Prospective reverse mortgage borrowers are not only more likely to have mortgage
debt than their counterparts in the general population, but those who do have a
mortgage also owe more on their homes than comparable older homeowners. Figure
18 compares the amount of mortgage debt (measured as a percent of home value)
reported by HECM counselees who had a mortgage in 2010 with the amount of
mortgage debt owed by general-population homeowners in 2009 (the closest year
available). Overall, HECM counselees were about 10 percentage points more likely to
owe at least 25 percent of their home’s value than all older homeowners. The lender
data obtained by the CFPB is broadly consistent with these findings