Fort Lauderdale Reverse Mortgage

Nearly one in five Fort Lauderdale residents is 65 or older, and the median owner-occupied home is worth $486,700, comfortably inside the federal reverse mortgage programme. On the face of it this should be a simple market.

It is not, for one reason. Broward County has required building recertification for decades under its own administrative code, and Florida's milestone inspection law sits on top of that rather than replacing it. A Fort Lauderdale condominium can be on two separate inspection cycles, answering to two different authorities, on two different timetables. Any conversation about a reverse mortgage here that does not start with the building is starting in the wrong place.

Fort Lauderdale and Broward County by the numbers

We have not published a Fort Lauderdale city median sale price. The county-level realtor data is reliable but the city-level tables we could reach did not parse cleanly enough to publish. Figures are as published as of August 2026 and will move. Nothing here is an offer of credit or a quote for your property.

Two cycles, two authorities, two sets of costs

This is the part that catches people, and it is worth setting out precisely.

Broward County recertification

Under the Broward County Administrative Code, recertification is triggered at 40 years from the certificate of occupancy, then every ten years, and it applies to every building over 3,500 square feet. Not just condominiums. Not just buildings of three storeys or more. Height-neutral and use-neutral.

Florida milestone inspection

Florida Statute 553.899 triggers at 30 years, or 25 years within three miles of the coastline, and applies to condominium and cooperative buildings of three habitable storeys or more. Alongside it sits the structural integrity reserve study.

Worth one caution about data quality: the state's own research office reported that 23% of Broward municipal building officials did not submit their 2025 inspection data. Nobody has a complete picture of this county, including the state. Your own building's status is the only reliable answer.

The condo market is falling while houses rise

Broward single-family prices rose 4.8% year over year to a $650,000 median in July 2026. Condominiums fell 3.8% to $255,000. That divergence is the market pricing in exactly what is described above: inspection costs, reserve funding requirements and insurance.

For an older condominium owner, that has a practical consequence. If your alternative to a reverse mortgage is selling, you are selling into a falling market where the price is being set partly by your building's deferred maintenance rather than by your unit. That does not automatically make borrowing the right answer, but it should be part of the comparison rather than left out of it.

Insurance, and the number behind the number

The Office of Insurance Regulation reports Broward at $6,136 a year with wind coverage and $3,008 without. That gap is the entire story of insuring a home in this county.

Two things follow for a reverse mortgage. First, insurance has to stay in force for the life of the loan, and letting it lapse is a default trigger, so the premium is a permanent line in your budget rather than a closing item. Second, the state figure blends homeowners and condominium unit owner policies, so if you are in a condominium your own HO-6 premium is likely lower than $6,136 while your association's master policy cost arrives through your monthly dues instead. Either way you are paying it; the question is which line it appears on.

Condominium approval

An FHA reverse mortgage can only be written on a condominium in a project acceptable to FHA under 24 CFR 206.51. Check your building at HUD's condominium search, where Expired is common and simply means the approval lapsed.

Where the project is not approved: full project approval, Single-Unit Approval for your unit within FHA's concentration caps, or a proprietary reverse mortgage where FHA approval does not apply. The Single-Unit route carries a stricter HECM test under HUD Mortgagee Letter 2019-17, requiring the residual income standard to be met without compensating factors.

Values here sit inside the FHA ceiling for most properties, so the federally insured product usually applies. Waterfront and Las Olas area properties do cross the limit individually, and for those a proprietary or jumbo product reaching up to $4 million becomes relevant.

Counseling in Broward

Federal rule 24 CFR 206.41 requires counseling with a HUD-approved agency independent of your lender before any HECM. Broward has several agencies listed for reverse mortgage counseling: Consolidated Credit Solutions in Fort Lauderdale at (800) 435-2261, which counsels in English and Spanish, Debt Management Credit Counseling in Fort Lauderdale at (866) 724-3328, and Housing Foundation of America in Pembroke Pines at (954) 923-5001.

HUD's roster changes, so confirm through HUD's counselor search or by calling (800) 569-4287 before you rely on any single number.

Questions we get from Fort Lauderdale homeowners

Does Broward recertification replace the state milestone inspection?

No. Florida Statute 553.899 states that the milestone inspection applies in addition to local requirements. Broward recertifies every building over 3,500 square feet at 40 years regardless of height, and the state milestone applies to condominium and cooperative buildings of three habitable storeys or more at 30 years, or 25 within three miles of the coast. A coastal condominium can be on both.

My building has not been inspected yet. Is that a problem for the loan?

Not automatically, but it is an unknown, and unknowns matter when a lender is assessing whether you can keep property charges current for twenty years. A completed inspection with no significant findings makes the file simpler. A pending inspection with no reserve funding behind it is worth understanding before you commit.

Why is Broward insurance quoted at two different numbers?

The state regulator reports $6,136 a year with wind coverage and $3,008 without. Both are averages blending homeowners and condominium unit owner policies. If you are in a condominium your own policy is likely lower, because your association's master policy covers the structure and reaches you through monthly dues instead.

Is my Fort Lauderdale home above the FHA limit?

Most are not. The city median owner-occupied value is $486,700 against an FHA ceiling of $1,249,125. Waterfront and Las Olas area properties do cross it individually, and for those a proprietary or jumbo reverse mortgage reaching up to $4 million becomes the relevant product. It is a street-level question rather than a citywide one.

Condo prices are falling. Does that reduce what I can borrow?

It affects the appraised value, which is one of the three inputs along with the age of the youngest borrower and current rates. Broward condominium prices fell 3.8% year over year to a $255,000 median while houses rose 4.8%. That is worth knowing both for what you can draw and for what selling would actually realise.

Talk to someone who works Broward

Give us the building and we will work out which inspection cycles it is actually on. Free, no obligation, and if a reverse mortgage is not the right answer for you we will say so. Hablamos Español.

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Sunshine State Home Loans, LLC. NMLS ID 1901827, Florida license MBR3278. We are not affiliated with, and are not acting on behalf of, HUD, FHA or any government agency. Proprietary and jumbo reverse mortgages are not FHA insured. Reverse mortgage proceeds are loan proceeds rather than income; consult a tax advisor about your situation. Borrowers remain responsible for property taxes, homeowners and flood insurance, association dues and property maintenance, and the loan may become due if those obligations are not met. This is not a commitment to lend.