California
Reverse Mortgages in California
Equity without a required monthly payment, 62+. I am licensed in California and I shop this across 175+ lenders.
A reverse mortgage lets a homeowner 62 or older convert equity into cash with no required monthly mortgage payment. You still pay taxes, insurance and upkeep, and you still own the home.
What it is worth here
Median ZIP value in California is $694,777. How much of that you can reach depends on your age, the rate, and the value — older borrowers reach more.
Values here exceed the federal HECM lending limit in many ZIP codes, which is exactly when a proprietary or jumbo reverse mortgage beats the standard HECM. That is a conversation worth having before you assume the government program is your only option.
The line of credit nobody explains
If you take a HECM as a line of credit rather than a lump sum, the unused portion grows over time at the note rate plus the insurance premium. Set one up at 62 and leave it alone, and the available credit is larger at 75 than it was the day you opened it. That is the most underused retirement tool in the business.
The honest downsides
The balance grows instead of shrinking. Closing costs are higher than a normal loan. It reduces what your heirs inherit. Counselling is required, and it should be — this is not a loan to take casually.
I will tell you when downsizing beats it, because sometimes it does.
Where this sits in California
Median ZIP value across California is $694,777 across 1543 ZIP codes. The cheaper tenth of ZIPs run near $311,277 and the top tenth near $1,568,954. That spread matters: the same program behaves very differently at $311,277 than it does at $1,568,954.
| Largest metro | Median value | ZIP codes |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | $946,324 | 360 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | $1,218,621 | 166 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | $525,444 | 147 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | $556,682 | 116 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | $901,942 | 95 |
Zillow public home value index, as of 2026-08-31. Market data, not an appraisal of your property and not a quote.
More detail on the program itself is on my reverse mortgages page, and the rest of what I write in the state is on the California mortgage broker page.
Get a free rate quote.
No application. No credit pull. A written comparison across 175+ lenders, with the APR on each.
Let's look at your numbers
Questions people ask
Do you write reverse mortgages in California?
Yes. I am licensed in California under NMLS #487617 and I shop this program across 175+ lenders rather than offering one lender's version of it.
What is the median home value in California?
About $694,777 across 1543 ZIP codes, from Zillow's public home value index as of 2026-08-31. Your own ZIP may be well above or below that.
How do I start?
Send me your numbers or book fifteen minutes. No credit is pulled to start and there is no application to get a comparison.
Do I need to live in California to use this?
No. The property has to be in a state I am licensed in. Where you live does not matter, and a good share of my California files are for people who live somewhere else.
How many lenders do you actually compare?
175+. A bank can only offer its own product, so if you do not fit it you hear no. I put the ones that fit side by side with the APR on each, and if your current deal already wins I will tell you.
What does it cost to talk to you?
Nothing. I am paid when a loan closes and the compensation is disclosed on your Loan Estimate. If the answer is to keep what you have, it cost you fifteen minutes.
Let’s look at your numbers
Fifteen minutes. Your real numbers. No pressure.
Call or text my cell, or book a time. You’ll get a written comparison with real terms and an APR on every option, and if your current deal already wins, I’ll tell you.