FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

No. A reverse mortgage is what is called a non-recourse loan. This means the bank can never come after any person or estate for repayment of the loan. The bank can only use the value of the home as repayment. Your children may, however, either sell your home or take out a new mortgage, after […]

Absolutely not. With a reverse mortgage – you still own your home. Of course, that means you must continue to pay your property taxes, make necessary repairs to the home, and keep home-owner’s insurance.

Absolutely – as long as your equity is greater than the amount you still owe. You can either pay off the old debt before you get a reverse mortgage, or you can use the initial proceeds from the reverse mortgage to pay the debt.

Many of the same costs that someone pays to obtain a home purchase loan, or to refinance their existing mortgage, apply to reverse mortgages too. You can expect to be charged an origination fee, up-front mortgage insurance premium (for the FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or HECM), an appraisal fee, and certain other standard closing

Interest on reverse mortgages is not deductible on income tax returns until the loan is paid off in part or completely.

Because there are no payments, you can’t lose your home if you pay the taxes and insurance, and maintain your home. A “nonrecourse” clause, found in most reverse mortgages, prevents either you or your estate from owing more than the value of your home when the loan is repaid.

Reverse mortgages may have fixed or variable rates. Most have variable rates that are tied to a financial index and will likely change according to market conditions. When a HECM loan is paid to the borrower in a monthly fixed amount, the interest rate is adjustable monthly. The initial interest rate is based on the

Reverse mortgage loan advances are not taxable, and do not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits. You retain the title to your home and do not have to make monthly repayments. The loan must be repaid when the last surviving borrower dies, sells the home, or no longer lives in the home as a principal

Before getting a reverse mortgage, you will first have to meet with an independent reverse mortgage counselor at no cost to you. Your counselor will answer any questions you have, inform you about other alternative options for your unique situation, and help you decide if you even need a reverse mortgage, and if so, which

The three basic types of reverse mortgage are; federally-insured reverse mortgages, which are known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) and are backed by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); The Home Keeper which is sponsored by Fannie Mae, and proprietary reverse mortgages, which are private loans that are backed by