Reverse Mortgage Specialists in Miami and South Florida

PS Mortgage Lending is a reverse mortgage practice, not a general brokerage that also does reverse. Phil Stevenson holds the Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional designation, one of roughly 200 CRMPs in the United States, has specialised in reverse mortgages since 2008, and has closed hundreds of them for Florida homeowners. If you want the loan explained honestly, including when the answer is no, that is the conversation to have.

Why the specialist matters on this loan

A reverse mortgage is not a variation on a normal mortgage. It has its own qualification rules, its own counselling requirement, its own set-aside mechanics, and a proprietary market that sits entirely outside FHA. A loan officer who closes two of these a year is learning on your file.

Because we are a broker rather than a single lender, we compare FHA HECM pricing against several proprietary programs on the same scenario, then show you both. A retail loan officer at one institution can only show you what that institution sells.

What the press has asked us

Forbes has quoted Phil three times on reverse mortgage policy, in articles by Richard Eisenberg for Next Avenue:

• It Just Got Tougher To Get A Reverse Mortgage, April 2015
• The Answers To Common Reverse Mortgage Questions, April 2017
• Reverse Mortgages Will Soon Be Less Attractive, September 2017

On how underwriting actually works, from the 2015 article: “We can deny someone with an 800 score and approve someone with a 500 score. We’re looking at credit history. You could have been in medical collections, but always paid your mortgage and property taxes and just fell on hard times.”

What is a reverse mortgage?

A reverse mortgage lets a homeowner aged 62 or older convert part of their home equity into cash, a line of credit, or monthly income, with no required monthly mortgage payment. You keep title to your home. The loan is repaid when the last borrower sells, moves out permanently, or passes away, and it is non-recourse, so neither you nor your heirs can owe more than the home is worth at that point.

You remain responsible for property taxes, homeowners insurance, and keeping the home maintained. Those obligations are the most common reason a reverse mortgage goes wrong, and they are the first thing we check.

HECM or jumbo: which reverse mortgage fits?

Two different products. The right one depends almost entirely on what your home is worth.

If your home is comfortably below the FHA limit, the HECM is usually the better and cheaper loan, and we will tell you so. Above it, the difference in available proceeds can be substantial. See private, proprietary and jumbo reverse mortgages for the detail.

How much can you borrow in 2026?

It depends on the age of the youngest borrower, your home’s appraised value, current interest rates, and the program. Older borrower, higher value and lower rates all increase the amount.

For 2026 the FHA maximum claim amount is $1,249,125. That is the most value a HECM will count, no matter what the home appraises for. A $2 million home and a $1.25 million home produce the same HECM. That single fact is why proprietary programs exist and why they matter so much in Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Key Biscayne and the Keys.

Can you get a reverse mortgage on a Florida condo?

Often yes, and this is where South Florida differs from most of the country. A HECM generally requires the condominium project to be FHA approved, and a great many Florida buildings are not, particularly on the coast and throughout the Keys. Several proprietary lenders will lend on condos FHA will not touch. If you were told no because of your building, that was probably a HECM answer, not the only answer.

Do you still own your home?

Yes. You remain on title. You are not selling the home, and you are not signing it over to the lender or to the government. If the home is sold later, any remaining equity belongs to you or to your heirs.

What stops a reverse mortgage from being approved?

Since the financial assessment took effect in 2015, age and equity alone are not enough. The usual obstacles are unpaid or late property taxes and insurance, insufficient residual income, recent derogatory credit events, an existing mortgage larger than the reverse mortgage will produce, required repairs, or a condominium that is not approved. A denial from one lender is not a denial from all of them. See what to do if you are denied a reverse mortgage.

Who we work with

In person across South Florida: Miami, Kendall, Pinecrest, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, the Florida Keys, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach County. Licensed and lending in Florida, Georgia and Texas.

Consultations are available in English and Spanish. Phil was born and raised in Miami to a Cuban mother and goes by Felipe with Spanish-speaking clients.

Before you commit to anything

Every FHA reverse mortgage requires independent counselling with a HUD-approved agency before the loan can proceed. That is a consumer protection and it is worth taking seriously. We will point you to counsellors serving Miami-Dade and answer questions before and after that session with no obligation.

Talk to a CRMP

Phil Stevenson, CRMP, Managing Member and Principal Mortgage Loan Originator, NMLS #365768. PS Mortgage Lending, NMLS #968090. Rated 5.0 across 187 Google reviews. Veteran owned; Phil is an Iraq and Afghanistan disabled veteran. Formerly served on the Ethics Committee of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, and ranked the number one reverse mortgage broker in Florida for 2015, 2016 and 2017 by Reverse Market Insight.

Call (305) 791-4874 for a straight answer on whether this loan fits, including when it does not.