A reverse mortgage is a relatively new type of home loan.   It lets a homeowner convert a portion of equity into cash.  The difference is that no future repayment of this cash is required.

The lender takes equity instead of an interest repayment.  It's often used by Seniors to release cash from their home, which may have a lot of equity built up over many years.

They have a lot of equity, but little cash, so a reverse mortgage seems attractive.  They may have difficulty qualifying for other types of loan, as they don't have a salary the lender can base a loan on.

A senior, or other people. may not want to be committed to monthly loan repayments over the next 10-25 years.  A reverse mortgage is a way to avoid this.

Most mortgages of this type have similar characteristics :

You remain the owner of your home. 

You can pay your financing fees from the mortgage. 

There's various amounts can be borrowed, and this does vary between mortgage companies - it tends to vary depending on age and the type of cash advance you choose.

Most reverse mortgage lenders demand it be the 'Primary Loan'  i.e. they don't want any other debt outstanding on the property.  However, it is possible to use the money to pay-off other debt.

Repayment is due when the last surviving borrower dies, or the home is sold.  There's a couple of other reasons repayment may become due, such as failure to pay property taxes or bankruptcy.

In summary, this may be a good loan for seniors or people who don't qualify based on salary, but have large equity in their home.