Where to Apply for a Reverse Mortgage?
By: Courtney Jorstad
February 5, 2023 • 6 minute read
Where to Apply for a Reverse Mortgage?
You’ve done your research, you’ve considered all your options, and you’ve finally decided that a reverse mortgage is the best option for you to access the equity you’ve built up in your home.
Now, the next question: Where do you apply for a reverse mortgage?
This is an important decision. You don’t want to just pick the first company that comes along.
In this article, we will go over important criteria to look for in a good reverse mortgage lender, and we will also give you some of our top recommendations.
What to Look for in a Reverse Mortgage Company?
Here are some criteria to consider before choosing a reverse mortgage lender:
- Experience/Time in Business. The first factor to consider is how much experience the lender has with reverse mortgages and how long the company has been in business. You want to be sure the company has an established history and is going to continue to be around to assist you throughout the life of your loan.
- Excellent customer service. Nothing can ruin your experience with a company like bad customer service. The reverse mortgage process is a unique experience. You want to be sure that you will be taken care of throughout the entire process.
- Superior borrower reviews. One way to know more about the lender’s customer service is to read borrower reviews. You can find some such reviews on our lender review pages, where we also compile the customer review ratings from all major third-party websites such as Trustpilot, Consumer Affairs, Experience.com, and others.
- Loan options. The Federal Housing Administration puts a limit on how much borrowers may receive as part of a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), which is the most common type of reverse mortgage used. If you own a home with equity that is more than that limit, you may want to borrow more than the FHA limit. Several reverse mortgage lenders offer these loans, which are typically known as jumbo loans. If you think you may fall under this category, you will want to look for a lender who also offers jumbo loans.
- Other factors. Other factors to consider are the states where the lender operates. Not all lenders originate loans in all 50 states. You’ll want to be sure that the lenders you are considering do business in your state. On this page of recommended lenders, we include a state drop-down menu. When you select your state, you will be given a list of reverse mortgage lenders who originate HECM reverse mortgages where you live.
Our Reverse Mortgage Lender Picks
Even knowing what criteria to look for, the process of choosing a reverse mortgage lender can still be overwhelming. The good news is that we’ve taken some of the guesswork out of the process for you.
Here are the top five reverse mortgage lenders that we believe are best-in-class:
Mutual of Omaha Mortgage
One of the reasons we love Mutual of Omaha Mortgage is because it’s part of a brand that’s been around for more than 100 years. It’s also a brand that you or someone you know has very likely already worked with.
Mutual of Omaha originates reverse mortgages in 48 states and the District of Columbia. The only states where it is not available are New York and West Virginia.
It has high ratings on third party review websites and is consistently praised for its customer service.
Mutual of Omaha offers traditional reverse mortgages, reverse mortgage for purchase, and reverse mortgage jumbo loans up to $4 million.
Other perks of Mutual of Omaha are its copious reverse mortgage calculators and its user-friendly mobile app.
Read our full Mutual of Omaha Mortgage review.
Finance of America Reverse
One of the reasons we like Finance of America Reverse is because of its unique loan options. Finance of America offers a traditional reverse mortgage, reverse mortgage for purchase, and jumbo reverse mortgages.
But it also offers a mortgage called EquityAvail, which is a hybrid between a reverse mortgage and a traditional mortgage. EquityAvail works by reducing mortgage payments for the first 10 years and then eliminating mortgage payments when the 10-year term is over. And homeowners also have the potential to receive a lump sum payout at that point. This EquityAvail mortgage is available for homeowners who are a minimum of 55 years old.
Another unique service that Finance of America offers is its home sharing matching platform called Silvernest. Silvernest gives those who may have additional rooms to rent a way to make additional income.
Finance of America also has high customer service ratings on third party review websites and is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Read our full Finance of America Reverse review.
Premier Reverse Mortgage
We like Premier for the personal service its customers get from CEO and founder Matt Neumeyer. The only downside is that you have to live in one of the nine states where Premier operates.
Premier offers traditional reverse mortgages, reverse mortgage for purchase, and condo reverse mortgages.
It is highly rated by its customers on third-party review websites, but due to its limited availability, it has a lot fewer reviews when compared to other reverse mortgage lenders.
Premier offers a lot of helpful information on its websites including several guides including a guide for adult children.
Read our full Premier Reverse Mortgage review.
Longbridge Financial
We like Longbridge for U.S. military members, as it offers a $500 discount for both active duty and veteran servicemen and servicewomen. We also like its very informative and user-friendly website.
Longbridge offers traditional reverse mortgages, HECM for purchase, jumbo loans for those who are 55 years of age or older, and reverse mortgage refinancing.
Longbridge has high customer service ratings and has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Longbridge Financial is based in Mahwah, New Jersey, but it operates in 49 states and the District of Columbia. The exception is Hawaii.
Read our full Longbridge Financial review.
American Advisors Group (AAG)
We like AAG for its extensive experience in the reverse mortgage industry. It currently originates more than 1,000 loans per month.
AAG offers traditional reverse mortgages, HECM for purchase, refinance loans, and jumbo reverse mortgages.
It was founded in 2004, and it is available to offer loans to customers in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Massachusetts is the only state where it is unable to offer reverse mortgage loans.
It has high customer service ratings on third party review platforms and has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
AAG offers extensive information on its website as well as free calculators for customers to get an estimate of what they might be able to receive from a reverse mortgage.
The reason for not giving AAG a higher ranking is due to allegations from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that it engaged in deceptive marketing practices.
Read our full AAG review.
