Reverse Mortgage in Florida

A HECM is the FHA-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. In Florida, the youngest borrower must be 62 or older, and the home has to be the primary residence. Counseling is required. The same tax, insurance, occupancy, and upkeep rules apply.

For FHA case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026, the HECM maximum claim amount is $1,249,125, according to HUD. That is a cap on the home value FHA will use, not the cash you receive. If a Florida home is worth more than that cap, a HECM can still work, but FHA will only count up to the limit. That is one reason a jumbo or proprietary reverse mortgage may be worth comparing.

A jumbo reverse mortgage is a privately underwritten loan, not an FHA HECM. It is also called a proprietary reverse mortgage. It can allow a Florida homeowner to use more of a higher-value home's equity than the HECM maximum claim amount allows. It is not the same program, and not every Florida property or borrower will fit.

These private options are generally available at age 55 in Florida, which matters if you are younger than 62 or if the home's value is above what a HECM can use. I can look at jumbo reverse mortgage options for Florida homes when they fit. I am a mortgage broker, not a lender, so I will tell you whether a jumbo reverse mortgage is even on the table for your property before you apply. Not everyone will qualify.

A proprietary reverse mortgage is the private program behind many jumbo reverse loans. The rules, age minimum, and fees are set by the investor, not by FHA. Counseling or education rules can differ from a HECM. I will tell you what that Florida file requires.

A second-lien reverse mortgage is a way to pull equity while leaving your current first mortgage in place. You still have to make any required payment on that first loan. You still pay taxes, insurance, HOA dues if you have them, and you still have to maintain the home. This can matter for Florida retirees who do not want to refinance a first mortgage they are happy with.

A HECM for Purchase is a HECM used to buy a Florida primary residence, rather than to tap equity in a home you already own. The youngest borrower still must be 62 or older. You typically bring a down payment from your own funds, and the HECM covers the rest, up to what the program allows on that property.

It is still a primary-residence loan. It is not a second-home program, and it is not an investment-property program. HUD-approved counseling is still required. This can help a buyer who is selling a home, relocating, or downsizing and wants little or no required monthly principal and interest payment on the new Florida house. Not everyone will qualify.

If you are moving from Maine to Florida, start with my Maine to Florida relocation page for the move itself, then we can look at whether a HECM for Purchase fits the Florida house.

People look for a reverse mortgage purchase calculator to estimate the down payment and the HECM portion on a Florida purchase. I do not publish a calculator or sample results on this page, because the figure depends on the home, the age of the youngest borrower, expected rates, the HECM maximum claim amount, closing costs, and how much you still need to bring to closing.

I will run that estimate on your address and your age. The inputs are the purchase price, any existing funds you can bring, and whether the property will be your primary home. The output is not a guaranteed cash number, and it is not a loan offer. If a jumbo or proprietary option is the better fit instead of a HECM for Purchase, I will say so. Not everyone will qualify.

Florida insurance, taxes, flood zones, and association dues belong in the first conversation, not the last. A reverse mortgage in Florida does not make those bills go away, and the ability to keep paying them is part of whether the loan works. If you do not keep them current, or you do not maintain the home, the loan can become due.

For tradeoffs, including when a Florida HELOC may be the better tool, read reverse mortgage pros and cons.