1,401,176 HECM reverse mortgages insured by FHA since 1989.
Your reverse mortgage options in about 2 minutes. No Social Security number or credit check.
Reverse mortgage question
Yes and no. On an adjustable-rate HECM, you can change how you receive your money after closing, for example from a line of credit to monthly payments, for a small fee capped by HUD. You can't switch the loan itself, like fixed to adjustable or HECM to jumbo, without refinancing into a new loan. On a fixed-rate HECM, you took a single lump sum at closing, so there's no payout plan to change.
Yes and no. It depends on what you want to change.
If you have an adjustable-rate HECM, you can generally change your payout plan after closing, as long as you still have money available. For example:
HUD lets the servicer charge a small fee for the change, and caps it at $20. That's the same as when I first wrote about this years ago. You call your servicer, ask for the change, and they'll send you updated numbers to sign.
The amount you'll get is figured on what you have left at the time, your age then, and the loan's rate, so the new numbers will look different from what you saw at closing.
For a refresher on each option, see How a Reverse Mortgage Works.
You can't turn the loan you have into a different loan. That means you can't:
To do any of those, you'd refinance into a new reverse mortgage. That's a new loan with new closing costs, and HUD has rules about when a HECM to HECM refinance makes sense, including a test comparing the extra money to the cost. Some common reasons people refinance: the home's value went up, the lending limit rose, rates dropped, or a younger spouse turned 62 and can now be added. See Reverse Mortgage Refinance.
A fixed-rate HECM is a single lump sum at closing. There's no line of credit and no payout plan to change. If you need more money later, the only route is a refinance, if your numbers support one. See Fixed-Rate Reverse Mortgages.
Proprietary programs set their own rules for changing payouts. Many are fixed-rate lump sums with nothing to change, and some offer a line of credit with their own terms. Your loan documents spell it out, and I'm happy to read them with you.
Not sure whether to change your plan or refinance? Send me your latest statement and tell me what you're trying to do. I'll tell you honestly whether a simple plan change does the job, or whether a refinance is worth the cost. Call us at 530-888-6000.
ZYNG Mortgage, Inc., NMLS #76801. A reverse mortgage has no required monthly mortgage payments and uses your home's equity. Fees, mortgage insurance and other costs can be added to the loan balance, and the balance grows over time as interest is added, so your equity typically decreases. When the loan becomes due, the home may need to be sold, or the loan repaid from other funds. Interest is not tax-deductible until it is paid, in part or in full. You keep title to your home and must keep paying property taxes, homeowners insurance and upkeep, and meet the other loan terms; not doing so can make the loan due and could lead to foreclosure.
This material is not from HUD or FHA and was not approved by HUD or a government agency.
HECM count at the top of this page: HUD data through September 2026 (source, opens in a new tab).
