The most important questions to ask a reverse mortgage advisor test how they work, not how they compliment the house. Check credentials, lender access, a written Loan Estimate, and whether they steer you around counseling or toward an investment. Jay Zayer, a CRMP who originates in California and Arizona, treats these as questions you should ask any originator, including him.
Suppose you are sitting down with an originator: the useful hour is the one where you verify licenses, compare a HECM to a proprietary option on a high-value home, and watch what happens when you ask for a Loan Estimate. A charm offensive is not a file.
Warning patterns that are already scams, not merely weak advising, sit on reverse mortgage scam warning signs and the scams blog. This page is the interview list before you apply.
What credentials and licenses should you verify before the first illustration?
Ask whether the originator holds a Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional (CRMP) credential. CRMP is not a HUD license. It is a credential you can check on any originator. Absence is not an automatic fail. Inability to explain what it is, or a claim that “only this office has one,” is a tell.
Ask for the NMLS identifier and look for it on every advertising piece they handed you. A flyer, a rate sheet, or a social post that hides the NMLS number is sloppy at best. State licensing in California and Arizona is separate from a national slogan. If they will originate your house, they should be licensed where that house sits.
Ask who they work for. An originator who works with multiple lenders can compare HECM channels and, in California, proprietary programs from age 55. A captive loan officer who can show only one menu should say so. “I work with multiple lenders” is a criterion. It is not a reason to skip the other questions.
Read the about page for how this practice describes the role. Then ask the person across the table the same questions. Do not treat a bio as a substitute for a Loan Estimate.
Counseling is still 24 CFR 206.41. California Civil Code section 1923.2(j) still requires a ten-agency list. Section 1923.2(k) still adds a seven-day wait. An advisor who talks past those clocks is not advising. They are rushing.
Which product questions separate a comparison from a one-lender pitch?
Ask whether they will compare a HECM to a proprietary reverse mortgage on a high-value home. The 2026 HECM claim cap is $1,249,125 (Mortgagee Letter 2025-22). A house above that cap does not get a HECM factor on the extra value. A private program may. A HECM remains FHA-insured. Proprietary notes are not that insurance. Ask them to say both sentences without a script that only praises one.
Ask which payment plans they will actually illustrate: line of credit, lump sum, tenure, term, or a mix. 24 CFR 206.19 is the HECM menu. A fixed-rate HECM is usually closed-end. An adjustable HECM is where unused credit can grow. If they only show the largest advertised line, you are shopping a billboard.
Ask how first-year disbursement limits in 24 CFR 206.25 change the cash you can take in year one. The 60% rule is a draw cap. It is not an MIP discount. Ask them to confirm that initial MIP is 2.00% of claim amount on every HECM, per Mortgagee Letter 2017-12. Anyone who still teaches the revoked 0.5%/2.5% schedule is using stale material.
Ask what happens if residual income fails. Mortgagee Letters 2014-21 and 2014-22 can lead to a LESA. A LESA cannot be added after closing. An advisor who says “we will figure that out later” is not ready.
A follow-up: if you are 58 in California, can they explain why a HECM is unavailable and which proprietary boxes still apply? If you are 58 in Arizona, can they say the HECM stays at 62? Wrong-state answers are a reason to keep shopping.
What fee and counseling answers should make you stand up and leave?
Ask them to produce a Loan Estimate. You want initial MIP, origination under 24 CFR 206.31, third-party fees, and leftover cash in writing. An originator who will only quote “no cost” or “the government pays it” is not producing a Loan Estimate. A HECM is not a government benefit.
Ask how they handle counseling. The correct answer is that you pick from a required list, they stay out of the room, and California waits seven days after the session. Counseling-avoidance — “we can skip it,” “use this one friend,” “I will stay on the call” — is a disqualifier. See the scam-warning page if the pitch already includes a tied contractor or a fake counselor.
Ask whether they want HECM proceeds wired to an investment or annuity they also sell. CFPB consumer warnings still flag reverse-mortgage proceeds used to purchase investments or annuities. A product-tying pitch is a reason to leave, not a reason to negotiate the share class.
What can go wrong: you pick the person who advertised the highest line, skip the Loan Estimate, and discover MIP and a LESA only at the table. Another failure: they cannot explain occupancy (24 CFR 206.39) or title (24 CFR 206.35) but can explain a seminar calendar.
Who should not hire an originator based only on the advertised line?
This interview does not help shoppers who only want the highest advertised line. Unused credit is not the same as leftover cash after liens, MIP, and a LESA. An originator who will not show that subtraction is not the person to hire.
It also does not help a household that wants the advisor to guarantee approval, a proceeds number, or a court result. Nobody can. Jay will say so. Boutique origination includes turning people away when a sale, a forward loan, or doing nothing is cleaner.
Ask what they will do if the file is a poor fit. The answer you want is that they will say so, in those words. The answer you do not want is that every house with equity should close.
Bring the questions in writing. Ask the same list at two offices. Compare Loan Estimates, not personalities. I work with multiple lenders. You should still verify CRMP, NMLS, counseling independence, and whether anyone is selling you an investment with the proceeds.
A HECM is FHA-insured. It is not a government check. The advisor’s job is to explain options and costs clearly enough that you can walk away.