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HECM for Purchase
Buy Your Next Home at 62 or Older With No Monthly Mortgage Payment Required
You provide the down payment. The HECM reverse mortgage covers the rest. No monthly payment on the balance
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INTRODUCTION
What is a HECM for Purchase and how does it work?
The HECM for Purchase (H4P) lets eligible homebuyers 62 and older purchase a new primary residence using a reverse mortgage. The buyer provides a cash down payment — typically 40 to 60% of the purchase price, depending on the youngest borrower’s age and current interest rates. The HECM reverse mortgage covers the remaining balance. No monthly principal or interest payment is required on the HECM balance. The loan is repaid when the borrower permanently leaves the home.
Most seniors who want to downsize or relocate face a choice: sell the current home, buy a smaller one, and take on a new monthly mortgage payment — or stay put because the payment does not fit a fixed income. The HECM for Purchase program eliminates that forced choice.
H4P lets eligible buyers 62 and older purchase a new primary residence using a reverse mortgage. The buyer provides a down payment — typically 40 to 60% of the purchase price depending on age and current interest rates. The HECM covers the remaining balance. No monthly principal or interest payment is required on the HECM balance as long as the borrower lives in the home.
NRMLA reported approximately 5,000 H4P transactions nationally in 2023. Access Financial is a HUD-approved HECM lender. We approach every H4P consultation with an education-first, no-pressure standard — explaining the program completely and letting you decide on your timeline.
H4P Down Payment by Age
Approximate Ranges
Down payment percentages are approximate and vary with current interest rates. Older borrowers require smaller down payments because HECM principal limits grow with age.
| Youngest Borrower Age | Approximate Down Payment | HECM Covers |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | 58% to 60% | 40% to 42% |
| 65 | 55% to 57% | 43% to 45% |
| 70 | 50% to 53% | 47% to 50% |
| 75 | 46% to 48% | 52% to 54% |
| 80 | 42% to 44% | 56% to 58% |
THE H4P MARKET
5,000 Seniors Used H4P in 2023. Here Is Why the Number Should Be Much Higher.
NRMLA documented approximately 5,000 H4P transactions in 2023 — a meaningful but small slice of the senior homebuying market. The Urban Institute estimates that 10 million Americans age 62 or older are considering a home purchase or relocation in the next 5 years. For many, a traditional purchase mortgage — with a monthly payment that reduces retirement cash flow — is not feasible. H4P solves this by eliminating the monthly payment on the purchased balance. A 74-year-old downsizing from a $700,000 family home to a $450,000 single-story closer to family uses H4P with an approximate $213,000 down payment, keeps $487,000 from the sale in retirement savings, and makes $0 monthly mortgage payment on the $237,000 HECM balance.
| HECM for Purchase (H4P) Insight | Value |
|---|---|
| 5,000 | H4P (HECM for Purchase) transactions completed nationally in 2023 — NRMLA |
| 10M | Americans age 62+ considering a home purchase or relocation — Urban Institute |
| $0 | Monthly mortgage payment required on the HECM loan balance, provided borrower continues to meet property tax, insurance, and occupancy requirements |
THE 3 QUESTIONS H4P BUYERS ASK MOST
No. You keep the title to your home and the right to live in it as long as you want — as long as you maintain it as your primary residence, pay property taxes and insurance, and keep the home in good repair. A HECM is not a sale of your home. It is a loan against its value. You own the home throughout.
Your heirs have multiple options — sell the home and keep the equity after paying the HECM balance, refinance to a conventional loan to keep the home, or allow the lender to sell it if the balance exceeds the home’s value. HECM is non-recourse — if the balance ever exceeds the home’s value, FHA insurance covers the difference. Heirs never owe more than the home is worth.
Yes. All HECM transactions — including H4P purchases — require independent HUD-approved counseling before the application can be submitted. The counseling session (typically 60 to 90 minutes by phone) covers the program, alternatives, your rights, and what happens after you pass. Access Financial helps you schedule counseling and can attend the session if you would like a familiar presence.
Buy the Right Home for This Chapter. No Monthly Payment Required
You provide the down payment. The HECM covers the rest. No monthly principal or interest payment on the balance. Access Financial is a HUD-approved HECM lender. We explain the program completely, handle HUD counseling scheduling, and let you decide on your timeline without pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — if the condominium project is FHA-approved for HECM programs. FHA HECM condo approval is separate from standard FHA condo approval.
Some condos on the standard FHA approved list are also approved for HECM — but not all. Access Financial checks H4P condo project approval status before you make an offer to avoid losing a deal at the last minute to an unapproved project.
Florida — particularly the Naples, Sarasota, and The Villages areas — is the most active H4P market nationally due to retirement migration and senior community concentrations.
Florida receives the largest share of H4P transactions nationally because retirement relocation — moving from a high-cost northern market to a Florida retirement community — is a natural H4P use case. The buyer sells a primary home in an expensive market, takes a portion of the proceeds as the H4P down payment, and purchases in Florida with no monthly mortgage payment, while retaining the remaining sale proceeds as liquid retirement assets.