1,401,176 HECM reverse mortgages insured by FHA since 1989.
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Reverse mortgage question
Usually not. A reverse mortgage is a long-term tool, and its upfront costs are hard to justify if you'll sell within a year. A HELOC, a bridge loan, or simply waiting for the sale often costs less. But if you're selling to buy your next home, a HECM for Purchase may be exactly the right fit. As a broker with a full product lineup, we can look at all of it.
Usually, no. We view a reverse mortgage as a long-term solution, and I wouldn't recommend one if you plan to sell within the year. That said, there are a few situations where it can still make sense, so let me walk through both sides.
A HECM has meaningful upfront costs: an origination fee, FHA's upfront mortgage insurance, and the usual closing costs like title, appraisal, and recording. Those costs are worth it when they're spread over many years of living in your home. Spread over a few months, they're a lot to pay for a short-term loan.
You can see this yourself in the Total Annual Loan Cost (TALC) disclosure every reverse mortgage comes with. It shows the cost as a yearly rate over different time periods, and the short periods usually look the most expensive. See What Is the TALC? and Reverse Mortgage Costs.
There's no prepayment penalty on a HECM, so you can sell and pay it off any time. The issue isn't a penalty. It's that you'd pay the upfront costs and get very little time out of them.
As mortgage brokers with a full product lineup, we can look at all of these and tell you which costs the least for your situation.
This is the big one. If you're 62 or older and selling to move somewhere that fits your next stage of life, a HECM for Purchase lets you buy the new home with a reverse mortgage built in. You put down a larger down payment, often from the sale of your current home, and the reverse mortgage covers the rest. There are no required monthly mortgage payments on the new home afterward. You must continue to pay property taxes and homeowners insurance, maintain the home, and meet the other loan terms.
We can generally close a HECM for Purchase in 30 days or less, but we always follow your contract. See HECM for Purchase.
"I might sell next year" sometimes turns into five more years. If you're really not sure, let's talk about what would make you stay or go before you decide.
Occasionally, a reverse mortgage on the current home solves a problem that's blocking a sale, like paying off a lien. That's rare, and I'd want to look closely at the numbers first.
Tell me your timeline and what you're trying to accomplish. If a reverse mortgage isn't the right tool, I'll say so and point you to what is. Call us at 530-888-6000, or book a call.
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).
