While reverse mortgages are not suitable for everyone, low interest rates and rising home prices make them particularly attractive right now for those who can stomach the high up-front fees and compounding interest charges. In the same way, lower interest rates allow homeowners to lock in much larger loan amounts than they can get when rates are high. Although the homeowner doesn’t make payments on the loan, low interest rates mean interest charges don’t build up as much, so there’s more money left for the homeowner or heirs after the loan is paid off. These include a fee of several hundred dollars to appraise the property, a loan origination fee of up to $2,000, an insurance premium paid at closing equal to 2 percent of the property’s value, a monthly insurance premium that adds 0. But a reverse mortgage can work well for an elderly homeowner who wants to stay in a home, can’t borrow elsewhere, really needs the money and isn’t concerned that compounding interest charges will chew away at the equity that can be left to heirs. read more