Reverse Mortgages · 62+
The equity you built can start paying you back.
A reverse mortgage lets homeowners sixty-two and older convert part of their home’s equity into funds — with no monthly mortgage payment required, while keeping title to the home. Taxes, insurance and upkeep stay yours, the home must remain your primary residence, the loan is repaid when you leave it, and by federal design you can never owe more than the home itself. It is a serious tool with real costs, which is why the process begins with an independent counselor — and why this page reads the way it does.
Who this is built for
Homeowners who want to stay — without the payment
Sixty-two or older, substantial equity, and a monthly mortgage payment that no longer makes sense on a fixed income. The reverse retires that payment while you stay in your home, with taxes, insurance and upkeep still yours.
Rightsizers who want to buy
The purchase version — HECM for Purchase — lets you buy the next home and carry no monthly mortgage payment on it — with taxes, insurance, upkeep and living there as your primary residence still yours. Closer to family, single-story, newer: rightsizing without a payment following you.
House-rich, income-careful retirees
When most of a lifetime’s savings lives in the house, this is the instrument built to reach it without selling and without a new monthly mortgage payment — taxes, insurance, upkeep and living there as your primary residence still yours.
Families deciding together
The best reverse files have adult children in the room early. This page is written to be read together — including the parts about what heirs can expect.
Not sure whether this fits your plan — or whether one of the any-age tools fits it better? That is a conversation, not an application, and the family is welcome on the call.
Talk it throughThree facts, and not one of them is ours
You keep the title. You keep the home. And by federal design you can never owe more than it is worth.
Each one is federal program design, not a sales line:
And the fact almost nobody mentions: the loan balance grows over time, because interest and fees are added rather than paid monthly. That is not a flaw — it is the mechanism — but it means the right question is never “can I get one” and always “is spending equity this way right for my plan.” The counselor exists for exactly that question, and so does the family conversation.
| You keep title | It stays your home | A reverse mortgage is a loan against the home, not a sale of it. You remain the owner, with the duties owners have. |
| No monthly mortgage payment required | Taxes, insurance, upkeep and living there as your primary residence stay yours | The payment obligation is deferred, not erased — and staying current on taxes and insurance is what keeps the arrangement standing. |
| You can never owe more than the home | Federally insured, non-recourse | If the balance ever outgrows the value, federal insurance absorbs the difference — not you, and not your children. |
Describes the federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program as designed by HUD/FHA. Program rules change; individual terms vary. This page is education, not an offer or financial advice. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
How it actually works
Counseling first — by federal rule, and by our preference too.
An independent counselor comes first
Before any application moves, you meet with a HUD-approved counselor — independent of any lender — and receive a certificate. This is a federal requirement, and it is the right order of operations.
The loan pays you
Depending on the structure: a lump sum, a line of credit you draw as needed, monthly advances, or a combination. What fits depends on what the money is for.
No monthly mortgage payment is required
The balance is repaid later instead of monthly. You remain responsible for property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, upkeep — and for living in the home as your primary residence.
It settles when you leave the home
When the last borrower sells, moves out, or passes away, the loan is repaid — usually from the home’s sale. It is non-recourse: neither you nor your heirs ever owe more than the home’s value.
The versions — and what stays yours
Three tables, kept apart on purpose: the federal versions, the obligations that remain yours alongside what your heirs can expect, and the proprietary family on my shelf. Figures from different programs never combine, so each table carries its own source and stands on its own.
Two federal versions, and a proprietary market beyond them:
| The situation | The version | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Stay in the home you own | HECM | The standard federally insured reverse — 62 and older, counseling first, primary residence |
| Buy the next home | HECM for Purchase | One transaction: buy and carry no monthly mortgage payment, while taxes, insurance, upkeep and living there as your primary residence stay yours — with a substantial investment from the sale of the prior home or savings |
| Higher-value homes, different fits | Proprietary programs | Privately insured versions with their own eligibility and reach — one family on my shelf has its own table, under “The proprietary family” |
How much a reverse provides is set per file — by the youngest borrower’s age, the home’s value, current program parameters and the structure you choose — which is why this page quotes no amounts and distrusts any page that does. The purchase version deserves its own sentence: sellers and their agents routinely have never seen one close, and part of my job is walking the other side of the table through it.
HECM and HECM for Purchase are HUD/FHA programs subject to federal requirements including HUD-approved counseling, financial assessment, owner-occupancy, and property standards. Proprietary reverse mortgages are separate, privately insured products whose eligibility, ages and limits vary by program and change without notice. Available proceeds are determined per transaction. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
The two conversations that make a reverse file a good one:
| The matter | The rule | Said plainly |
|---|---|---|
| Property taxes and insurance | Yours, always | Falling behind on them is the way these arrangements fail — the financial assessment exists to make sure they fit your budget for the long run |
| The home itself | Lived in and kept up | Primary residence, maintained to program standards — a reverse is for the home you live in, not one you leave |
| A spouse not on the loan | Federal protections exist | An eligible non-borrowing spouse can remain in the home after the borrower passes — a rule that must be set up correctly at closing, not discovered later |
| Your heirs | Options, not obligations | They can keep the home by settling the balance, sell it and keep any remaining equity, or walk away owing nothing — non-recourse means the downside is never theirs |
That last row is the one families most need to hear out loud: a reverse mortgage spends equity, and the honest framing is that it trades some of the inheritance for the parent’s comfort and independence now. Many families make that trade gladly — once it is named. The files that go wrong are the ones where it was never said.
Non-borrowing spouse protections, heir timelines and settlement options follow current HUD rules and loan documents; specific timelines and requirements apply and should be reviewed per file. Estate outcomes depend on balances, value and choices made; nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Beyond the federal version, my shelf carries an approved proprietary reverse family — privately insured, built for the homes and ages the federal program leaves out:
| The measure | The figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Proceeds | To $4 million | Built for higher-value homes the federal version cannot fully reach |
| Eligibility | From age 55 in most states | Seven years earlier than the federal floor — a handful of states set it higher |
| The second-lien version | Keep your current mortgage | A reverse in second position: no monthly payment on it, and the first mortgage you already have stays exactly as it is — with its payment, taxes, insurance, upkeep and living there as your primary residence still yours |
The family character holds everything this page already promised. Counseling still comes first — with the lender’s approved independent agencies, per state rules. Non-recourse still holds: neither you nor your heirs owe more than the home. The structures span a fixed lump sum and line-of-credit versions, condominium projects the lender can review and approve itself, and — unlike the federal version — no program mortgage insurance premium. One honest distinction in exchange: privately insured means the federal insurance fund is not behind it — the protections live in the loan contract, which is exactly the kind of thing the counseling session exists to walk through. On larger homes, expect two appraisals, with the lender covering the second. Two specifics belong here rather than in the fine print. The states that set the age higher are worth naming: on a second approved proprietary family the floor is 60 in Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York and Washington, and 62 — the federal age — in New Hampshire and Texas.† And that second family reaches further down on credit than anything described above, with a floor in the 500s. If you have been told your score rules a reverse out, that is worth a second opinion.
Representative of one approved proprietary reverse product family, comparison materials revised June 2026, shown separately because figures from different programs never combine. Minimum ages, eligible states, minimum credit standards, property types and available structures vary by product within the family and change without notice; certain states set higher minimum ages, and some products within the family carry their own credit-score minimums and line-of-credit draw requirements. Independent counseling is required per state and program rules. Proceeds are determined per transaction. Not all applicants or properties will qualify.
Under 62, or comparing the payment-carrying tools? The equity guide is here →
† From a second approved proprietary reverse family’s published matrix effective 07/31/2026: minimum age 55, rising to 60 in Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York and Washington and to 62 in New Hampshire and Texas; proceeds to $4,000,000, and to $2,000,000 in Massachusetts; a minimum credit score of 550, with additional conditions applying between 550 and 660. A reduced-documentation variant exists for borrowers above 720, where income is certified rather than fully documented. That family also sets a minimum home value, and I am not printing it here: the two source documents I hold state different figures nine days apart, and I would rather confirm it with the lender than publish the wrong one. Independent counselling, the ongoing obligation to pay taxes, insurance and upkeep, and every other requirement described on this page apply to this family too. Figures from different programs never combine.
The requirements, stated up front
What you actually hand over
The counseling certificate
The document that starts everything — issued by the HUD-approved counselor after your session.
Proof of age, home and occupancy
Identification, title, and evidence the home is your primary residence.
The financial-assessment file
Income, taxes, insurance — not to qualify you on ratios like a forward mortgage, but to confirm the ongoing obligations fit.
The family, ideally
Not a document — a request. Bring the people this decision touches. The best closings are the ones nobody in the family is surprised by.
What it does well — and the honest limits
Told straight, because this page is useless otherwise — and this product attracts pitches that are not straight.
The monthly mortgage payment is retired while you keep title and go on living in the home — with property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and upkeep remaining yours to carry.
Non-recourse: neither you nor your heirs can ever owe more than the home is worth, and the federal insurance absorbs any difference.
HECM for Purchase does the rightsizing move in a single closing — the next home, carried with no monthly mortgage payment, while taxes, insurance, upkeep and living there as your primary residence stay yours.
An independent HUD-approved counselor, required before the application proceeds and answerable to you rather than to any lender — a protection no other mortgage on this site comes with.
Insurance, origination and closing costs make this an expensive way to borrow small amounts for short periods. It earns its keep as a long-horizon instrument.
Planning to move within a few years? The arithmetic rarely works. A sale, a HELOC or a second mortgage usually serves a short chapter better — those pages are one click away.
Equity used now is equity not passed on. Families that name this out loud do fine; surprises are where the grief comes from.
The obligation that remains is the one that matters. If those numbers are already a struggle, this instrument does not fix that — and the assessment will say so.
Start with the conversation, not the application
Tell me the situation — the home, the goal, who is part of the decision. I will map the versions against it honestly, including the ones on other pages that might fit better, and point you to the counseling that starts everything.
Questions people actually ask
Can the bank take my home?
You keep title. The arrangement stands as long as the home remains your primary residence and you keep up taxes, insurance and maintenance. Those duties are the entire deal — met, the home is yours as it always was.
What will my children owe?
Never more than the home. The loan is non-recourse: heirs can keep the home by settling the balance, sell it and keep anything above the payoff, or hand back the keys owing nothing. The one thing they should never face is surprise — bring them in early.
Can I really buy a house with a reverse mortgage?
Yes — HECM for Purchase: one closing, and the new home carries no monthly mortgage payment, while taxes, insurance, upkeep and living there as your primary residence stay yours. It asks for a substantial investment from your side, typically from the prior home’s sale, and it is the most underused rightsizing tool in the market.
How much can I get?
It is calculated per file — the youngest borrower’s age, the home’s value and current program parameters set it. Any page quoting you a number without those is guessing. Ten minutes with your specifics produces the real one.
My spouse is younger than 62 — is that a problem?
It is a design consideration, not a disqualifier. Federal rules protect an eligible non-borrowing spouse’s right to remain in the home — set up correctly at closing. It also affects the math. Both get handled in the open, at the start.
Is the counseling really necessary?
Yes — federally required, and genuinely useful. The counselor works for you, not for any lender. Families routinely walk out of that session with better questions than they walked in with, and that is the point.
Schedule a Consultation
Loan programs, explained honestly
This page describes the federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and HECM for Purchase programs as designed by HUD/FHA, and notes the existence of proprietary reverse mortgage products; it is educational and is not an offer, a commitment to lend, or financial, legal or tax advice. Reverse mortgages are loans: interest and fees accrue to the balance over time, and the loan becomes due when the home ceases to be the borrower’s principal residence, upon sale, or upon the death of the last surviving borrower, subject to non-borrowing spouse protections. Borrowers remain responsible for property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, HOA dues where applicable, and maintenance; failure to meet these obligations can result in default. HUD-approved counseling is required. Program parameters, eligibility and available proceeds are determined per transaction and change without notice. Not all applicants or properties will qualify. Equal Housing Opportunity.