Women in Real Estate Funding

Reverse mortgages, explained properly

How they work, who they are for, what they cost, and what happens to your family afterwards. No figure on this page is yours — what you could actually borrow depends on your age, your home and the rates on the day, and only a licensed originator who has looked at your situation can tell you.

Whether you are eligible at all

Three published rules. They are the same for everybody, so you can check them yourself.

You are 62 or older
Every borrower on the title has to be. A younger spouse can often stay in the home under the eligible non-borrowing spouse rules, which is worth asking about rather than assuming.
It is where you live
Your primary residence, not a rental or a second home. You have to keep living there — moving out permanently is one of the things that makes the loan due.
There is enough equity
Any existing mortgage is paid off out of the proceeds first. How much is left over depends on your age, the home’s value and rates on the day — which is why nobody can tell you the figure from a web page.

The step people are not expecting

Before a HECM can be submitted, you have to complete counselling with a HUD-approved agency, independently of us. It exists to make sure nobody is talked into one of these, and it is not a formality — it is a real appointment that has to be booked, and it is the most common reason a file sits still for weeks.

We will tell you this at the start rather than at the end.

The questions worth asking

Do I still own my home?
Yes. Your name stays on the title. You keep paying property taxes, homeowners insurance and upkeep — and falling behind on those is the most common way people get into trouble with one of these.
When does it have to be repaid?
When the last borrower sells, moves out permanently, or dies. Not before, as long as you keep to the terms.
Can I end up owing more than the house is worth?
A HECM is non-recourse. Neither you nor your heirs repay more than the home sells for, even if the balance has grown past its value. That protection is the reason the mortgage insurance premium exists.
What happens to my children?
They can repay the loan and keep the house, usually by refinancing or selling. Whatever equity is left after the balance is settled is theirs. What they cannot do is inherit the house free of the loan.
Is the money taxable?
It is a loan advance, not income, so generally not. It can still affect need-based benefits like Medicaid, which is worth checking before you draw a lump sum.
What does it cost?
Origination, closing costs, mortgage insurance and a servicing fee, and interest accrues on the balance rather than being paid monthly. The balance grows over time instead of shrinking — that is the trade, and it should be a deliberate one.

When one is a bad idea

If you are likely to move within a few years, the upfront costs will not have earned their keep. If you cannot comfortably cover taxes, insurance and upkeep, a reverse mortgage makes that worse rather than better, because those are exactly the obligations that can put the loan into default. And if leaving the house to your children unencumbered matters more than the money, this is not the product for that.

We would rather say so here than after you have paid for an appraisal.

Talk to somebody

Tell us your name and a number and one of our own licensed Mortgage Loan Originators will ring you. We do not ask what your home is worth or what you still owe — nobody needs that for a first conversation.

Or just text us

Text (954) 866-2171 and talk to Money Penny. She is an AI, she will say so, and she will work the arithmetic through with you — what a payment is made of, how interest accrues, what the costs are. What she will not do is tell you what you would get, because she cannot know that and neither can anybody who has not looked at your file.

We reply only to people who message us first — no marketing lists, no promotional texts. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help, or call (954) 866-2171.

WIRE Funding — Women in Real Estate Funding. NMLS #1835827. Davie, Florida. Nothing on this page is an offer of credit, a rate quote, or a commitment to lend. Reverse mortgages are not suitable for everybody. Equal Housing Opportunity.