1,401,176 HECM reverse mortgages insured by FHA since 1989.
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Reverse mortgage question
Yes, in most cases. A HECM for Purchase only requires that the new home becomes your primary residence within 60 days of closing; it doesn't require you to sell the old one. But you'll need to show you can afford both homes, including any mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, and HOA dues on the one you keep. And if your current home has an FHA loan, it may have to be paid off first, because FHA generally limits you to one FHA-insured mortgage at a time.
Absolutely. I get why people ask. Plenty of folks want to buy their next home first, move in, and then decide what to do with the old one: sell it, rent it out, or hand it down to a kid.
A HECM for Purchase doesn't make you sell your current home. What it does require is that the new home becomes your primary residence within 60 days of closing. Where the old home ends up is your call, as long as the numbers work.
If you keep the old home, the lender has to be comfortable that you can carry both. That means showing enough income or assets to cover the old home's:
This all gets looked at in the financial assessment, the same review every HECM borrower goes through. If you plan to rent the old home out, ask your loan officer how that rent is treated. HUD's rules count only part of the rent, usually need a signed lease, and may not count it at all if you aren't moving far away. See Reverse Mortgage Financial Assessment.
On the new home, there are no required monthly mortgage payments. You must continue to pay property taxes and homeowners insurance, maintain the home, and meet the other loan terms.
Here's the part that catches people. A HECM is an FHA-insured loan, and FHA generally limits you to one FHA-insured mortgage at a time, with some exceptions. So if your current home has an FHA mortgage, I'll review it with the lender early, because it may have to be paid off before the new HECM closes.
For regular (forward) FHA loans, FHA makes some exceptions, such as:
If your current loan is conventional, VA, or the home is paid off, this rule doesn't apply.
Most people sell the old home and use the proceeds for the down payment on the new one. If you're keeping the old home, the down payment has to come from somewhere else you can document, like savings or other assets. Your loan officer will tell you which sources your lender accepts. See HECM for Purchase for how the down payment is figured.
Tell me what you owe on your current home, what kind of loan it is, and what you're thinking of doing with it. I'll show you what keeping it would take, side by side with selling. Call us at 530-888-6000 or start your reverse mortgage review.
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).
