How is a reverse mortgage different from a traditional home equity loan or line of credit?

A reverse mortgage offers certain advantages:

With a traditional home equity loan or home equity line of credit, you must make monthly principal and interest payments on the balance while you live in the home — whereas a reverse mortgage has a flexible repayment feature. You can pay as much or as little as you like each month toward principal and interest, or make no monthly loan payment at all. Your reverse mortgage balance, including accrued interest and fees, does not have to be repaid until you pass away or move out, as long as you meet your loan obligations (which includes keeping current with property-related taxes, insurance and upkeep).
If part of your loan is held in a line of credit upon which you may draw, then the unused portion of the line of credit will grow in size each month — giving you access to more available funds as time goes on. The growth rate is equal to the sum of the interest rate plus the annual mortgage insurance premium rate being charged on your loan.
And the lender cannot “freeze” or reduce the line of credit, as long as you fulfill your loan obligations — so it will be there if and when you need it.

Verified Reviews

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We Loved the Personal Touch We had talked to other reverse mortgage companies, but it was always over the phone. We liked the fact that Reverse Mortgage Funding had someone come to our house. We loved the personal touch. Our loan specialist Larry McAnarney did an outstanding job explaining the reverse mortgage process. He was just wonderful to work with. He kept us up to date with how the process was going with email and phone calls. We highly recommend him and RMF to anyone thinking about a reverse mortgage.

Casey & Sandra C — Mar 8, 2019

Larry was the Consummate Professional Larry was the consummate professional and helped to expedite this process. We had many questions and Larry always found time to answer all of them in promptly. He kept us apprised of the process and offered explanation of how our application could be viewed by underwriting. I highly recommend Larry and endorse the reverse mortgage. The process was very smooth and done in record time as we had requested. Many thanks.

Caryn U — Nov 23, 2015

Nervous in the Beginning Larry was very knowledgeable about the processing of the reverse mortgage. He answered all my questions in a way that I could understand each step of the process. I was nervous in the beginning but with Larry helping me step by step in understanding the process, I became very much at ease. I would be more than happy to recommend others who would want to do a reverse mortgage. Again, thank you Larry.

Dorthie A — Feb 6, 2017