Florida Reverse Mortgage (HECM)

A Florida reverse mortgage lets homeowners aged 62 and over draw on their equity without making a monthly mortgage payment.

Key features of a Florida reverse mortgage

• No monthly mortgage payment
• You stay in the home for life, provided you meet the obligations below
• Draw the equity as a lump sum, as monthly payments, or as a line of credit
• FHA insures it as a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, or HECM
• You must keep property taxes, insurance and maintenance current
• Non-recourse, so you never owe more than the home is worth
• HUD counseling comes before the application, not after

What happens to the house, and to the people in it

Two questions decide whether this loan is right for a family, and neither appears on most reverse mortgage pages.

Your heirs. The loan comes due when the last borrower dies, sells, or moves out for more than twelve consecutive months. Heirs then choose: repay the balance and keep the house, usually by refinancing, or sell it and keep whatever equity remains. Because the loan is non-recourse, if the balance exceeds the value they can hand the property to the lender and owe nothing. FHA insurance absorbs the shortfall. However, heirs generally get only about six months to act, so tell your family the loan exists rather than leaving them to find out.

A spouse under 62. If your husband or wife is too young to be a borrower, they become a non-borrowing spouse. Current HECM rules let them remain in the home after you die, but only if the lender recorded them properly at closing and they keep meeting the tax, insurance and occupancy obligations. Get that documentation right at the start, since it cannot be fixed afterwards.

The obligation that ends these loans

You have no mortgage payment, yet you still owe property taxes, homeowners insurance, any flood insurance, and HOA dues. Fall behind on those and the lender can call the loan due, which means foreclosure. Florida makes this sharper than most states, because hurricane and flood premiums here have climbed steeply and a fixed retirement income does not climb with them. Therefore budget the insurance line for what it may cost in five years, not what it costs today.

Who this suits

• Homeowners aged 62 and over supplementing retirement income
• Seniors who want to clear an existing mortgage payment
• Retirees who need cash flow and intend to stay put long term
• Homeowners using a line of credit to help adult children buy

Florida-specific notes

• Florida holds one of the largest populations aged 62 and over in the country
• Homestead protection still applies to a home carrying a reverse mortgage
• Flood insurance must stay in force wherever FEMA requires it
• Keeping the homestead exemption in place helps you keep taxes current
• Florida levies no state income tax, and loan proceeds are not taxable income in any case

Sources: HUD Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program rules and the CFPB guide to reverse mortgage loans, 2026. HUD revises HECM limits and terms annually; confirm current figures and complete the required counseling before you apply.