RATES
HELOC avg 7.30%Home-equity loan 8.13%Reverse (HECM) expected rate 7.68%Cash-out refi 6.93%10-yr Treasury 4.73%
The Equity Ledger
Grounded math · Plain English · Independent
Calculator · Reverse Mortgage (HECM)

What a reverse mortgage would actually give you — and cost you

A straight estimate of your HECM proceeds and the full cost side most lender calculators bury. No name, no phone number, no email. Nothing is sent anywhere — the math runs in your browser.

Your numbers

FHA lending limit applies to homes above $1,209,750. Estimate only — see the notes below.

Your estimate The two-sided ledger
What you could access
Net cash after paying off your mortgage & upfront costs
Principal limit (what HECM lends)
As a monthly tenure payment*
The catch
Upfront costs (usually financed into the loan)
Upfront mortgage insurance (2%)
Origination fee
Other closing costs (est.)
…and it compounds

A reverse mortgage balance grows — you make no payments, so interest and the 0.5% annual mortgage-insurance premium are added to the loan every month. Based on your numbers, in 10 years the balance would grow to roughly , leaving an estimated of your home’s equity (assuming ~3%/yr appreciation). That erosion of the equity you leave behind is the real price of the cash today.

*Tenure = an estimated level monthly payment for as long as you live in the home. Simplified estimate.

How to read this

Most reverse-mortgage calculators online are run by lenders and are built to capture your phone number, then show only the cash you’d get. We show both sides because the cost side is the whole decision. A reverse mortgage can be the right call — for the right person, in the right situation — but only if you can see what it takes out of your estate, not just what it puts in your pocket.

What this estimate does not include

Before you decide

Read whether a reverse mortgage is a good idea, the full pros and cons, and — importantly — the cheaper ways to tap home equity (a HELOC or downsizing often costs far less). This tool is educational, not an offer of credit or individual financial advice.