There are three separate ways to receive the cash from a reverse mortgage. 1.) A single check at close 2.) A monthly income or 3.) An equity line of Credit.
And you can take a combination of these three based on your specific situation. We recently had a client who took out a lump sum up front to pay for some home improvements, she then wanted a small monthly income and left the remaining balance on an equity line of credit that she could draw in the future should she have additional needs.
Depending on the type of loan you take you may be able to make adjustments later. For example if you take out a small lump sum up front and leave the balance of the available limit as an equity line, you can later decide to have a monthly income set up, based on the size of your available line of credit. It’s a simple matter and takes a phone call and signing a few documents.
And you can always pay off a reverse mortgage, either in part of full at any time.