When you get into retirement years, a decision may need to be made. You will need to decide whether you want to sell your home or get a reverse mortgage.

When it comes right down to it, it may just depend on your needs for cash at the time. Here are some considerations to review when contemplating obtaining a reverse mortgage.

Both the sale of a home and the acquisition of a reverse mortgage will enable you to get access to cash (the value of your home) immediately, and both could give you the full value of your home - minus any balance due on your mortgage and closing costs. If you have need of health care, or relatives or family members that you would not mind living with (and vice versa), then selling the house may be a good option. Selling your home has the following advantages:

Reverse mortgages, on the other hand, work almost the opposite of a traditional mortgage. Instead of you paying the mortgage lender, a reverse mortgage lender pays you. There are four different ways that you can receive the value of your home with a reverse mortgage:

The choice is left up to the homeowner, and will depend on the financial needs involved. The amount of money that you can get from a reverse mortgage varies also - just like a regular mortgage. There are interest rates to consider, the value and age of the house, your own age, and the amount of equity in the home. Whether or not the value of neighborhood homes is increasing or decreasing will be another factor to consider in the overall decision. If homes are losing value around you - you may want to just sell the home as fast as you can.

A reverse mortgage is only good for the length of time that you, or a designated family member or relative, is living there. That usually means that when you move permanently to a nursing home, or die, that the house must be sold or refinanced.

One attractive feature about reverse mortgages is that there are no up front costs - and anyone that is 62 or older can qualify. Some of these are government sponsored, such as the Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) issued by HUD. These are primarily for low-income people.

So, now the alternatives need to be analyzed. You can get all of the value of the home at once with either choice. Selling your home means you no longer have a place to stay - but you do have the cash. With a reverse mortgage, however, you can stay in your home and get paid each month for an amount you determine.

Staying in your home, if possible, also means that you may see an increase in the amount of equity you have, as homes in your area may increase in value. This means a possible added value that you should consider if you could stay there longer. This also assumes that your home is in a good state of repair now - or soon will be.

You also need to take into account tax considerations. Selling the home may result in a taxable gain (depending on the basis and the exemptions that may be available). Reverse mortgages do not result in a taxable event to the homeowner.

If you are somewhat strapped for cash, and are at an age where a reverse mortgage is an option then it could be the ideal means to help you get by in your senior years. Reverse mortgages do not cost you anything, and you pay nothing each month. Instead, the reverse mortgage lender provides you with an income (as long as there is equity in the home).

When you look seriously into reverse mortgages, it is very important that you clearly understand all that is involved. With a government sponsored reverse mortgage, a financial counselor will be required to talk to you. Be sure that you look into the reverse mortgage lender, too, because there are some frauds out there offering reverse mortgages. Compare several reverse mortgage offers in order to find the best deal.