Everything people ask Mark, answered plainly.

A reverse mortgage is a loan for homeowners 62 and older. It lets you turn part of the value of your home into tax-free cash while you keep ownership and keep living there. The big difference from a regular mortgage: there are no monthly mortgage payments. In simple terms, the home you worked so hard for pays you back.

Most reverse mortgages are HECMs (Home Equity Conversion Mortgages), insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Lenders must follow strict federal rules.

No, and no. A HECM is a federally insured loan program that has been around since the 1980s. You stay the owner of your home and you stay in it. The loan is simply a lien on the property, the same as any mortgage.

What you do agree to: live in the home as your primary residence, pay your property taxes and homeowner's insurance, and keep the home maintained. Do those four things and nobody can make you leave.

It is not too good to be true. It is too good to be free. It is a loan, and like any loan it gets paid back, with interest, when you no longer live in the home. Interest is added to the balance over time instead of being paid monthly, so the amount owed grows and the equity left for your heirs shrinks. That is the trade. For a lot of people, keeping their home and their monthly cash flow is worth it. For some it is not. Mark will tell you which one you are.

• At least one homeowner must be 62 or older.
• The home must be your primary residence: a single-family house, condo or townhome.
• Any existing mortgage is paid off with proceeds from the reverse mortgage.

Credit does not have to be perfect, and there is no minimum income. Mark can tell you on the first call whether you fit.

It depends on three things: your age (the older you are, the more you can access), the value of your home, and current interest rates. Any existing mortgage gets paid off first out of the proceeds. The only honest way to get a number is to have Mark run your actual figures, which takes a few minutes and costs nothing.

• Lump sum: all available funds at settlement.
• Line of credit: take money when you need it. The unused portion grows over time, giving you more to draw on later.
• Tenure plan: a monthly payout for as long as you live in the home.
• Term plan: a monthly payout for a set number of years.

You can combine these, and you can change the plan later as your needs change.

Yes. You keep the title. A reverse mortgage is a lien on the property, like any mortgage. If your situation changes, you can sell the home, pay off the loan, and keep whatever is left.

Yes, and this is the most common reason people call. The reverse mortgage pays off the existing mortgage, and your monthly payment stops. For someone on a fixed income who wants to stay put, it is often a better fit than a traditional refinance.

Your heirs have choices. They can repay the loan and keep the home, or sell the home, pay off the loan, and keep any remaining equity. Because a HECM is FHA insured, they will never owe more than the home is worth, even if the balance is higher. Many families sit in on the first meeting with Mark, and he encourages it.

When you no longer live in the home: you sell it, you move out permanently, or you pass away. You or your estate settle the loan by selling the property or refinancing it.

The Federal Housing Administration insures HECM reverse mortgages. If the loan balance ever ends up higher than the home is worth, FHA covers the shortfall and you and your heirs are not responsible for the difference. If the balance is less than the value, the remaining equity belongs to you or your estate.

If your spouse is also listed as a borrower on the reverse mortgage, they keep living in the home with no change to the loan. This is one of the details Mark walks through carefully with every couple, because getting it right up front matters.

Yes. There is no required monthly payment, but you can pay toward the balance any time, in any amount, with no penalty. Some people pay the interest to keep the balance level. Most do not, and that is fine too.

Yes, at any time. You sell, the loan is paid off from the proceeds at closing, and you keep the rest. There is no prepayment penalty.