The Simple Guide to Reverse Mortgages

You've taken care of your home for decades. Now it's your home's turn to take care of you.

A reverse mortgage lets a homeowner 62 or older turn part of the home's value into cash - as a lump sum, monthly payments, or a growing line of credit - with no monthly mortgage payments, while keeping the title and staying in the home. It is also one of the most misunderstood loans in America.

This plain-language family guide walks through the whole decision, in order:

- The four golden rules of qualifying - and what to do if you still have a mortgage or your home is in a trust
- HECM versus jumbo reverse mortgages, and how the interest rates work
- Lump sum, monthly payments, or a line of credit that grows every year
- The real costs, itemized, and the three homeowner chores that keep the loan in good standing
- Buying a new home with a HECM for Purchase
- How a spouse and heirs are protected - you never owe more than the home is worth
- Tax-smart uses: avoiding retirement-account withdrawals, Medicare surcharges, and delaying Social Security
>Every chapter works through example households' numbers, and the closing section reports what published studies and surveys - from AARP, HUD, and peer-reviewed journals - found when borrowers were asked how it turned out: 93% said the loan had a mostly positive effect on their lives.

Written for senior homeowners, their families and their caregivers. Free calculators that use your own numbers are at niofe.org/reversebook.