1) They can be complicated and confusing.

2) If the homeowner leaves the house, or dies, soon after obtaining the mortgage, the cost of the loan will have been very high.

3) The homeowner’s heirs will probably wind up with less of an inheritance.

4) Cash payments from a reverse mortgage are usually lower than the payments you might receive if you sold your house and invested the money in an income or immediate annuity.

5) Three days after signing a contract, you no monger can change your mind.

6) Homeowners receiving so much money to spend any way they wish may go haywire – and some have.

7) For a variety of reasons, seniors are the favorite targets of crooks and scam artists, and those with ready money from reverse mortgages may be especially vulnerable.

A senior may have better alternatives than a reverse mortgage, such as selling the house to a family member and then leasing it back, or selling the house to the family member in return for an annuity. Or selling the house and moving to a smaller one.

9) Unless the seniors are careful not to have much money in their accounts at the end of the month, the payments they receive might disqualify them for Social Security or Medicaid.

10) The closing costs are high.

11) If you have an unusually valuable house, you cannot get a HECM or Home Keeper reverse mortgage reflecting the house’s true value. Your borrowing capacity is limited because reverse mortgages are targeted at the less well-to-do.

12) The interest rate is adjustable, so your debt could climb if rates in general go up.