Widespread misconception  

"The bank, lender, or government
OWNS the home after a reverse mortgage"

   Reverse mortgage lenders have also had to dispel the popular notion that borrowers have to sign over ownership of their home to the lender or that the equity in the home is lost to any heirs if the owner dies -- no matter how much has been drawn. Neither is true. The lender holds a first mortgage security interest in the home -- as in a traditional mortgage -- while the senior homeowner retains full title to the property.

    What makes reverse mortgages, which have been offered since the late 1960s, so appealing is the fact that senior retirees can continue to live in their homes while turning their equity into cash. Unlike a traditional or forward mortgage or home equity loan, there are no payments -- monthly or otherwise -- as long as the borrower remains in the home, and the loan doesn't have to be repaid until the last borrower dies or moves out of the house.

    When that happens, the estate, the heirs or the homeowners themselves, if they are still living, have a full year to sell the property and pay off the reverse-mortgage holder.

   And thanks to insurance mandated by the federal government for certain reverse mortgages, borrowers or their heirs may never owe more than the house is worth, regardless of how much interest has accumulated over the years.

THE BANK OR HUD DOES NOT OWN YOUR HOME- YOU DO!!

Take a long look at this!

    Increasing your debt may not seem like a wise financial strategy at first—indeed, it isn't for everyone—but your reverse mortgage debt is different from most other kinds. Usually, taking out a loan means you must commit to repay it using money that you will earn in the future—in other words, using money that isn't guaranteed.

   When you take out a reverse mortgage, on the other hand, you are guaranteed to have the money to pay it off because the loan is based on the equity you already have in your home. That's because a reverse mortgage is what's known as a non-recourse loan, which means that your home is the lender's only recourse to collect on the debt. None of your other assets are affected.

   Only when you sell or move from your home, or when you pass away, will the lender be able to collect on the debt. If the home's value is less than the outstanding balance, you will not owe a single dollar of the difference. On the other hand, if you sell the home for more than the loan balance at that time, you or your heirs will keep the difference.