In many cases, yes—but it depends on your income and your property’s eligibility under HUD’s rules.

Income is the easier part.
HUD uses a residual-income test. We look at your monthly income, subtract required debts and property charges, and see whether the remaining amount meets HUD’s minimum threshold. Many borrowers with limited income qualify, as long as their debts aren’t too high. There’s no cost to check this.

The property is the more challenging part.
A USDA loan doesn’t disqualify you. It just has to be paid off as part of the reverse mortgage. The challenge is that USDA homes are often in rural areas, and HUD requires enough recent comparable sales for the appraiser to support the value and confirm the home meets FHA property standards.

We can often do a preliminary review using public records and recent sales, but only an FHA appraisal can officially confirm eligibility. Because rural areas sometimes lack comparable sales, it’s wise to verify income and program qualifications first before spending money on an appraisal.

If everything else checks out, the appraisal is the final step in determining whether the property meets HUD’s requirements.

For a deeper walkthrough, see Reverse Mortgage Property Requirements.​