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Reverse Mortgage (HECM)

How much can you tap from your home in retirement?

Enter your age, your home’s value, and what you still owe on it. We’ll estimate how much cash a government-insured reverse mortgage could give you, what it costs upfront, and the ways you can take the money.

  1. You borrow against your home, with no monthly payment

    A reverse mortgage turns part of your into cash. The most common kind is the FHA-insured . You make no loan payments; instead, what you owe grows over time and is repaid when you sell, move out for good, or pass away.

  2. Age and rates set the amount

    HUD publishes a table that sets the share of your home’s value you can borrow, called the . The older you are and the lower the interest rate, the larger that share.

  3. Costs and any old mortgage come off the top

    Upfront FHA , the lender’s fee, and other are paid first, and any mortgage you still have must be paid off. What’s left is yours to take as a lump sum, a credit line, or monthly payments.
For the home value, a recent estimate of what it would sell for is enough. The payoff balance is on your mortgage statement. The HUD counseling session you need before applying will run official figures. Inheriting a home explains what your heirs would face.
You and your home

Four numbers drive the estimate. If two of you are borrowing, use the younger person’s age.

$
$
%

Money available to you

$207,760

What’s left of the most you could borrow after paying off any current mortgage and about $21,500 of upfront costs (FHA mortgage insurance, the lender’s origination fee, and other closing costs). How you take the money is up to you; see the payout options below.

Most you could borrow

$229,260

38.2% of home value at age 70

Minus current mortgage

$0

paid off at closing

Minus upfront costs

$21,500

insurance $12,000 + fees $9,500

Left for you to use

$207,760

after the payoff and costs

What this means

At age 70 with a 6.5% expected rate, HUD’s table lets you borrow about 38% of your home, or $229,260. After $21,500 of upfront costs, about $207,760 is left for you. You’d make no monthly loan payments, but what you owe grows by about 7.00% a year (the rate plus 0.5% yearly mortgage insurance) and is repaid from the home when you sell, move out, or pass away.

You still pay property tax, insurance, and upkeep, and falling behind on them can put the loan in default.

What would change the amount

Apply at age 75 instead of 70+$24,600
Expected rate of 5.5% instead of 6.5%+$28,680

Each line changes one input and keeps the others as entered.

How you take the money

A lump sum pays about $116,056 in the first year, then $91,704 more available from year 2 on an adjustable-rate HECM. HECM rules cap first-year draws at 60% of the principal limit, or your required payoffs and costs plus 10% if that’s greater, and the payoff and upfront costs count against that cap. A fixed-rate HECM is a single draw at closing, and the rest is given up.

It suits one large need, like paying off a mortgage or making the home easier to live in. Interest starts building on the full amount right away, and money you take out no longer gets the credit-line growth described under Line of credit.

How HECMs work, and the catches

A Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is the FHA-insured reverse mortgage. You borrow against your home equity and make no monthly payments. The loan balance grows over time as interest builds up, and the loan is repaid when you sell, move out permanently, or pass away.

You still own the home, and title stays in your name. You’re still responsible for property taxes, homeowners insurance, and home maintenance. Failing to pay these can trigger default.

The loan is . When it’s repaid (typically by selling the home after you pass away), FHA insurance guarantees you or your heirs will never owe more than the home’s value, even if the loan balance has grown past it.

Upfront costs are high. The 2% FHA , an origination fee capped at $6,000, and third-party closing costs typically run roughly 3% to 5% of home value. A HECM often makes sense only if you’re confident you’ll stay in the home 5 or more years; otherwise the upfront cost dominates.

HUD requires you to complete a HECM counseling session before applying ($125 to $200, sometimes free). The counselor walks through alternatives.

When the last borrower dies, heirs must answer the servicer’s notice within 30 days. They then usually have about 6 months to pay off the loan (typically by selling the home) or refinance into their own mortgage, with up to two 90-day extensions if they’re actively working on it. They keep anything beyond the loan balance, and if the home is worth less than the balance, they can sell it for 95% of its appraised value and owe nothing more.

Numbers shown are estimates. Actual HECM principal limit factors (PLFs) come from FHA-published tables and depend on your exact age (to the month), the precise expected rate, and current FHA limits. Always get an official quote from a HUD-approved HECM counselor before deciding. Consider proprietary “jumbo” reverse mortgages if your home value exceeds the national HECM lending limit ($1,249,125 for 2026).

Results are estimates based on your inputs and the assumptions on this page, not quotes or advice. A lender, servicer, or tax advisor will give you different numbers. Disclaimer

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Terms used on this page

The HUD and FHA terms behind the estimate, from principal limit to non-recourse.

Reverse mortgage
A loan for homeowners 62 and older that turns part of the home’s value into cash. You make no monthly loan payments; the balance grows and is repaid when you sell, move out for good, or pass away.
HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage)
The FHA-insured reverse mortgage, and the most common kind. HUD sets how much you can borrow, the fees, and the consumer protections.
Home equity
Your home’s value minus what you still owe on it. A reverse mortgage lets you borrow against this without selling.
Principal limit
The most a HECM lets you borrow before costs: your home’s value (up to the national limit) times a percentage from HUD’s table that rises with age and falls as rates rise.
Expected interest rate
The rate HUD uses to look up your principal limit. Lower rates let you borrow more. HUD treats anything below 3% as 3% for this lookup.
HECM lending limit
The cap on how much home value counts toward a HECM: $1,249,125 for 2026, nationwide. Value above it doesn’t increase what you can borrow.
HECM mortgage insurance (MIP)
An upfront FHA charge of 2% of the home’s value (up to the limit) plus 0.5% a year added to the balance. It pays for the guarantee that you never owe more than the home is worth.
Non-recourse
The lender can collect only from the home. If the balance grows past the home’s value, you and your heirs don’t owe the difference.
Tenure payments
Monthly payments that continue for as long as you live in the home as your main residence, even if the loan balance passes the home’s value.
Line of credit growth
On an adjustable-rate HECM, the unused part of your credit line grows each year at the loan’s rate plus 0.5%, so the amount available to draw increases over time.

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