Lindsay VanSomeren

Origination fee: $6,000 or less, paid to the lender.
Closing costs: These usually total between 2% and 5% of the loan.
Mortgage insurance: This is usually a one-time upfront fee of 2% of the property's value along with an annual premium of 0.5% of the outstanding home's balance.
Interest: Interest rates fluctuate. Reverse mortgage loan rates are usually slightly higher than traditional mortgage rates .
Service fees: If you are charged a service fee, it could be up to $35 a month.
Counseling: If you take out a HECM, the most common type of reverse mortgage, you're required to attend counseling from a HUD-approved reverse mortgage counseling agency. The cost varies depending on the agency and is typically around $125.

9+ years in personal finance.
Work has appeared on Credit Karma, Forbes Advisor, LendEDU, Finance Buzz, Yahoo Finance, MSN, AOL, Bankrate, Deposit Counts, The Balance, ConsumerAffairs, Mortgage Research Center, Yahoo Money, Yahoo News, ValuePenguin, and Nasdaq.

Bio and experience

Lindsay VanSomeren has been a personal finance writer for over nine years, specializing in budgeting, credit cards, insurance, and student and personal loans. Before becoming a finance writer, Lindsay worked as a research assistant at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Colorado State University. Since then, her articles have been featured on MSN, Bankrate, Yahoo Money, AOL, and Forbes Advisor.