10 Best Reverse Mortgage Companies You Can Trust in 2021

If you’re like thousands of other Americans, your home is the most valuable asset you own. And it’s also where most of your equity is tied up. 

Fortunately, a reverse mortgage can help you access that equity and can be a good alternative to installment loans if you have bad credit. 

In this article, we compiled the best reverse mortgage companies operating right now.

You’ll also find a guide to choosing a reverse mortgage lender and some useful information about what reverse mortgages are and aren’t suitable for.

Let’s start with an overview of the top picks.

Affiliate Disclosure

Overview — AAG is the leading reverse mortgage lender in the country. It has become closely associated with its TV ads featuring Emmy-award winner Tom Sellek, the company’s longtime spokesperson. 

To AAG’s credit, it has maintained an excellent reputation, and its products have some of the best reverse mortgage reviews nationwide. 

Types of loans — AGG offers most kinds of reverse mortgages and loan refinancing; you even get to choose between a rate and term refinance and a cash-out refinance.

Both refinance options are meant to give homeowners who don’t qualify for reverse loans access to their home equity. 

AAG reverse loan options encompass all the typical reverse mortgage types plus a proprietary loan that isn’t federally insured. The AAG Advantage Jumbo Loan is the company’s proprietary product and gives you access to up to $4 million in equity. 

If you have a property valuable enough to support a jumbo loan, you can receive the full amount of the loan at closing and aren’t required to pay mortgage insurance. Pretty sweet, isn’t it?

Bottom line — Both in terms of options offered and customer satisfaction, AAG is one of the top reverse mortgage lenders in the country with numerous types of financing options. It has an A+ BBB rating, and most reviews praise how willing the company’s staff are to work with borrowers and aren’t pushy about its products. 

Pros:

• Outstanding reviews from customers
• Knowledgeable and experienced staff
• Broad spectrum of loan and mortgage options

Cons:

• The process can be long for some borrowers

Overview — Liberty Reverse Mortgage claims to have originated over $7 billion in loans to over 60,000 borrowers. With numbers like those, the company is certainly doing something right! 

It has been in business since 2005 and has established itself as one of the leading reverse mortgage lenders in California from its Rancho Cordova home. 

Types of loans — Liberty has three main products: a HECM loan, a HECM loan for purchase, and its proprietary EquityIQ loan. 

Both of its home equity conversion mortgages follow FHA guidelines and have fees comparable to most other lenders. 

Liberty’s proprietary product is a nonrecourse loan for those of you who own high-value property. Like AAG’s Jumbo Loan, it gives homeowners up to $4 million secured by their current home equity. It’s a full-draw loan, so you can receive the principal on closing, and it doesn’t require mortgage insurance. 

Iron Clad Guarantee — Liberty sets itself apart with a guarantee that you’ll receive competitive pricing. If the company can’t match a competitor’s best reverse mortgage rates, it will issue you a $100 gift card. 

Moreover, the company promises to close your loan within 60 days or give you $500 in credit for closing costs. 

Bottom line — Liberty Reverse Mortgage is among the best-rated reverse mortgage companies with many satisfied customers to show for it. Its loans are in lockstep with typical reverse mortgages, but it stands out for its guarantee to provide good service or make it up to you.

Pros:

• Closes on a loan within 60 days
• Matches competitors fees if lower
• Provides weekly updates during the loan process

Cons:

• Not available in Hawaii, New York, South Dakota, and Utah

Overview — Finance of America Reverse is one of the mortgage banking companies owned by The Blackstone Group. Its most significant strength is wholesale lending tools, but only because products and superb customer support back them. 

It’s safely among the best reverse mortgage lenders thanks to a holistic approach to helping people meet financial goals as they age. The company doesn’t just offer reverse mortgages but also several complementary products to help you live more comfortably.  

Types of loans — Finance of America offers federally backed HECM loans up to $726,525 whose fees and closing costs are in line with federal regulation. Also, it provides you with proprietary HomeSafe loans. 

HomeSafe loans follow HECM loans in many ways, except the loan limits are increased and mortgage insurance isn’t required for most borrowers. They’re also not federally insured. Most private reverse mortgage lenders have similar proprietary products, but few have as wide of a range of options as Finance of America.  

You can use a HomeSafe loan just like you would a standard HECM loan to purchase a new home. Additionally, Finance of America offers what it calls the only proprietary HELOC reverse mortgage. Essentially, this HELOC product acts as a line of credit without monthly payments.  

Silvernest — A loan from Finance of America also covers the costs of a Silvernest membership. Silvernest helps people find home-sharing partners to help with rent and other expenses with a rigorous tenant screening process. This bonus places Finance of America’s loans among the best reverse mortgage deals overall.  

Pros:

• Free Silvernest membership 
• Offers a reverse mortgage HELOC
• Excellent wholesale CRM support

Cons:

• HomeSafe loans not available in all states

Overview — All Reverse Mortgage has an excellent track record with numerous consumer advocacy groups. And yet, it takes some license to embellish that track record a bit more than necessary. 

Despite minor inconsistencies in marketing, All Reverse Mortgage reviews are spectacular overall, and the company deserves most of the praise it gets. Its approach to educate rather than sell seems to be just what most of us need to get over the anxiety tied to a reverse mortgage. 

Types of loans — The All Reverse Mortgage company isn’t breaking any new ground regarding loan options. They offer a standard federally insured home equity conversion mortgage or HECM for purchase option, and a proprietary reverse mortgage with a $4 million lending limit. 

All Reverse brands themselves a leader in low-interest rates and their fees are relatively low as well.   

Education — All Reverse Mortgage is the best reverse mortgage company in terms of transparency and educational material; it provides many accessible tools for you to learn about reverse mortgage products’ good and bad aspects. 

To that end, it gives you a reverse mortgage calculator that provides real-time rates. It also has a HUD-approved counseling locator to help you find professional counseling regarding mortgage questions. The reverse mortgage company is completely open about its interest rates and closing costs, which is reflected on All Reverse Mortgage company reviews from satisfied customers.

Pros:

• Superb educational tools
• Exceptional consumer reviews
• Instant quote calculator

Cons:

• Slightly misleading advertising

Overview — Longbridge Financial is one of the best-rated reverse mortgage lenders. It may not have a vast suite of products, but it provides peerless service for those it does have. 

Part of its success comes from a dedication to being honest. If it deems that a reverse mortgage isn’t the right choice for you, it promises to let you know. Therefore, you will be beyond satisfied.

Types of loans — Like most other reverse mortgage lenders, Longbridge Financial isn’t breaking any new ground with its loan options, so the process is pretty straightforward. It provides two federally insured options. There are a HECM and HECM for purchase, and a proprietary line of credit option for homes worth over $450,000. 

The company claims its proprietary Longbridge Platinum line of credit has all the consumer protections of a standard reverse mortgage. That mostly bears out in the fine print, but its product isn’t federally insured and doesn’t include mortgage insurance. To this end, be aware of these facts before signing the agreement. 

The Longbridge Commitment — In its effort to remain the best-rated reverse mortgage lender, Longbridge Financial provides several “guarantees” to customers. A few that stand out are a guarantee to speak to real mortgage experts, close your loan within 45 days of receiving your counseling certificate, and no hidden fees.

Pros:

• Highly knowledgeable staff
• Free quote calculator
• Outstanding customer reviews

Cons:

• No proprietary loan, only a line of credit

Overview — Despite its less-than-exciting name, Reverse Mortgage Funding is one of the nation’s top reverse mortgage companies and services over 84,000 borrowers. 

Its approach to reverse mortgages serves a wide array of products and focuses on finding the ones that best suit each borrower. That approach works exceptionally well for most people. However, that doesn’t mean the company sacrifices a lot. 

Types of loans — Reverse Mortgage Funding offers three different kinds of reverse mortgages based on how they allocate interest.

There’s a typical HECM with fixed interest, and there are various options in which the company adjusts interest rates annually and monthly.

The company’s proprietary loan option doesn’t stray too far from similar proprietary products. It has a maximum loan amount of $4 million, and it’s available to you if you are aged 60 and up. 

Customer service — Although it maintains an excellent customer service score compared to other top-rated reverse mortgage companies, Reverse Mortgage Funding does have a few disgruntled customers. 

Namely, most negative reviews refer to the company’s inflexibility when it comes to response times and policies. However, the company makes a genuine effort to respond to complaints and smooth things over with aggrieved customers. Therefore, patience is key, but it’s worth it.

Pros:

• Adjustable interest HECMs
• Reverse mortgage refinancing options
• Works to resolve customer disputes

Cons:

• Strict company policies

Overview — Open Mortgage is a mid-sized lender; according to the company, it serviced $900 million worth of loans in 2019. However, that refers to all its loan products, which mainly encompass traditional forward loans. 

How did it earn its spot in our top 10 reverse mortgage lenders then? Well, we have to praise it for a genuine effort to make the reverse mortgage process easy to digest. The company has comprehensive educational tools about reverse mortgages, including a video series addressing every step. This really shows how much they care for their borrowers understanding every step of the (usually complicated and risky) process.

Types of loans — Open Mortgage offers you HECM loans for retirement and for purchasing a new home. As a mortgage lender focused primarily on traditional mortgages, its reverse mortgage options are limited. 

You won’t find any proprietary reverse mortgage products. Both the HECM loans it offers are federally insured and subject to FHA limits on loan amounts and mortgage insurance requirements.

In-depth experience — Open Mortgage can give you over a dozen types of mortgage loans. It’s a company deeply embedded in the mortgage ecosystem with well-trained experts and offices all over the country — hence why it made it on our top 10 reverse mortgage companies list.

Moreover, the company has announced expansion plans. 

So, if you want to work with a reputable company that will be around for as long as you need it to be, Open Mortgage is a prime choice.

Pros:

• Simple options cover all the reverse mortgage basics
• Has numerous branches for in-person service
• Good growth potential and stable company

Cons:

• Not upfront about some fees

Overview — Quontic is an online bank with a full range of banking services. Among those services is reverse mortgage loan origination. 

But don’t let this bank’s lack of focus on reverse mortgages fool you. It’s among the most reputable reverse mortgage companies with highly experienced experts in the field.

Types of loans — Quontic only offers HECMs with adjustable or fixed rates and HECMs for purchase. That’s not a spectacular amount of options, but it makes up for it with excellent customer service.

Quontic gives you access to the reverse mortgage program managing executives. If there’s ever an issue, you can address it with the people directly responsible in the institution. 

Full banking experience — If you’re only interested in a reverse mortgage, or you’re looking for a special kind of reverse mortgage, Quontic may not be the best reverse mortgage lender for you. However, if you want to establish a relationship with a full-fledge digital bank and want a full suite of banking services, it’s a brilliant option. 

Quontic services many types of mortgages and has several unique personal banking options. It even offers a Bitcoin rewards checking account. 

In short, Quontic is among the best reverse mortgage banks out there despite the fact it only offers a simple reverse mortgage and doesn’t have proprietary HECM options. Yet, what it does provide is a broad spectrum of banking features to make up for it.

Pros:

• Full online banking features
• Many forward mortgage options
• Dedicated executive team for reverse mortgages

Cons:

• Only one reverse mortgage program

Overview — Fairway is easily the best-rated reverse mortgage company on this list if you consider all the services it offers. As a company that funds millions of mortgages each year, Fairway provides all manner of residential and commercial financial products. 

You’ll find that its reverse mortgage products aren’t as widespread as some other options. And as a result, its reverse mortgages won’t find such broad purchases among borrowers. 

Types of loans — Fairway offers HECMs and HECMs for purchase. It doesn’t go into much detail about the specifics of its reverse mortgage options. It also offers adjustable and fixed-rate reverse mortgages.

It encourages borrowers to contact its reverse mortgage planners, which shouldn’t be challenging since the company has hundreds of locations nationwide. 

Nationwide presence — Of our top 10 reverse mortgage companies, Fairway has the most widespread network of locations. It’s licensed in all 50 states and has brokers in each state where loans are available. 

However, you should note it’s not licensed to offer reverse mortgages in Alaska and West Virginia as of this writing. 

You’ll have a dedicated loan officer that works with you to find the best funding solution for your needs and remains in touch during the entire process of funding your loan. It has an easy-to-use office locator that makes finding an agent fast and straightforward.

Pros:

• Massive nationwide presence
• Brokers in all 50 states
• Dedicated loan officer

Cons:

• Not a NRMLA member

Overview — Premier is a relatively small Georgia-based loan originator that’s been in business since 2012. In that time, it has established itself as one of the best reverse mortgage lenders in Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, and a handful of other states it serves.

Matt Neumayer, the company’s founder, continues to oversee the company’s customer experience personally. And he’s leaving behind a lot of happy customers since the company enjoys an almost-perfect customer service rating with the Better Business Bureau. 

Types of loans — Premier has a pared-down offering of only two reverse mortgage options. Traditional reverse mortgages and reverse mortgages for purchase are the extents of what you can get from this company. 

On the one hand, the focus is a bit limiting; it does allow a more dedicated customer service experience though. 

Qualified mortgage specialist — The company’s owner is also the company’s chief mortgage counselor. You’ll get direct service from someone who lives and breathes reverse mortgages for a living. 

Despite still being a relatively small operation, Premier Reverse Mortgage is accredited with the BBB, a member of the NRML, and is also NMLS registered. And if the customer reviews are any indication, it’s one of the best reverse mortgage companies to work with if you’re in its service area.

Unfortunately, that area is vanishingly small and only includes Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia, and Washington.

Pros:

• Excellent personalized attention
• Free updates about chances to reverse mortgage regulation
• Knowledgeable and experienced loan counseling

Cons:

• Minimal service area

The most important aspect of getting a reverse mortgage is having a clear goal for the money you’re loaning. 

They’re not quite a loan of last resort, but they’re still an expensive loan that will eat away at your equity. Unless you have a specific goal for those funds, it may be wiser to let that equity lie. 

But if you do have that goal, you’re still left with the task of picking a reverse mortgage that’s affordable and easy to access. In this guide, we’ll go over some basics so you can compare reverse mortgage company reviews with confidence. 

What Is a Reverse Mortgage?

The term “reverse mortgage” may sound a bit confusing. Basically, reverse mortgages are just a type of loan. 

They’re a special type of loan that uses your home as collateral, so you won’t need to worry about bad credit to qualify for a substantial amount. 

In a traditional mortgage, you receive a loan amount to buy your home and pay it off over time. 

In a reverse mortgage, the lender pays you based on your home’s value and collects the loan amount when you move, sell your home, or die. 

The Federal Trade Commission recognizes three types of reverse mortgages. 

Single-Purpose Reverse Mortgage 

As its name indicates, this reverse mortgage has a specific purpose, such as home improvements. They’re a little easier to qualify for than other types and often have the best reverse mortgage rates.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) 

These are loans backed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and don’t need a stated purpose. They’re often more expensive than other types of home loans but are a little safer. 

Proprietary Reverse Mortgages 

These reverse mortgages don’t enjoy as much federal oversight as HECMs, and they’re backed by the private companies that offer them. Proprietary reverse mortgages most appealing for homeowners with a property that falls outside of HECM regulations or who don’t meet other eligibility criteria.

HECMs fall into two categories. General HECMs can be used for any purpose you choose, and there are also HECMs for purchase. 

With a HECM for purchase, you use your current home equity to purchase a new home and take out a reverse mortgage in the same transaction. 

What Is the Best Reverse Mortgage Company for You

The first criteria you need to explore when considering a reverse mortgage company is if it has the right kind of loan for you. 

The maximum claim amount for a HECM loan is $822,375. If your home’s value could support a higher loan amount, and you want to access that equity, you’ll need to look for a proprietary product. 

Many of the largest reverse mortgage companies offer proprietary loans with a maximum $4 million loan amount. While you’ll have more flexible conditions with this kind of “jumbo” reverse mortgage, you should remember that they’re not federally backed. 

Loan Costs

When you find a few companies that offer the type of loan you want, you can start comparing costs and fees. 

Reverse mortgages have interest rates just like any other loan, as well as origination fees and closing costs. These vary between lenders just like they would for traditional mortgages. 

Most reverse mortgage lenders don’t openly advertise their costs since those costs are closely tied to your specific financial situation. Take your time with this step and apply with several lenders to receive quotes. These costs are almost always negotiable. 

Hence, it would be a good idea to find a lender that’s willing to work with you. 

Reputable Reverse Mortgage Companies

Reverse mortgages haven’t been in vogue for very long, and there was a period when unscrupulous lenders were using them to take advantage of people. For your safety, always make sure you’re dealing with a reputable company that’s been in business for a while. 

Another reason you want to work with reputable lenders is to make sure the company will stick around for your loan duration. If a lender is forced into bankruptcy, it may be forced to sell your loan, or you’d have to go through the trouble of recovering it in other ways. 

A good example is One Reverse Mortgage. It was one of the most reputable lenders in the country until it suddenly paused operations in 2020 without much advance notice.

Read Reviews

Federally backed reverse mortgages are heavily regulated. What a calendar can offer is usually a matter of regulation rather than market trends. Therefore, one of the primary ways for a reverse mortgage lender to gain a competitive advantage is by offering better service. 

Read customer reviews from reputable consumer advocacy groups, such as the BBB. According to the AARP, reverse mortgage lenders that are members of groups like the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association show a greater degree of professional commitment than those who don’t. 

It’s worth reiterating that reverse mortgages are a relatively novel type of financial product. In the absence of lenders with decades of proven experience, other customers’ experiences are an invaluable resource. 

Who Will Service the Loan?

Make sure you find out who will service the loan after closing. Most lenders pass on the loan to a servicing company after closing, and that servicing company will be your primary point of contact going forward. 

Usually, people begin their search by asking about the “best reverse mortgage companies near me.” Yet, even if you find companies near you, a company across the country could end up servicing your loan.

A good point of reference is a sample of the statement you’ll receive if you close on the loan. Ask for one from the reverse mortgage company; it will have the name and information of the company that services your loan.

Reverse mortgages went through a rocky patch when scams were rampant in the industry. However, at this point, federal oversight and corporate responsibility have mostly expelled the worst reverse mortgage companies. 

Fortunately, the market is now brimming with reputable reverse mortgage companies offering us quite a choice. The above listed companies satisfy all the criteria we have mentioned and definitely deserve the title of the best reverse mortgage companies in 2021.