You can generally sell your home, with the reverse mortgage repaid from the proceeds before you receive the remaining equity. Check the payout, costs and any options for transferring the loan if you want to buy another property.
Question
Can I sell my home later if I have a reverse mortgage?
Verified by the Reverse Loans editorial team
Short answer
The detail
You can generally sell your home, with the reverse mortgage repaid from the proceeds before you receive the remaining equity. Check the payout, costs and any options for transferring the loan if you want to buy another property.
You can lose the ability to keep the home if the loan becomes repayable and neither you nor your estate can repay it without selling.
Common repayment events may include selling, permanently moving elsewhere or the death of the last borrower. The exact terms are contained in the loan agreement.
The larger practical risk is often a loss of flexibility.
You may want to move later because the home has stairs, the garden becomes difficult to maintain or you need to live closer to family and medical services. If the reverse mortgage has consumed a large amount of equity, the proceeds remaining after repayment may not be enough to purchase the type of replacement home you need.
You may be protected from owing more than the home’s value while still being left with very little equity.
Read more: Are Reverse Mortgages a Scam? We ask Reddit users.
Real stories where this came up
Positive outcome
"We Didn't Want Mum to Move." A Reverse Mortgage Helped Her Stay Where She Belonged.
It was where Christmas lunch spilled onto the back patio, where the grandchildren raced through the garden, and where neighbours still stopped for a chat over the…
5 min readRead story
Mixed outcomealso negativealso positive
"We Thought Mum Would Have to Sell." Instead, a Reverse Mortgage Bought Her More Time.
She owned her home, had no intention of moving and wanted to spend her retirement where she'd built her life. Like many older Australians, the house represented far more than bricks and mortar. It was where birthdays had been celebrated,…
6 min readRead story
Negative outcome
"Everything Was Fine Until Dad Died." That's When the Reverse Mortgage Started Going Bad.
Every conversation with the lender seemed to produce a different…
4 min readRead story
Related questions
Sources
Useful tool: try our projection calculator with your own example figures.
Verified by the Reverse Loans editorial team.
Was this helpful?
Still unsure? Ask us a question.