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Michael G. Branson, CEO of All Reverse Mortgage, Inc., and moderator of ARLO™, has 45 years of experience in mortgage banking, with the past 20 years devoted exclusively to reverse mortgages. A Forbes Real Estate Council member, he developed the industry's first fixed-rate jumbo reverse mortgage and has been featured in Forbes, Kiplinger, the LA Times, and Yahoo Finance. (License: NMLS# 14040) |
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Cliff Auerswald, President of All Reverse Mortgage, Inc., and co-creator of ARLO™ — the industry's first real-time reverse mortgage pricing engine — has 27 years of experience in mortgage banking, with 20+ years focused exclusively on reverse mortgages. A recognized expert in reverse mortgage technology and consumer education, he has been featured in Kiplinger, Yahoo Finance, Realtor.com, and HousingWire. (License: NMLS# 14041) |
Michael G. Branson
Edited by 
Cliff Auerswald
Hi Marlin,
Neither one. Marital status does not affect your loan amount.
The amount you can borrow - called the Principal Limit - is determined by the age of the youngest borrower or eligible non-borrowing spouse, the home's appraised value, current interest rates, and HUD's lending limits. That is it. Whether you are single or married does not move the needle.
The only way marriage affects the number is if your spouse is younger than you. HUD uses the youngest person's age to calculate how much you qualify for. The reason is straightforward: a younger borrower is expected to be in the home longer, which means more interest accrues over time. To account for that, HUD's Principal Limit Factor tables assign a lower starting loan amount to younger borrowers. So if you are 72 and your spouse is 65, the loan is calculated off age 65. If you were single at 72, you would qualify for more.
If your spouse is the same age as you or older, marital status makes no difference at all. The loan amount would be identical to that of a single borrower of the same age, assuming all else is equal.
HUD does not factor in health, lifestyle, or personal circumstances. Age is the only borrower-specific variable in the calculation. Everything else comes down to the property value, interest rates, and program limits.
Reference: HUD Handbook 4000.1, Section II.B.3.d - Principal Limit (PDF pages 592-594).
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