10 questions to ask any reverse mortgage lender.

This is the first question because it changes everything that follows. A captive lender can only sell their own reverse mortgage product — typically one HECM and maybe one proprietary jumbo. A broker can compare options across many investors and recommend the one that actually fits your situation.

Every mortgage loan originator in the U.S. is required to be licensed and registered with the National Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS). You can verify any lender or individual loan officer at nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Look up the company AND the individual person you're talking to.

Reverse mortgages have multiple upfront costs: the FHA initial mortgage insurance premium (2% of home value for HECMs), an origination fee (capped by FHA, but still a real number), third-party closing costs (appraisal, title, recording, etc.), and sometimes other fees. Ask for these as a written line-item breakdown, not a single rolled-up "approximately X" number.

This trips a lot of people up. On an adjustable-rate HECM, the expected rate is used to calculate how much you can borrow at closing — it's a calculation rate. The note rate is what actually accrues on the balance over time. These are two different numbers. Make sure you understand both.

A reverse mortgage balance grows over time because interest and mortgage insurance are added to the principal rather than paid down. Ask for an amortization showing the loan balance at year 5, year 10, year 15, and year 20 assuming the note rate stays the same. Then ask what it looks like if rates rise by 2 or 3 percent.

This is one of the most important questions in the conversation. Federal protections now generally allow eligible non-borrowing spouses to remain in the home, but the rules are specific and not all spouses qualify. If your spouse isn't going to be a co-borrower, you need to know exactly what their status is and what happens after a maturity event.

Your heirs will have several options: sell the home and keep any remaining equity, pay off the loan and keep the home (often by refinancing), or walk away from the property with no further obligation. Because reverse mortgages are non-recourse, your heirs will never owe more than the home is worth. Ask the lender to walk you through this in plain language.

You're still responsible for property taxes, homeowner's insurance, basic maintenance, and (if applicable) HOA dues. Falling behind on any of these can trigger a default. Ask the lender what happens if you have trouble keeping up — and whether a Life Expectancy Set-Aside (LESA) might apply to your situation.

One of the most powerful features of an adjustable-rate HECM is that the unused portion of your line of credit grows over time — at the same rate as your loan accrues interest. This isn't an investment return (it's a contractual feature), but it can be very valuable over a 10–20 year horizon. Ask the lender to explain it and show the projection.

This is the question almost no one asks, and it tells you the most. A good loan officer will give you a real answer that may include "in your situation I'd actually suggest considering X or Y instead" — including options that don't make them money. A bad one will dodge the question or give you a generic pitch.