A reverse mortgage eligibility checklist is a screen, not a HUD form. Jay Zayer, CRMP, is a reverse mortgage specialist at reversemortgage.coach. Home Equity Conversion Mortgage files still have to pass 24 CFR 206.33 age, 24 CFR 206.39 occupancy, 24 CFR 206.35 title, 24 CFR 206.45 property, leftover principal limit after liens and costs, and a financial assessment under Mortgagee Letters 2014-21 and 2014-22. Fail one item. Stop. Do not pay for counseling to discover a dark meter.
A common scenario: Sid, 72, occupies a paid-off house in Flagstaff, Arizona, and wants a one-page “am I eligible” list before anyone quotes MIP. That list is this page. It is not a guarantee. It is the order I actually apply so a 180-day certificate is not wasted.
A HECM remains FHA-insured. A checklist is not a government approval.
What belongs on the checklist before anyone books a counselor?
Occupancy first. Is this house Sid’s principal residence now. Age second. Is every person who must be a borrower 62 at closing. Property third. One-to-four family, HUD-approved condo, or manufactured realty. Title fourth. Can a first lien attach. Arithmetic fifth. Run leftover cash. Residual income last. See who qualifies for the five-test narrative. Stay here for the screen order.
Sid’s leftover cash still tracks the mid-30s to low-50s of value after age and expected rate. I will not quote a live cell. Do not interpolate HUD rows.
Which checklist items are federal, and which are California extras?
Age, occupancy, title, property, MIP, and residual income are federal. California Civil Code 1923.2(j) requires a list of at least ten HUD-approved counselors. Civil Code 1923.2(k) then holds a complete California application for seven days after that counseling. Arizona Flagstaff has no such seven-day pause. Counseling under 24 CFR 206.41 still happens in both states. Proprietary programs Jay closes — HomeSafe, Longbridge Platinum, Finance of America, and Mutual of Omaha Secure Equity — can start at 55 in California. They are not FHA-insured. They are not on the HECM checklist as a substitute occupancy test.
Mortgagee Letter 2017-12 still charges 2.00% initial MIP of claim amount if the file proceeds. Annual MIP is 0.50% of outstanding balance. 2026 files still use the $1,249,125 cap in Mortgagee Letter 2025-22. Origination is still capped at $6,000 under 24 CFR 206.31. A checklist does not discount MIP.
If residual income requires a LESA, that set-aside is still origination-only. Put “LESA possible” on the list as a qualification trade, not as an eligibility deny.
Counseling still costs $125–$175. The HUD certificate lasts 180 days. Do not start that clock until occupancy is true.
How should an adult child use this checklist without bullying the parent?
Read occupancy out loud. If the parent already lives in a facility, this is the wrong product. See spouse in a nursing home and vacant home. Then run the calculator together. Then talk to me. Counseling is not the first call unless the screen already passed.
A second geography: a 69-year-old in Santa Rosa whose California house is occupied and whose first mortgage is large. Same checklist. The seven-day pause still applies. Arithmetic still comes before the counselor invoice.
An adjustable HECM after the checklist actually passes still accrues at 1-month CMT plus lender margin. Expected rate still rounds to 0.125% under 24 CFR 206.3. Jay still quotes about 30 days on a complete refinance after the screen is real, not after a seminar PDF.
Heirs who later keep Sid’s Flagstaff house repay the outstanding loan balance under 24 CFR 206.125(a)(2)(i). A printed checklist does not rewrite that subsection.
Who should not treat a seminar checklist as underwriting?
This path does not help a household that wants a gold star because five boxes were ticked in marker. Occupancy is still 24 CFR 206.39. I work with multiple lenders. I will originate when the live tests pass. I will turn away a PDF whose only missing item was the truth about the vacant bedroom.
Where does insurance and flood sit on the checklist?
After occupancy and property type, before leftover cash is treated as real. Bindable hazard is 24 CFR 206.27(b)(2). Flood, if the map requires it, is 24 CFR 206.45(c). Sid’s Flagstaff paid-off house still needs a dwelling policy. Santa Rosa occupied houses with large first mortgages still need the calculator after the policy exists. A checklist that skips insurance is a seminar toy.
Proprietary notes Jay closes are not a substitute occupancy test. Put them on a separate line if age is 55–61 in California. Arizona HECM files stay at 62.
Does a paid-off house skip residual income on this checklist?
No. A free-and-clear dwelling still has taxes, hazard, and flood if mapped. Mortgagee Letters 2014-21 and 2014-22 still look at residual income and property-charge willingness. Sid’s Flagstaff paid-off house can still need a LESA. A LESA is origination-only. It cannot be added later because the treasurer bill surprised everyone. Put residual income on the checklist even when the first mortgage is gone. Occupancy still sits above it.