Hello Vickie,With a line of credit reverse mortgage, you can access any amount you wish, up to the full amount available to you under the program, without having to take the full loan amount. So, the specific answer to your question is yes, you can get a reverse mortgage and choose to take a smaller amount, even if more money is available to you with the loan.Furthermore, there is never a payment required on the loan while you still live in the home and abide by the loan terms. However, you can make payments in any amount if you choose to do so. This means you don't have to make any payments, but if you want to keep the balance lower, you have the option to make payments without any prepayment penalty.Another great feature of the loan is that the principal limit, or the loan amount available to you, grows on the unused balance over time at the same rate as the interest and mortgage insurance premium (MIP) accrues. In other words, if you still have $100,000 left on the line that you haven't used, you are not accruing interest on that line because you haven't borrowed those funds. Additionally, the amount available to you is growing on that unused balance. For example, if the interest and MIP total 6.5%, over the year that you did not use the $100,000 line, the next year you would have $106,500 available to borrow.The available amount will continue to grow every year as long as there is still money available on the line of credit. If you never use the money, you never have to repay it. But if you ever need it, it's reassuring to know that it's there. Unlike a bank HELOC loan, it cannot be frozen or closed as long as you live in the home and keep paying your taxes and insurance in a timely manner.

Hello Paul,Let me start by saying that I am a reverse mortgage lender, so one could argue that I have a "dog in this hunt". But since you have already started with another lender, I really don't have one in this case. Also, I have not always been a reverse mortgage lender. I have been a mortgage banker for about 47 years (boy, that hurts me to admit that ). I only started doing reverse mortgages when my mom came to me almost 20 years ago and wanted to know what I thought of them. I honestly didn't know what to tell her at the time, I had never originated a single one and had never researched them, so I had to tell her I needed a little time to look into them. It was a great option for her, and I ended up helping her get the loan. We were already a HUD-approved lender, so we obtained our approval to originate and close reverse mortgages as well, and shortly after that, my family and I switched our company to originating and closing only reverse mortgages and have done nothing else for the past 17 years because we believe in the program and have seen the good it has done for so many borrowers.It allowed my mom total independence while letting her make improvements to the home and giving her the added income she needed so that she didn't hit the middle of each month and run out of money (it turned out she was going without things and not making improvements that she would not share with us because she knew we would insist on helping and she didn't want us to feel obligated). She was active and in good health, and she went without at times or skipped activities she loved while sitting on a mountain of equity. Did the reverse mortgage mean that there was less of an inheritance for my siblings and me? Yes, it did, but that was never "ours" to begin with, and we were not counting on it. We always wanted my mom to have a happy life and said we would rather she spend every nickel and be happy than scrimp and go without each month so that there was a larger inheritance for us. She was able to make the repairs in her home that were needed, and have a small line of credit for when she needed cash. It also gave her a monthly payment that saw her through each month when she usually ran out of cash. The loan was perfect for her needs.We do not advocate that reverse mortgages are suitable in all cases or for all borrowers. Each borrower is different, and everyone has their own needs and goals. If your goal is to leave the highest asset to your heirs, paying down the current loan and leaving a free and clear property might be your best action plan. If making that monthly payment is leaving you short, though, if you are skipping things you would like to do because of a shortage of funds, or if you find that not making a payment would give you more money for anything you haven't been able to do (travel, spend on grandkids while you are still around to watch them enjoy it, remodel the house, etc.), a reverse mortgage requires no monthly payments which free up cash for you to use as you desire. And what many people don't know is that while a monthly payment is not required, you can choose to make a payment in any amount at any time because there is never a prepayment penalty if you want to. You can pay monthly, quarterly, annually, every so often, or not at all; it's your choice. And the home always belongs to you or your heirs after you pass. The interest does accrue on the unpaid balance, but the home still belongs to you or whoever you leave the home to after you pass.I don't know your finances, your son's fears, how much he knows about the loan, or his motives for advising against the loan. Many people hear the words reverse mortgage and are immediately reminded of some horror story they heard or read on the internet (or heard third hand that usually contains false information). Most of the terrible situations I hear about are from instances that result from someone who finds a way to take off with the reverse mortgage borrower's funds (and then it's usually someone very close to the borrower who is a trusted caregiver or family member). If you draw all the money early in the loan term, you will accrue more interest on the loan. Borrowers who are careful with how they draw their funds will use less of their equity with interest accrual. Borrowers who make some repayments will also keep the interest accrual lower. And then, some borrowers are not at all concerned about interest accrual. Many tell me that they have no heirs or that their children are doing very well on their own and don't need the equity in their parents' house (which quite often, when split among multiple siblings, is not a huge amount but can make a world of difference in the parents' lifestyle). In such cases, kids often tell them not to worry, to use their equity to live their lives as they choose and to find a way to use their equity (as we did with my mom). We have also seen some instances where children do not want parents to consider a reverse mortgage as they do want the asset and, in those cases, I have encouraged them to try to establish a "family reverse mortgage," where the adult children can fund their parents' needs against the future inheritance of the home. Some families are happy with this arrangement as it saves interest. Some adult children are unwilling or unable to put funds aside for their parents' use. In some cases, parents are unwilling to participate in a venture where they feel they need "permission" to get a loan on their property from their children. Again, it depends on your circumstances, relationship with your children, and what you want to accomplish. At any rate, there is no right answer or wrong answer. The choice is yours. Only you can decide which works best for you, depending on your goals and circumstances.

Hello Linda, If you make payments, they will be applied to the outstanding amounts in the order specified on your legal documents. Depending on the amounts, that will make more money available on your line of credit, and the balance available grows on the unused portion of the line. So, the answer is yes; if you pay the balance owed down so that your line of credit has more money available, the dollar amount your line grows will be greater as it is determined by that larger balance available on which the growth rate is multiplied.

Hello Emily, The reverse mortgage has no payments for as long as the borrower lives in the home as their primary residence so as the interest accrues on any money they borrow, it is added to their balance owed rather than paid as a payment monthly. This enables senior homeowners to live in the home without making monthly payments on the loan. The fees would only come into play if she accrues any fees. In the past, reverse mortgages were associated with monthly servicing fees and while they are still allowed, most loans have no servicing fees at this time. The reverse mortgage is a HUD/FHA insured loan and as such does have MIP mortgage insurance that also accrues and is added to the loan balance since there are no monthly payments. There could still be other fees if the borrower elected to have certain services such as changing the type of loan she had from a line of credit to a monthly payment. In such case, the servicer could assess up to a $50.00 fee to analyze the account and make the necessary changes to make the future monthly payments and the fee would also be added to the balance if one was assessed. The borrower receives a monthly statement from the servicer. That statement shows the interest that accrued for the month, The mortgage insurance premium, any fees that were assessed and the new balance. My suggestion to you is that you have the owner keep those statements so that if you or her family have any questions later, they can always refer to the statements. And just as a topic for the kids to consider discussing with mom, although there are never any payments required for as long as mom lives in the home as her primary residence, if the kids want to help mom by making a payment in any amount, there is never a prepayment with a reverse mortgage. The loan balance will grow monthly by any amount that mom draws from the loan, mortgage insurance premium assessed, and any interest or fees added to the balance monthly. Although no payment is required, mom can make any payment up to and including payment in full at any time without penalty. Mom owns the home and so any decisions are ultimately up to mom but if the family does not want to see the balance on the loan growing and if mom agrees to it, perhaps the family can decide for a monthly repayment of the interest accrual and MIP premiums for the month if nothing else. Of course, the increase in the amount owed will also depend on whether mom draws from the loan monthly but if they pay more than the interest accruing and any money mom draws from the loan, the balance will then begin to positively amortize or reduce monthly as the payment made exceeded the amount drawn and the interest that accrued. But the loan operates like any other loan. Interest accrues and if a monthly payment is not paid (which is not required on a reverse mortgage) to cover the amount of interest and MIP accrual, it is added to the principal balance owed so the balance owed will increase even if the borrower does not draw any funds that month. To determine the amount of interest that will accrue you would need to know the interest accrual rate and the amount owed and the MIP accrual rate (the MIP accrual rate is currently .5% but, on some loans, may be 1.25% - loans were originated at both levels depending on when the loan closed), all of which can be found on her monthly statement.

Hi Sally, That would be the interest paid on the loan you paid off. Interest is only deductible when paid and when you paid off your former loan, you paid the interest on that loan that had accrued while it was open. You should be sure that the person who prepares your taxes gets this document so that you receive any tax benefits coming your way.

Hello Clifford, Yes, you can, and would need to, pay off any existing loans with the proceeds to get a reverse mortgage. And since there is never a prepayment penalty, even though there are no payments due on the loan, you can make a payment in any amount at any time without penalty. That means you can make monthly, quarterly or payments at any interval you choose in any amount, you choose up to and including payment in full without having to pay a prepayment penalty at any time. This makes it great for borrowers who want to make payments but don't have regular income and would be penalized if their payments were not made by a certain time of the month each month. Since there is no payment due in the first place, there is no set time you need to make any payments and therefore no issues with credit if you can't make any payments for several months before you can begin paying again.

Hello Bob, Although there is never a payment due as long as you live in your home on the reverse mortgage, there is also never a prepayment penalty so you can make any payment in any amount you choose without penalty. This means you can choose to make a monthly payment, an annual payment, a quarterly payment, whatever you like. You receive a monthly statement showing how much interest accrues and if you send in that amount, your balance will not grow (any more will begin to pay the balance owed down). You can sell your home at any time you choose, to a family member or to any third party and it would work the same way as if you had any other loan. The closing agent (typically a title company) would collect the purchase price from the purchaser, pay off any liens of record and disburse any remaining funds to you. You always own the home and can sell it at any time, to whomever you choose.

Good Morning, Nothing is every "mandatory" on the reverse mortgage. You can opt for a fixed rate loan or you can accept the adjustable rate option. The adjustable rate loans work better for most borrowers because there are more options on how to take the funds, but the choice is always yours. The reverse mortgage is designed as a negative amortization program, as you accrue interest and make no payments the balance owed grows. But here again, that's not mandatory and it is completely within your power to stop the negative amortization at any time. You receive a monthly statement that tells you how much interest accrued that month (as well as any other charges if you have a loan on which the lender sets aside funds and pays your taxes and insurance). Although there is never a monthly payment due on a reverse mortgage and that is the reason most folks seek the program, you can choose to pay any amount at any time with no prepayment penalty. So, you can stop the negative amortization by making a monthly payment that covers the interest that accrued, or you can even begin to pay down the balance by paying more than the accrued interest. The great thing about a reverse mortgage is that it's all your option and not required so if any month comes that you cannot or do not want to make that payment, there are no negative repercussions by skipping a payment that month. You can do with this either the fixed rate reverse mortgage loans or the adjustable rate line of credit loans. You just need to know that since the fixed rate loans are a single draw option, once you repay any portion of the loan, those funds are not available to be drawn again. The line of credit allows you to re-borrow any portion of the loan that you repay unless you repay the loan in full and at that time, the loan would be closed and file a reconveyance or release of lien on your property. Once that has been done, your loan no longer exists and if you want to borrow any additional funds, you must open a new loan. Therefore, if you do plan to reborrow funds and you are paying back money on your reverse mortgage, always be sure to leave a small balance on the loan to keep in open.