All reverse mortgage loans become due and payable when the last surviving borrower permanently moves out of the home. Typically, a “permanent move” means that neither you nor any other co-borrower has lived in your home for one continuous year.

Most people will need to sell their home in order to repay their reverse mortgage. If the loan balance is less than your home is worth when you sell the home, then the difference is yours to keep.

Most reverse mortgages today are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), as part of its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program. With an FHA-insured HECM loan, if the loan balance is more than your home is worth, you don’t have to pay the excess. After you sell the home, the lender will take the proceeds from the sale as payment on the loan, and the FHA insurance will cover any remaining loan balance.

Proprietary (non-FHA insured) reverse mortgage loans may not have these features, so make sure you understand the provisions carefully if you are considering a proprietary loan.