The proprietary programs I work with start at 55. The standard FHA-insured HECM starts at 62 — seven years earlier, and built for the home values Colorado actually has. No monthly mortgage payment. You keep the title. Property taxes, insurance, and maintenance remain yours.
People tell me the bank takes the house. They tell me the kids get nothing. They tell me it is a last resort for people who ran out of options. I hear it in the first ten minutes of almost every conversation I have about this.
Some of it used to be true. The product in the 1990s deserved a share of that reputation. It has been rebuilt since — federally insured, HUD-counseled, non-recourse — and the version people are afraid of has not existed for a long time.
But I am not going to tell you it is right for everyone, because it is not. There are people I have talked out of this. Later on this page I will tell you exactly who should not do it, and why. Read that part before you read anything else.
Nobody calls me about a reverse mortgage because they are curious. They call because something has changed — a retirement that arrived faster than the savings did, a spouse's medical bill, a house they love and a payment that is eating the month. The product is not the interesting part. What is happening in the house is.
— Bobby Friel · CO Home Equity · Founder
If the payment on the home you already own is the thing shaping your retirement, what would change first — the money you spend each month, or the choices you get to make with it?
The jumbo proprietary programs are different. They are not FHA-insured, they are underwritten privately, and they are available from age 55. For a Colorado homeowner between 55 and 61, that is the entire difference between having this option and not having it.
A HECM is the federally insured reverse mortgage most people have heard of. It works, it is well-regulated, and it has a hard floor: you must be 62.
They also handle higher home values than a HECM can. In a state where a mountain home can be worth several times the FHA limit, that matters more here than it does in most places.
Best for: Colorado homeowners with lower home values who want federal protections and flexible disbursement options.
Best for: Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, Telluride, Boulder, and other high-value Colorado markets where home values exceed the HECM limit. Also for homeowners age 55–61 who aren't yet eligible for HECM.
| Factor | HECMStandard · 62+ | JumboProprietary · 55+ |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum age | 62 | 55+ in Colorado |
| Maximum loan | Federal HECM limit | Substantially higher |
| Mortgage insurance | Yes (0.50%/year) | No |
| Origination fees | Yes | No (on certain programs) |
| FHA insured | Yes | No (privately funded) |
| Non-recourse | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly mortgage payments | None required | None required |
| Counseling required | Yes (HUD-approved) | Yes |
| Ongoing obligations | Property taxes, insurance, maintenance | Property taxes, insurance, maintenance |
| Best suited to | Lower-value homes, federal protections | High-value homes, or age 55–61 |
Enter your home value, mortgage balance, and age. Your equity and the programs you may be eligible for update as you type — no email, no gate.
Your equity
$600,000
Programs you may be eligible for
Both a standard HECM (FHA-insured) and jumbo proprietary programs may be available. Which one fits depends on your home value and goals.
Homeowners in your range typically access a meaningful portion of their equity — the exact figure depends on age, current rates, and the program. I run your real numbers on the first call, at no cost.
Get Your Real NumbersAn estimate, not an offer. Actual eligibility and accessible equity depend on your age, property type, current rates, and program factors. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, and home maintenance remain your responsibility.
A good fit
You plan to stay in this home for the long run.
The costs are front-loaded. If you are here for years, they amortize. If you are here for two, they do not.
The mortgage payment is the thing squeezing your month.
Eliminating it changes your cash flow immediately.
You are between 55 and 61 with real equity.
The jumbo programs exist for exactly this person, and most lenders will not tell you they exist.
You want to delay Social Security.
Every year you wait raises the benefit permanently. A reverse mortgage can fund the bridge.
You have equity and no good way to use it.
A HELOC needs income to qualify. This does not.
Not for everyone
You are likely to move within a few years.
The upfront costs will not have earned their keep. Sell instead, and I will help you do that.
You cannot comfortably cover taxes, insurance, and upkeep.
These stay your obligation. Missing them can put the loan in default. If the budget is already breaking, this does not fix it.
Your heirs need this house, not its value.
They can keep it by paying off the balance — but that is a real bill, and they should know it is coming.
You need a small amount for a short time.
The setup costs make it a poor fit for a small, short-term need.
You have not talked to your family about it.
Not a rule. Just the thing I have watched go wrong most often.
I have told people not to do this. It costs me the file and I would rather lose the file than put someone in the wrong product. If that is you, I will say so on the first call.
Illustrative examples based on typical Colorado scenarios. All programs require ongoing payment of property taxes, homeowners insurance, and home maintenance.
Linda received the marital home in her divorce at 59 — too young for a standard HECM, which starts at 62. A jumbo proprietary program was available at 55. She cleared the remaining mortgage and built a reserve, with no monthly mortgage payment for the first time in decades. Property taxes, insurance, and upkeep remain her responsibility.
A retired couple in Vail owned their home outright — worth several times the HECM limit — when a market downturn hit their investments. Rather than sell stocks at a loss, they used a jumbo reverse mortgage to cover living expenses while the portfolio recovered. No monthly mortgage payment; taxes, insurance, and maintenance continued as their responsibility.
Margaret needed to make her Evergreen home work for the long run — a ramp, an accessible bath, a first-floor bedroom. A standard HECM opened a line of credit she could draw from for the work and keep the rest as a growing reserve. She stays in the home she loves; property taxes, insurance, and upkeep remain hers.
Harold was house-rich and cash-poor in Denver’s Park Hill — a paid-off home, but taxes and insurance were eating into a fixed income. A HECM line of credit gave him steady supplemental funds to stay in the home he had owned for decades. The mortgage payment was already gone; taxes, insurance, and upkeep continue.
A free, no-obligation look at your options — HECM, jumbo, or whether a reverse mortgage is even the right move. Your adult children are welcome on the call.
The question I get asked most is what happens to the kids. The answer is that they inherit exactly what they would have inherited anyway — the house, and a balance against it. They can pay it off, or they can sell and keep what is left. What they never get is a bill larger than the house is worth. That is federal law, not a promise I am making.
— Bobby Friel · CO Home Equity · Founder
If your family sat down and looked at this with you — not after, but now — what would you rather they understand: the number, or why you chose it?
The costs are real and they are front-loaded. Origination, mortgage insurance on a HECM, title, and the standard settlement charges. On a jumbo, the structure is different — no FHA insurance premium, but the pricing sits elsewhere.
That front-loading is why the length of time you plan to stay matters so much. Spread across fifteen years, the cost is reasonable. Spread across two, it is not.
I will show you the full cost sheet on the first call, before you commit to anything. If the numbers do not work for your situation, I will tell you that too.
Home values, jumbo eligibility, and what makes sense differ by market. Find yours.
Denver Metro
13 markets
In partnership with
Direct Insurance Services
Your reverse mortgage lender requires active homeowners insurance with full replacement-cost coverage. Colorado homeowners face real exposure: hail in the Front Range, wildfire in the foothills and mountain zones, severe wind across the plains. A single storm can cause serious roof and exterior damage.
Before your reverse mortgage closes, we run a full insurance review through our partners at Direct Insurance Services — not just to satisfy your lender's requirements, but to make sure there are no coverage gaps. It saves headaches and money.
Reverse mortgages are the most misunderstood product in this business, and probably the most underused. In the mountain communities where I live and work — Vail, Beaver Creek, Edwards, Avon — plenty of retirement-age homeowners are sitting on a lifetime of equity that is doing nothing for them.
The stigma is outdated. It comes from a product that existed a generation ago. Today's reverse mortgage is federally regulated, requires independent counseling, carries non-recourse protection, and lets you stay in your home for life. Have you actually seen how it works today — not what you heard from someone who last looked at it in the 1990s?
Colorado is unusual because of our home values, and the jumbo proprietary programs that start at 55 open the door for a whole group of homeowners a standard HECM would turn away. That seven-year head start is the part almost nobody tells you about.
And I am always straight about one thing: a reverse mortgage is not free money. Your property taxes, insurance, and maintenance do not go away. What goes away is the mortgage payment — and for most of the people I work with, that is the biggest line in the monthly budget.
I welcome adult children on every call. This is a family decision, and transparency builds confidence. If you have been thinking about it — or your kids have been asking questions — the conversation is free. What is the one concern that keeps coming back? That is what we should talk about.
A free, no-obligation equity review. I walk you through your options — HECM, jumbo, or whether a reverse mortgage is even the right move for your situation. Your adult children are welcome on the call.
No monthly mortgage payment required. Borrower must continue paying property taxes, homeowners insurance, and home maintenance.
Bobby Friel · NMLS# 332039 · Friel-Good Mortgage, Inc. · NMLS# 1901977 · Edwards, Colorado
