Quick answer: Yes. With a reverse mortgage (HECM), your name stays on the title and you remain the legal owner of your home for as long as you live there, pay your property taxes and insurance, and keep the home maintained. The lender only holds a lien, the same way it would with any other mortgage.
Written by Daniel Jackson, Mortgage Loan Officer, NMLS #169485, Nova Home Loans, serving Yuma County since 2007.
This question comes up often in Yuma County, where about 21% of residents are 65 or older and a large seasonal snowbird population spends winters here on top of that. With the average Yuma County home valued around $280,000, a meaningful number of long-time homeowners in Yuma, Somerton, San Luis, Fortuna Foothills, and Wellton are sitting on paid-off or near-paid-off equity. This is exactly who reverse mortgages are built for.
The myth vs. the reality
The single most common fear I hear from clients considering a reverse mortgage: "If I sign this, does the bank own my house now?"
No. A reverse mortgage is just a loan. You're not selling your house, you're not giving up ownership. The lender, same as with a regular mortgage, places a lien against the property to secure the money they've lent you. Title stays in your name the entire time. You can still sell the home, refinance it, or leave it to your heirs, same as any other mortgage.
What you're actually agreeing to
Because you keep ownership, you also keep the responsibilities that come with it. To stay in good standing on a reverse mortgage, you generally need to:
Live in the home as your primary residence. Move out permanently and the loan becomes due.
Keep paying property taxes and homeowners insurance. These don't go away just because your mortgage payment does.
Maintain the property. Basic upkeep to safe & livable condition is required.
Complete HUD-approved counseling before closing. This is a required step for all HECM borrowers, not optional paperwork.
Fall behind on taxes, insurance, or upkeep, and the loan can become due and payable; which is the scenario people are usually picturing when they worry about "losing the house."
The exception most articles skip: non-borrowing spouses
Here's a detail that often gets glossed over. If only one spouse is listed as the borrower on the loan, the other spouse's protections depend on whether they were formally named as an eligible non-borrowing spouse at closing. For HECM loans closed on or after August 4, 2014, a non-borrowing spouse can stay in the home after the borrowing spouse dies. But only if they were married to the borrower at closing, listed in the loan documents as a non-borrowing spouse, and living in the home continuously since. Someone who marries the borrower after the loan closes doesn't get these protections automatically. If you're considering a reverse mortgage as a couple, this is worth confirming in writing before you sign.
The Arizona detail most reverse mortgage articles miss
A reverse mortgage doesn't erase your property tax bill. You're still required to pay it to stay in good standing. What a lot of lot of people miss is that Arizona has a program specifically for homeowners 65 and older that can help keep that bill in check. The Senior Property Valuation Protection Option ("Senior Freeze") freezes the Limited Property Value used to calculate your county tax bill for a renewable three-year period, provided you meet age, residency, and income requirements. In Yuma County, applications go through the Yuma County Assessor's Office between January 1 and September 1 each year. It's not a substitute for budgeting for taxes and insurance under a reverse mortgage, but it's worth asking about if you're 65+ and weighing your options.
What happens to the loan eventually
A reverse mortgage doesn't disappear. It comes due when you sell, move out permanently, or pass away. At that point, you or your heirs have options:
pay off the balance and keep the home,
sell the home and keep any equity above the payoff, or
walk away and let the lender sell it.
Because HECMs are non-recourse loans, you or your heirs will never owe more than the home is worth, even if the loan balance has grown larger than the home's value. Any remaining equity belongs to you or your estate.
The bottom line
A reverse mortgage doesn't transfer ownership to the bank. It's a lien-secured loan against a home you continue to own, live in, and eventually pass on. It's perfectly safe as long as you meet the basic conditions of the loan.
The FHA's 2026 HECM maximum claim amount is $1,249,125, which caps how much of a high-value home's equity the program will insure, but it has no bearing on who holds title.
If you're considering a reverse mortgage and want to know what your specific numbers would look like, a 15-minute conversation is all it takes to get started. As a HECM-approved lender serving Yuma County and all of Arizona, California, Texas, Washington and Oregon, I can help you weigh a reverse mortgage against a HELOC, downsizing, or doing nothing at all. Schedule a free consultation here.
Daniel Jackson | Mortgage Loan Officer | NMLS #169485 Nova Home Loans | Yuma, AZ 928-550-8744 · daniel.jackson@novahomeloans.com · www.YumaLender.com
Sources: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — reverse mortgage ownership · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — what is a reverse mortgage · Yuma County Assessor — Senior Freeze filing period · Zillow — Yuma County home values · USAFacts — Yuma County population 65+
This article reflects information as of August 2026. Reverse mortgage terms, loan limits, and eligibility rules change. Confirm current details with a licensed loan officer and HUD-approved counselor before making financial decisions.