Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Counseling is designed to help senior citizens in converting accumulated mortgage equity into cash.  This service may be valuable to clients who live on low or fixed incomes and those who are in need of extensive property repair. The eligibility requirements for HECM, sometimes called a reverse mortgage, are: 

• Borrower must be 62 years of age or older.
• Borrower must own or occupy a single family or one-to-four unit home with little or no  mortgage balance. 
• Borrower must maintain the home as his/her principal residence for the duration of the reverse mortgage.
• No income qualifications apply, and repayment is not due until the last surviving borrower dies, sells or permanently moves from the property.