The Utah reverse mortgage guide
How a reverse mortgage works in Utah
A reverse mortgage in Utah is a loan against your home for owners 62 and older, or 55 for a private loan. You keep the title and keep living there, and the money comes out of your equity. You do not make mortgage payments while you live there. The loan is repaid when you sell, move out or the last borrower dies. Until then, you still pay the taxes and insurance and keep the home in good repair.
The short answer
You can borrow against your home and keep living in it, as long as you keep up your side of the loan.
- Who: 62 or older for the federal HECM, or 55 for a private loan in Utah
- The home: your main home, with any old mortgage paid off at closing
- Your side: meet a counselor first, then keep up the taxes, insurance and repairs
Part 1 of 4
The basics
What a reverse mortgage is, who can get one in Utah, and the ways the money is paid out.
The short answer
What a reverse mortgage is
In shortIt is a loan against the equity in your home. You keep living there, and what you owe grows until the loan is repaid.
A reverse mortgage is a loan against the home you live in, made for older owners. It turns part of your equity, the share of the home you own outright, into money you can use. You keep the title, so the home stays yours. The big change from a regular mortgage is the direction: what you owe goes up over time, not down.
That happens because nothing is paid back along the way. Interest and fees are added to the balance each month instead, and the whole loan is repaid at the end. The bills you keep paying until then come up in part two.
Most reverse mortgages are the federal kind, the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, or HECM for short. FHA insures it, HUD runs it, and only an FHA-approved lender can make one. That insurance protects the lender, not you. Private lenders offer reverse mortgages of their own too, and Utah law sets extra rules for both kinds.
The counselor is the one who must walk you through your other choices. The bar along the bottom is the part that stays yours the whole time.
Who qualifies
Who can get a reverse mortgage in Utah
In shortIn Utah, 62 or older for a HECM, or 55 for a private loan. The home must be your main home, and you meet a counselor first.
Utah law sets the age by the kind of loan. For a HECM, the federal loan, the youngest borrower must be 62 or older at closing. For a private reverse mortgage that FHA does not insure, Utah lets you start at 55. Either way, the home has to be the one you live in.
| Rule | HECM (federal) | Private loan in Utah |
|---|---|---|
| Youngest borrower's age | 62 or older | 55 or older |
| The home | Your main home | Your main home |
| Counselor meeting | Before FHA gives the loan its case number | Before you sign the application |
| Who backs it | FHA insures it | No FHA insurance, so the lender's own terms apply |
Utah law counts three kinds of home. The first is a house with one to four units, where you live in one of them. The others are a condo in a project HUD has approved and a manufactured home built after June 1976. Your lender confirms whether your home also fits the federal rules. A second home or a rental does not qualify.
A few more checks come with every HECM. Any mortgage you still owe gets paid off at closing, from the reverse mortgage money or your own cash. Before approval, the lender runs a financial assessment, a look at your credit history, your bills and the income you have left each month. The question behind it is simple: can you keep paying your taxes and insurance?
A HECM is its own FHA program, apart from the FHA loan people use to buy a home with a regular mortgage. If you want a regular mortgage on retirement income instead, see mortgages on a fixed income.
The money
How you get the money from a reverse mortgage
In shortYou pick how the money comes: a line of credit, money each month, one lump sum, or a mix. Each choice has its own catch.
How much you can get rests on three things: the age of the youngest borrower, the interest on the loan, and your home's value. The value used is capped at the lowest of the appraisal, the price if you are buying, or a national limit. Your counselor and your lender give you the real figures for your own home.
- A line of credit
You draw money when you want it, and you pay interest only on what you use. On a HECM, the part you have not used keeps growing over time, up to a cap set in the loan papers.
- Money each month for a set time
You pick a number of months or years, and the money comes each month until then. This is called a term plan.
- Money each month while you live there
The money keeps coming as long as the home stays your main home and you keep the loan's rules. This is called a tenure plan.
- One lump sum at closing
You take the money all at once. It comes only with the fixed interest version, and on it you usually cannot switch to another plan later.
You can also mix them, with money each month plus a line of credit. The line of credit and the monthly plans come with the adjustable version of the loan. Utah law adds one choice: if you are on a monthly plan, the lender must move part of the money into a line of credit when you ask.
On the adjustable version, a cap limits how much you can take at closing and in the first 12 months.
Part 2 of 4
The cost and the catch
What the loan costs, the bills that stay yours, and the events that make it come due.
The costs
What a reverse mortgage costs, in words
In shortSome costs are paid once, at closing. Others are added to your balance every month for as long as the loan runs.
A reverse mortgage has two sets of costs. One set comes due at closing, and you can pay it in cash or have it paid from the loan. The other set never shows up as a bill. It is added to your balance each month, which is one reason the balance grows.
| Cost | Paid to | When |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling fee | The HUD-approved counseling agency | At counseling, or from the loan later |
| Origination fee | The lender, for making the loan | At closing |
| Other closing costs | Others, such as the appraiser, the title company and the county recorder | At closing |
| Upfront mortgage insurance | FHA, on a HECM | At closing |
| Interest | The lender | Each month, onto your balance |
| Servicing fee | The company that sends your statements | Each month, onto your balance |
| Yearly mortgage insurance | FHA, on a HECM | Each month, onto your balance |
Compare more than one lender. The FHA mortgage insurance is usually the same from one lender to the next. Most of the other costs are not, so get more than one offer. The upfront costs weigh more if you might move in a few years.
Two more things to know. A counseling agency cannot turn you away because you cannot afford its fee. And HUD warns about people who charge for information that HUD gives away free.
No figures on this page, on purpose. Ask your counselor to walk you through the total cost of the loan over time, and ask each lender for its own figures.
Your side
What you still have to pay
In shortProperty taxes, insurance and repairs stay your job. Fall behind on them, and the loan can come due.
The home's other bills stay with you. You pay the property taxes, the homeowners insurance and any flood insurance. You keep the home in good repair. If the home is a condo, or sits where a community charges fees, you pay those on time too.
These duties are written into the loan. Miss one, and the lender can call the whole loan due. Based on the financial assessment, the lender may hold back part of your loan money in a set-aside that pays the taxes and insurance for you. You can also ask for one. HUD calls it a Life Expectancy Set Aside.
A property tax catch. Some property tax relief puts off your tax and records a lien on the home until the tax is paid. That kind is called a deferral. HUD rules bar a HECM borrower from joining a deferral unless its lien sits behind the reverse mortgage. Before you sign up for any tax relief, talk to your county and your counselor.
When it ends
When a reverse mortgage comes due
In shortWhen the last borrower dies, sells or moves out for good. It can also come due when a duty is missed.
The loan has a short list of events that end it. The last borrower dies. The home is sold, or all of the title is deeded to someone else. The home stops being the main home of every borrower. Or a duty is missed, such as the taxes, the insurance or the repairs.
Health has a rule of its own. If a borrower is away for more than 12 months in a row because of a physical or mental illness, and no other borrower lives there, the loan comes due. A co-borrower who still lives in the home can stay and keep getting money, as long as they keep the loan's rules.
Whichever way it ends, you and your heirs never owe more than the home brings.
Utah law adds a step before any foreclosure while you are alive. Whoever starts it must first send you a notice by certified mail that names the problem, and give you at least 30 days to fix it. Open that letter the day it comes, then call your servicer and a HUD-approved counselor.
Part 3 of 4
Your rights in Utah
The protections Utah law adds, and what happens to your spouse and your heirs.
Utah law
What Utah law adds to a reverse mortgage
In shortAn independent counselor, a written warning, five days to think, and at least 30 days to fix a default before foreclosure.
Utah has its own law for these loans, the Utah Reverse Mortgage Act. It sits on top of the federal HECM rules and gives you five protections. Utah Code Title 57, Chapter 28 (checked November 2026; current text on le.utah.gov).
- 01An independent counselor, first
You meet a housing counselor from HUD's approved list before the loan moves ahead. For a HECM, that is before FHA gives the loan a case number. For a private loan, it is before you sign the application.
- 02The counselor covers other roads
The counselor must go over choices besides a reverse mortgage. Those include a sale-leaseback, where you sell the home and rent it back, a deferred payment loan, and a property tax deferral. You also get a written notice that the loan may affect your taxes, your public aid, and your estate and heirs.
- 03Five days to think
Once you accept the lender's written offer, the lender cannot hold you to it or make you close for five days. You cannot give up this wait, even if you want to.
- 04The money is a loan, not income
For Utah programs based on need, the money you get counts as a loan, not as income. Money you have not drawn yet counts as equity in your home.
- 05Time to fix a default
Before a foreclosure while you are alive, you get a notice by certified mail and at least 30 days to fix the problem.
A private loan, one FHA does not insure, comes with more Utah rules. The lender must give you set papers ahead of time. They include a list of at least five counselors, the projected total cost at least 10 days before closing, and a statement every year. A lender that fails to make a promised advance on a private loan loses its right to be repaid.
A HECM meets some of these Utah rules by following the federal ones. Ask your counselor which rules apply to the loan in front of you.
Taxes and benefits. The IRS treats reverse mortgage money as a loan, so it is not taxed as income. The interest added to your balance is not deductible as it builds up. For federal SSI, the money is a loan too, but money you keep past the month you get it can count as savings. If you get SSI or Medicaid, talk with your counselor before you take out a large sum.
Most reverse mortgages also let you cancel within three business days after closing. Send your notice in writing by certified mail, and keep copies. A loan used to buy a home is generally not one of them. This right comes from federal rules, not Utah law.
Spouse and heirs
What happens to your spouse and your heirs
In shortA spouse on the loan can stay. A spouse off the loan can stay only under strict rules. Heirs never owe more than the home is worth.
Who signs the loan matters most here. A co-borrower who lives in the home can stay after the other borrower dies, and the money keeps coming. A spouse who is not on the loan has a harder road.
HUD calls that spouse an eligible non-borrowing spouse when three things are true. You were married at closing, the spouse is named in the loan papers, and the home is their main home too. Then the loan can wait after the borrower dies. The spouse must keep the loan's rules and, within 90 days, show a legal right to stay in the home for life. No loan money comes during that wait.
A spouse who does not meet those rules gets no wait, and the loan comes due when the last borrower dies. The CFPB calls qualifying difficult and points people to an attorney or a HUD-approved counselor. If you are married and only one of you is old enough to borrow, settle this before closing, not after.
When the loan comes due, your heirs get a notice and 30 days to act. The time can be extended, up to six months. They have three choices: pay off the loan and keep the home, sell it, or hand the home to the lender with a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
The loan is non-recourse. That means neither you nor your heirs ever owe more than the home brings. If the balance is more than the home is worth, heirs can keep or sell it by paying a set amount a little below its appraised value, and FHA insurance covers the rest. If the home sells for more than the balance, the extra goes to you or your heirs.
Part 4 of 4
Buying, and deciding
Buying your next home with a reverse mortgage, the other roads, and where I fit.
Buying with one
Can you buy a house with a reverse mortgage?
In shortYes, with a HECM for Purchase. You bring your own cash for part of the price, and the reverse mortgage covers the rest.
Yes. A HECM for Purchase lets you buy your next main home with a reverse mortgage. You cover the gap between the loan money and the price plus closing costs with your own cash. That cash can come from savings, from the sale of your old home, or from other sources HUD allows. After closing, you do not make mortgage payments on the new home while you live there, but you still pay the taxes and insurance and keep the home in good repair.
The box marked Your cash for the gap is your part of the price. The loan covers the rest.
The program has rules a regular purchase does not. Each borrower must move in within 60 days of closing. The seller must be the owner on the deed, not someone who only holds a contract to buy it. A home resold 90 days or less after the seller bought it does not qualify. Major defects that threaten health, safety or the soundness of the home must be fixed by the seller before closing.
Seller and builder help is limited. The seller can pay only fees the law makes sellers pay, fees sellers usually pay in that area, and a home warranty. On a new home, ask your lender what a builder's offer of help can cover before you count on it.
In Iron, Washington, Kane, Garfield and Beaver counties, I can be your agent on the purchase, from the search to the offer. In any other part of Utah, a partner agent I trust leads the search for you. For the move itself, see buying and selling in retirement and downsizing from the Wasatch Front.
Is it right for you
Is a reverse mortgage right for you?
In shortIt turns on how long you plan to stay, whether you can keep up the home's bills, and what you hope to leave behind.
A reverse mortgage fits some plans and not others. The upfront costs weigh most if you may move in a few years. The growing balance leaves less equity for you or your heirs later. And the duties never stop, so if the taxes, insurance or repairs are already hard to keep up, the loan does not lift them off you.
- Stay and borrow with a HECM
You keep the home and turn part of its equity into money, while the balance grows. It works only as long as you can keep up the home's bills.
- Buy your next home with one
You sell, bring cash to the new purchase, and a HECM for Purchase covers the rest of the price.
- Sell and buy smaller
You take your equity out in a sale, then buy a home that costs less to run, with or without a loan.
- A home equity line or a refinance
A regular loan against your home. You make payments on it, so the balance can go down instead of up.
- Local help for one need
Some state or local agencies and nonprofits offer a low-cost reverse mortgage for one use, such as repairs or property taxes. Ask your county or your local Area Agency on Aging what exists near you.
Walk away from these. Pressure to sign fast is the first warning sign. You do not have to buy an annuity, insurance or an investment to get a reverse mortgage, so be wary of anyone who pushes you to put the money into one. Be wary, too, of a contractor who pitches a reverse mortgage to pay for repairs, above all after a disaster. Report fraud to the FTC, the CFPB and the state.
Where I fit
Where I fit, and who comes first
In shortA HUD-approved counselor comes first, and that counselor works for you, not a lender. After that, I can set a reverse mortgage beside selling or buying smaller.
Your first stop is a housing counselor on HUD's approved list, and Utah law says that counselor must be independent. You can search HUD's list at answers.hud.gov or call HUD at (800) 569-4287. The counselor is not my partner, and I do not choose one for you.
Once you have met the counselor, I can walk you through how a reverse mortgage compares with selling and buying smaller. As a mortgage lender, I can show what a regular loan on a smaller home would look like, or what buying with cash from the sale would leave you. In Iron, Washington, Kane, Garfield and Beaver counties, I can be your agent on the sale or the next purchase instead. On any one purchase I take one role only, never both. How I Work explains both roles.
Cedar City is home for me, after more than 20 years living in Southern Utah. Selling or buying somewhere else in the state? A partner agent I trust leads there, and the notes below explain the referral fee.
Questions, answered
What people ask about reverse mortgages in Utah
It is a loan against the home you live in. You keep the title and keep living there, and you take money from your equity as a line of credit, money each month, one lump sum or a mix. Interest and fees are added to what you owe, so the balance grows. You do not make mortgage payments while you live there, but you keep paying the taxes and insurance and keep up the home. It comes due when you sell, move out or the last borrower dies. Utah law adds a counselor meeting and a five-day wait before you can be made to close.
For the federally insured HECM, the youngest borrower must be 62 or older. Utah law lets a private reverse mortgage that FHA does not insure start at 55. Either way, the home must be your main home, and you must meet with a HUD-approved housing counselor before the loan moves ahead.
Yes. A HECM for Purchase lets you buy your next main home with a reverse mortgage plus your own cash, which often comes from selling your old home. Every borrower must move in within 60 days, the seller can pay only certain costs, and you still keep up the taxes, insurance and repairs after you move in.
Your heirs never owe more than the home is worth. They can sell it, give it to the lender, or keep it by paying a set amount a little below its appraised value, and FHA insurance covers the rest of the balance. They get a notice and 30 days to act, and that time can be extended.
Up front, there is a counseling fee, an origination fee to the lender, other closing costs and FHA mortgage insurance. After closing, interest, a servicing fee and yearly mortgage insurance are added to your balance each month. Most upfront costs can be paid from the loan. Ask your counselor to walk you through the total cost over time, and compare lenders.
Utah law treats reverse mortgage money as a loan, not income, for Utah programs based on need, and money you have not drawn counts as equity in your home. For SSI, money you keep past the month you get it can count against you as savings. The IRS does not tax the money as income. Ask your counselor before you draw a large amount.
Keep exploring
More guides on reverse mortgages and downsizing
Six guides on staying or selling, inheriting a home with a loan, a spouse's mortgage after a loss, property taxes, moving south, and loans on a fixed income.
DownsizingDownsizing vs. a reverse mortgage in UtahStay put with a reverse mortgage, or sell and downsize? How each turns Utah home equity into cash, what each costs later, and a fair way to compare them.Read the guide
Inherited propertyInherited a home with a mortgage in UtahInherited a Utah home with a mortgage? The loan does not vanish or auto-accelerate. Keep paying, assume it, refinance, sell, or walk away: the calm version.Read the guide
Loss of a spouseThe mortgage after losing a spouseWhen a spouse dies, a Utah mortgage is rarely the emergency it feels like. Your rights as a successor in interest, and why the lender cannot call the loan due.Read the guide
DownsizingUtah property taxes when you downsizeYour Utah property tax bill when you downsize: the primary residential exemption to claim on the new home, the senior relief programs, and the value reset.Read the guide
DownsizingDownsizing to Southern Utah from the Wasatch FrontSelling on the Wasatch Front and buying a rambler in Southern Utah: the price gap between the markets, timing two closings 300 miles apart, and the winters.Read the guide
RetirementGetting a mortgage on a fixed incomeHow lenders document retirement income for a Utah mortgage: Social Security, pensions, and withdrawals, and why underwriting wants steady income.Read the guideDownsize cash calculator Equity position calculator Mortgage questions Every guide on Moving Utah
Not advice. This content is for general information only. It is not legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.
How my dual role works. I am licensed in both real estate and mortgage lending. On any single purchase I take one role only, never both at once, and every role is disclosed. You are always free to choose your own agent and your own lender. The full explanation is on How I Work.
Who makes a reverse mortgage. An FHA-approved lender makes a HECM, and a private lender makes a private reverse mortgage. Before either one, you meet with an independent housing counselor from HUD's approved list, who is not tied to me or to any lender.
Partner agents outside Southern Utah. In Iron, Washington, Kane, Garfield, and Beaver counties I am your agent. Elsewhere in Utah, I connect you with a partner agent I trust in that area. If you buy or sell with an agent I refer, that agent's brokerage pays my brokerage a referral fee out of their own compensation, never an added cost to you. You are always free to choose any agent you wish.
Talk to Scott
Weighing a reverse mortgage? Let's set it beside your other roads
Start with your HUD-approved counselor. Then tell me about your home and your plans, and I can walk you through how a reverse mortgage compares with selling or buying smaller. No pressure, and no obligation.
Why work with me
- The counselor comes first.An independent counselor from HUD's list meets with you before any reverse mortgage moves ahead.
- Every road, side by side.Staying and borrowing, selling, or buying smaller, in plain words for your own home.
- One role per purchase.Agent or lender, never both on the same purchase, and you know which one up front.
- A quick reply.Call or text, and I get back to you within one business day.
Or call me: (435) 357-4345I reply within one business day.
