve their assets under management and commission flow.

At the time of this writing I am listening to CNBC in the back ground and a caller just called in with a question.  "I just got laid off and I expect to find new employment within a few months.  I'm thinking of pulling cash out of one of my retirement accounts, which should I pull it from, my regular IRA or my Roth IRA?"  Bill Griffith and some "expert" immediately answered "Roth IRA."  I almost jumped through the TV screen wanting to strangle both of them.  What if the caller owned a home or a rental property with a low LTV and could access cash WITHOUT CREATING A TAXABLE EVENT? 

Why not keep the callers cash in his account and hope for a fast employment rebound? 

A great feature of our Mortgage Coach software system, which we use and our financial planning partners love, is the Equity Repositioning report. It enables us to show your client the tremendous advantages of taking the money they would have used to pay down their mortgage and investing it with a financial planner.  The buildup of equity over 30 years at a 12% return (average large cap rate of return for past 50 years) compared to the early pay-down of a 7% or 8% mortgage will be substantial. 

We can show your client, in a very simple format, how we can take their  existing equity and eliminate debt or provide lump sum cash to invest. You can then show your clients that by restructuring their equity out of their homes to pay off debt, they now have the extra money to invest with you (don't forget the power of a third party recommendation; you are not telling them that this is good strategy, we are).  To see an actual Equity Repositioning report, Click Here (requires Adobe Reader). 

We have developed long term relationships with financial planning professionals, who have realized the true value of this service to their clients and themselves, and have referred their clients to us.  In return, we now ask our clients at closing if they are currently working with a financial planning professional; if they are not, and can use these services, we will refer them to our financial planning preferred partners,  thereby returning the referral favor. (Click here to see the special form we created for this purpose; it accompanies each and every loan application we take; requires Adobe Reader).  In addition, we help develop referral opportunities for our financial planning preferred partners through our Client Retention Contact Program.  To see how our program can help grow your business and increase your monthly income, Click Here.

It's a win/win/win for all three of us.  You are creating business for us, we are creating business for you and the client is building greater financial equity.