Reverse mortgages come due when the last borrower dies or permanently moves out. If that has happened, you are on a clock, and unlike most things in real estate this one is genuinely short. Here is what to do, in order.
What “due and payable” means
A reverse mortgage, usually a federally insured HECM, lets an older homeowner draw against equity with no monthly payments. The balance grows over time instead of shrinking. When the last borrower dies, sells, or leaves the home permanently, the loan becomes due and payable in full.
The servicer sends a due and payable notice. From that point the heirs are expected to respond quickly, generally within about thirty days, and then act. Extensions beyond the initial period are commonly available on request but they are not automatic and they are not unlimited. Confirm your exact dates with the servicer in writing.
The 95 percent rule, which most people do not know about
HECM loans are non-recourse. Neither the estate nor the heirs owe more than the property is worth.
If the balance has grown past the value of the house, heirs who want to keep it can generally purchase it for 95 percent of the current appraised value rather than the loan balance. If instead the house is sold, the sale satisfies the debt and the shortfall is covered by mortgage insurance, not by the family.
Which means the question is rarely whether you can afford to resolve it. It is whether there is equity worth capturing, and how fast you can act.
Do these four things this week
Call the servicer and put your role in writing. Tell them the borrower died, ask for the current payoff figure, ask for the deadline that applies, and ask what documentation they require. Get the answers by email or letter.
Find out who has authority to sign. This is the constraint that most often blows the deadline. If the property passed outside probate, you may be able to move immediately. If not, someone needs letters from the court. Start that now, not after you have a buyer. See selling an inherited house in Nevada.
Check the insurance. Vacant property coverage lapses or gets cancelled, and a loss during this window is a problem you do not need.
Get a realistic value. Not a website estimate. What the house is actually worth in its current condition, because that number determines whether there is anything left after the payoff.
Your four options
Sell the house. Most common outcome. The loan is paid from proceeds and anything above the payoff belongs to the estate. If the property needs work, an as-is sale avoids spending estate money on repairs to a house nobody is keeping.
Pay it off and keep it. Refinance into a conventional loan or pay cash. Remember the 95 percent rule if the balance exceeds value.
Deed in lieu. Hand the property back. Appropriate when there is no equity and nobody wants the house. It ends the matter without a foreclosure on the record.
Do nothing. The lender forecloses. Because the loan is non-recourse the family is generally not chased for a deficiency, but any equity that existed is gone. If there is equity, this is the expensive choice.
Why the timeline is the whole game
Most reverse mortgage situations that end badly do not end badly because of the loan. They end badly because probate authority took eight weeks, then the house needed cleaning out, then a buyer’s financing fell through, and by then the servicer had started foreclosure.
Every step you can remove matters. No repairs, no showings, no lender on the buyer’s side, no cleanout. That is the argument for a direct sale here, and it is a stronger argument in this situation than in almost any other. Compare the paths honestly on four ways to sell your Nevada house.
Common questions
How long do heirs have to sell a house with a reverse mortgage?
You are generally expected to respond to the due and payable notice within about thirty days, with additional time available on request. Extensions are not automatic. Get your specific deadline from the servicer in writing.
What if the loan balance is more than the house is worth?
HECMs are non-recourse. Selling satisfies the debt and mortgage insurance covers the shortfall. Heirs who want to keep the home can generally buy it for 95 percent of appraised value.
Do we keep any money?
If the sale exceeds the payoff and costs, yes, the remainder goes to the estate. Whether equity exists depends on how long the loan ran and how the value moved.
Can we sell before probate is finished?
Usually. What is needed is authority to sign, which arrives with letters from the court, not the closing of the case.
If the clock is already running
Send us the address, the servicer name, and any deadline you have been given. We will pull the recorded documents, look at the payoff, and tell you quickly whether there is equity worth acting on. No fee, no obligation.
Request a cash offer here or call (702) 208-2434.
Written by Kyle Newman. Last updated August 14, 2026. Sell My House NV is a tradename of United Homes of America LLC. We are a direct home buyer, not a law firm and not a mortgage servicer, and nothing here is legal or financial advice. Reverse mortgage rules and timelines vary by loan and change over time, so confirm the terms that apply to yours with the servicer and your own advisor.
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