One of the first questions I ask when meeting with a potential reverse mortgage borrower is this "what are your cash needs?". It is important to determine what the borrower's cash needs are now, mid-term and long-term. For example, if a borrower needs to extinguish a current mortgage of $90,000 and has $100,000 available to him/her, most likely I would recommend a lump-sum fixed rate loan. However, if they need just $14,000 to extinguish some nasty credit cards, they might be best served with a line of credit that they can access any time, for any purpose, tax-free. Having a game plan for the tax-free reverse mortgage proceeds is critical.