Clear Reverse is an independent education site about reverse mortgages, run by the Clear Reverse editorial team. We explain how the FHA-insured HECM works for homeowners 62 and older in Utah, Idaho and nearby Western states, and for the families helping them. We are not a lender, broker or government agency.
Who we are
The Clear Reverse editorial team researches, writes and updates every guide on this site. We send a free guide by email to anyone who asks, and we offer a rough estimator so you can see how age, home value and an existing mortgage affect a HECM.
What we are not
- We are not a lender, mortgage broker or loan officer, and we don't make loans or credit decisions.
- We are not HUD, FHA or any government agency, and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
- We don't quote rates. Our rates guide shows public index values with their source and date, not lender offers.
- We don't take applications or pre-qualify anyone. The estimator is a rough illustration, not a loan offer.
- We do not currently share your information with any lender. See our Lending Partners page.
How our content is sourced and dated
- We use primary sources: HUD mortgagee letters and HUD Handbook 4000.1, federal regulations on eCFR (24 CFR Part 206), the CFPB, state statutes and state agencies, and the U.S. Treasury and New York Fed for rate indexes.
- Every guide lists its sources with the date we accessed them, and shows a visible "Last updated" date.
- Figures that change are dated where they appear. For example, the $1,249,125 HECM limit applies to FHA case numbers assigned Jan 1 through Dec 31, 2026, and we will update it when HUD sets the 2027 limit.
- If a claim can't be traced to a primary source, we cut it or say clearly that it is our own assumption.
- Found an error? Email [email protected] and we will check it.
How we choose what to write about
We write about the questions homeowners and their families actually ask: what a reverse mortgage costs, who qualifies, what happens to heirs, and whether you can lose your home. We find those questions in public search data and in the topics federal rules require HUD-approved counselors to cover. We don't write pages just to rank for a phrase, and we don't publish city-by-city copies of the same page. When a rule changes, we update the guide and its date instead of adding a new page.
The region we serve
Our guides are written for homeowners in Utah and Idaho and the nearby states of Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona. Federal HECM rules apply in every state, and our regional rules section notes where states in our region add their own rules.
Review
A credentialed reviewer is pending. We plan to add an independent reviewer with reverse mortgage credentials. Until then, the Clear Reverse editorial team writes and checks every guide, and we don't claim an outside review we don't have.
Contact
Email [email protected], or see our Contact page.