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The product family

Four products. Four different jobs.

"Reverse mortgage" isn't one thing. The structure you choose changes what you pay in interest more than almost any other decision — often by tens of thousands of dollars over a decade.

CHIP Reverse Mortgage

The standard. Up to 55% of your home's value, tax-free.

Unlock up to 55% of the value in your home. Unlike a loan or conventional mortgage, you are not required to make regular payments while you live in the home. Funds are received tax-free and can be used for any purpose — clearing debt, income, renovations, family support or simply a buffer.

Fits when

  • Long-term stay in the home
  • A clear one-time need, or a need plus a reserve
  • Cash flow matters more than maximizing the estate

Watch for: Interest compounds on whatever you draw. Take what you need, not what you qualify for.

CHIP Max

Higher access for those who need more of their equity.

A reverse mortgage secured against the value of the home, designed for homeowners who need to access a larger share of their equity than the standard program allows. No regular payments as long as you live in the home. You keep the property in good condition and stay current on property taxes and insurance.

Fits when

  • The standard qualifying amount falls short of the actual need
  • Strong property in a strong location
  • Staying put for the long haul

Watch for: A larger advance compounds faster. This is the product where modelling the 10- and 15-year equity picture matters most.

CHIP Open

Short-term and bridge financing, no prepayment penalty.

Built for a short-term financing need, with no prepayment penalty for paying the loan off in full. If the timeline stretches out, CHIP Open can be converted to a standard CHIP Reverse Mortgage. Commonly used as bridge financing between a purchase and a sale.

Fits when

  • Buying before selling
  • A known payoff event within months
  • Settling an estate or a divorce timeline

Watch for: The rate is higher than the fixed-term products. This is a bridge, not a destination.

Income Advantage

Scheduled monthly or quarterly deposits instead of a lump sum.

A reverse mortgage secured against the home where you choose to receive monthly or quarterly advances, for cash-flow planning rather than a single lump sum. No monthly mortgage payments required.

Fits when

  • Topping up pension income
  • Funding in-home care month to month
  • Anyone who doesn't want a large sum sitting idle

Watch for: The best feature here is also the quiet one: money you haven't drawn yet isn't accruing interest, so total interest is far lower than the equivalent lump sum.

Reverse mortgage vs HELOC

Why a HELOC often isn't the cheaper option in retirement.

A HELOC

  • Lower rate — genuinely cheaper money
  • Requires income and credit qualification, including the stress test
  • Requires monthly interest payments
  • Can be reduced, frozen or called by the lender
  • Typically must be re-qualified over time

A reverse mortgage

  • Higher rate — the honest cost of the structure
  • No income or credit qualification
  • No required payments, ever, while you live there
  • Cannot be called while you meet occupancy, tax and insurance obligations
  • Survives the death of one spouse without re-qualification

If you can qualify for a HELOC and comfortably carry the payment, it's usually the cheaper tool and we'll tell you so. The reverse mortgage earns its rate when qualifying is the problem, when the payment is the problem, or when certainty over decades matters more than the spread.

Compare reverse, HELOC and downsizing
Dual-licensed

If you fit one of these buckets, you deserve to see every option — not just the one that pays us.

Tyler Waldron is licensed as both a mortgage broker (MB611612) and a realtor through Engel & Völkers. So alongside any reverse mortgage scenario, we'll also model what selling and rightsizing would actually leave you with — selling costs, property transfer tax, moving costs and all. Same advisor, both sides of the math, and no pressure to pick either one.

Run both scenarios Talk to Tyler