Reverse Mortgage in Fort Lauderdale: HECM Rules for Local Homeowners

Short answer

To get a reverse mortgage in Fort Lauderdale you must be 62 or older, live in the home as your principal residence, have substantial equity, finish HUD-approved counseling, and show you can keep paying taxes, insurance and HOA dues. The FHA-insured HECM counts home value up to $1,249,125 in 2026, above Fort Lauderdale's third-quarter 2026 median single-family price of $720,000. For condos, flood zones and Broward's senior exemption, the local details below decide whether it works; QMS Lending is a broker that connects you with reverse mortgage lenders, subject to approval.

Fort Lauderdale values and the HECM limit, as of October 2026

The program itself is explained in our Florida reverse mortgage guide. For the City of Fort Lauderdale, MIAMI REALTORS reports these third-quarter 2026 numbers:

• Single-family homes: median sale price $720,000, up 2.9% from a year earlier, on 379 closed sales.
• Townhouses and condos: median sale price $500,000, up 23.5%, on 347 closed sales, which were down 18.5%.

HUD figures your loan from the lesser of the appraised value or the HECM limit of $1,249,125 (FHA case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026), the age of the youngest borrower or eligible non-borrowing spouse, and the interest rate. A median house sits below the limit, but waterfront homes on the canals and near the beach can appraise above it. In that case only the first $1,249,125 counts, and a private (non-FHA) reverse loan may be worth comparing. Terms on those vary by lender.

Rates vary daily; call for today's pricing. Any mortgage you still owe gets paid off at closing from the proceeds.

Beach and Intracoastal condos: FHA approval and inspections

Condo prices in Fort Lauderdale moved sharply in 2026, but for a HECM the building's status matters more than the price. HUD allows a HECM on a condo only in a HUD-approved project or on a unit with FHA single-unit approval, and single-unit approvals are capped at 10% of the units in projects with 10 or more units.

• Look it up first on HUD's FHA condo search. Search by city and ZIP code; status shows as Approved, Expired, Rejected or Withdrawn.
• Milestone inspections. Florida requires residential condo buildings three stories or taller to have a milestone inspection at 30 years of age and every 10 years after. Since the 2023 changes, a local building official may require it at 25 years based on local conditions such as nearness to salt water, which can apply to oceanfront and Intracoastal towers.
• Reserves. Those buildings also need a structural integrity reserve study every 10 years, and budgets adopted from 2025 on must follow it. Higher dues and special assessments count against you in HUD's budget review.

Ask the association for its condo questionnaire, the latest milestone inspection report and its SIRS before you apply. We can request them for you.

Flood zones and insurance along the canals

Fort Lauderdale's canals and beachfront can put a home in a flood zone. HUD requires every HECM property to meet FHA property and flood standards, and you must keep paying homeowners insurance and, where required, flood insurance for the life of the loan.

That matters twice. First, HUD's financial assessment looks at your history of paying property charges and whether your income and assets cover them going forward. If the numbers are tight, the lender may set aside part of your loan to pay taxes and insurance for you, which reduces the cash you receive. Second, if you stop paying insurance later, the servicer can treat the loan as in default.

Get current quotes for wind and flood coverage before counseling, and bring your wind mitigation inspection if you have one. A lower premium can make the budget work.

Broward senior exemptions in Fort Lauderdale, with deadlines

A HECM keeps the title in your name and requires you to live in the home, so it generally does not affect your homestead exemption, which can lower taxable value by up to $50,000. Fort Lauderdale owners 65 and older may get more. As of October 2026 the Broward County Property Appraiser says:

• Low-income senior exemption: an additional $25,000 on county taxes and on city taxes in cities that adopted it, and the county and cities may raise it up to $50,000. Fort Lauderdale has adopted the $50,000 increase.
• Long-term residency senior exemption: Fort Lauderdale has also adopted it. It exempts city taxes for owners who have lived in the home at least 25 years and whose just value was under $250,000 in the first year they apply.
• Income and age: 65 or older on January 1, 2027, with 2026 household adjusted gross income of $38,686 or less.
• Deadlines for 2027: sworn income statement by March 1, 2027; supporting documents (2026 Form 1040 for everyone in the household, or the SSA-1099 if you do not file) by June 1, 2027; absolute late-filing deadline September 20, 2027. The Property Appraiser's phone is 954-357-6830.

Filing on time can lower the tax bill that HUD uses in your budget review.

Counseling, costs and how QMS Lending helps

Counseling comes first; HUD's line to find a counselor is (800) 569-4287. As of October 2026, the CFPB counselor search for South Florida lists a HUD-approved agency in Pembroke Pines, in Broward, that offers reverse mortgage counseling.

HUD lists a 2% initial mortgage insurance premium at closing, a 0.5% annual premium on the balance, an origination fee capped at $6,000, a servicing fee of up to $30 or $35 a month, and third-party costs such as appraisal, title and Florida taxes on the mortgage.

QMS Lending (NMLS #1781090) is an independent mortgage broker in Miami, FL, licensed in Florida and working with 100+ lenders. We connect Fort Lauderdale homeowners with reverse mortgage lenders, review the building, flood and tax picture before you apply, and compare a HECM with a HELOC or a cash-out refinance. You may qualify; every loan is subject to approval. Contact us, call 305-425-1990, or visit our Fort Lauderdale mortgage broker page.