HUD’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage lets homeowners aged 62 or over, with little or no remaining balance on their mortgage, convert their home’s equity into cash. The equity can be paid to the homeowner as a lump sum, a stream of payments, a series of draws from a line of credit, or a combination of monthly payments and a line of credit.
Whatever payment plan you select, you do not have to repay any part of this reverse mortgage until you sell the home or vacate it for another reason (unless you violate the loan’s terms and conditions). At that time, you pay the loan balance, plus any accrued interest. Any proceeds above that amount go to you or to your estate.
Developed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the HECM mortgage provides a cash growth feature not found with some other reverse mortgages.