The reverse mortgage is intended to be the last loan you will ever need. If, even after the reverse mortgage closes, you are not comfortable and able to meet your monthly obligations or if your home no longer meets your needs, then you should consider selling your home and moving to a new home while your equity is high instead of getting a reverse mortgage. If the loan does not allow you to remain in a place you love comfortably, there is no reason to delay the inevitable need to move. If the home is too much for you to maintain anyway, it may not be the right choice. If you can no longer use the house because it is two-story with all bedrooms upstairs and you cannot climb stairs, it may not be the right choice. If the utilities are extremely high and you know there are many, many things that either need attention or will soon because it is an older home and you barely meet the requirements to get the loan now, maybe a newer smaller home would be better for you now while you have good equity and you can use the reverse mortgage purchase program to buy an energy efficient home. If you know you will need help soon and you are far from family, perhaps you should think about a relocation to put you closer to support before you begin to use your equity. If you put off what you will need to do as some point anyway, you will do it later with less equity in your home and fewer options. If the reverse mortgage allows you to live comfortably in the place you have come to know and love, it is doing its’ job but if it doesn’t, you need to make that decision and make other plans sooner rather than later.