Bottom line, you continue to own your home when you have a reverse mortgage. Just the same as if you had a traditional forward mortgage. You remain on title and the owner of the home, until the home is sold or passes to your heirs.
While you remain the owner of the home, you continue to be responsible for paying your property taxes, maintaining homeowners insurance and maintaining the property. Just like you did before the reverse mortgage.
And just like a traditional mortgage, your executors will need to deal with the outstanding balance on the mortgage when you die. If you have a surviving spouse they can stay in the home with no changes to the reverse mortgage.
Another interesting thing about reverse mortgages is that is possible to refinance them. It’s not common, but occasionally it makes sense, some people find they want to refinance into a fixed rate program from a variable due to changes in their personal circumstances.