​​There are two main options exclusively for senior home owners to retain ownership while borrowing their home equity without required monthly mortgage payments: Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and private label (PL) loan products.
 
HECM is the most used. Also known as equity release mortgages, senior mortgages, lifetime mortgages, retirement mortgages and most commonly, reverse mortgages, HECM is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulated, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured program that was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. It allows homeowners 62 years old and older to either purchase a primary residence with no required mortgage payment, or to refinance their primary residence to pay off their current liens and other mandatory obligations and to access any additional available equity for whatever they wish, with no required mortgage payments. Since its inception, over a million HECM loans have been made to the benefit of senior borrowers. It's usually the best choice for property values up to $800,000.

Most of the features and benefits of HECM and PL loans are comparable with a few more notable exceptions: PL are usually best for property values over $800,000 and they do not provide U.S. government insurance or other protections for non-borrowing spouses like HECM does.
 
For refinance, HECM loans allow senior homeowners to borrow up to 60% of their property value to pay off existing liens, closing costs and other mandatory obligations, and even take cash out to use anyway they wish with no required mortgage payment until the loan comes due. They retain full ownership of their homes and the loan comes due when the last owner or non-borrowing spouse leaves the home.
 
For purchase, HECM loans allow senior buyers to purchase their home with as little as 50% down with no mortgage payments. The rest of the HECM feature  apply thereafter.