Let’s say that you’ve been in an assisted-living facility for the past 11 months and using your reverse mortgage line of credit to cover the costs. You’ve now reached a tipping point. If your physical condition hasn’t improved, you’ll probably want to stay in assisted living. This means that you’ll have to officially move out of your home and repay the reverse mortgage, because it will no longer be your principal residence. You could do a deed in lieu of foreclosure, which transfers the home title to the lender in exchange for being relieved of the debt, or you could simply let the lender foreclose, sell the home, repay the loan from the proceeds, and then give you any remaining funds. However, this choice only makes sense if you owe more than the home is worth. A reverse mortgage is a non-recourse loan, so you won’t have to make up the shortfall. If your home is worth more than you owe, you can sell your home to repay the loan. You’ll be repaying the amount that you borrowed with interest, plus the fees you paid to take out the loan, and up-front and annual mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs) for the life of your loan. Assuming that your home is worth more than the sum of those obligations, you’ll walk away with some cash after paying an agent to sell your home and settling any other closing costs. The question is whether that cash plus your other assets will be enough to pay for assisted living and your other expenses for the rest of your life.