Fort Myers Reverse Mortgage

Nearly three in ten Lee County residents are 65 or older, 29.2% by the latest Census figures, and in Fort Myers itself 23.2%. On paper that makes this a natural reverse mortgage market, and it is.

What makes it different from anywhere else in Florida is what happened in September 2022. Lee County lost more than 9,900 residential units outright to Hurricane Ian and another 13,173 suffered major damage, with total damage to residential and commercial structures above $8 billion. Four years on, that event is still the first thing we ask about, because it affects the appraisal, the insurance and sometimes the title.

Fort Myers and Lee County by the numbers

Figures are as published by the cited sources as of August 2026 and will move. We could not find a Florida Office of Insurance Regulation county average premium for Lee County that we were willing to publish, so there is no insurance figure in this table rather than an estimated one. Nothing here is an offer of credit or a quote for your property.

The claims that closed without payment

This is the number that matters most for anyone in Lee County thinking about a reverse mortgage, and it is rarely mentioned.

Statewide, 683,456 Hurricane Ian claims were filed. Around 169,355 of them closed without any payment at all. In Lee County specifically, reporting on Office of Insurance Regulation data put more than 30% of claims either denied or still without payment.

Behind that statistic sit thousands of households who repaired what they could afford and left the rest. For a reverse mortgage that has two consequences. The property still has to appraise acceptably and be insurable, so unrepaired damage is a live issue rather than history. And every reverse mortgage requires hazard insurance to stay in force for the life of the loan, which in a market with this claims record means the deductible and the flood coverage deserve a proper look.

A city where half the housing is rented

Fort Myers has an owner-occupancy rate of 49.1%, the lowest of the four Lee County markets we cover. Cape Coral is 77.2%, Bonita Springs 81.8% and Estero 86.0%.

That tells you the city has a lot of multifamily and condominium stock, and condominium is where the rules bite. A HECM can only be written on a condominium in a project acceptable to FHA under 24 CFR 206.51. You can check your own building at HUD's condominium search, where a status of Expired is common and simply means the approval lapsed.

Where the project is not approved, the routes are full project approval, FHA Single-Unit Approval for your unit within FHA's concentration caps, or a proprietary reverse mortgage where FHA approval does not apply. Buildings of three habitable storeys or more also fall under Florida's milestone inspection and structural reserve study requirements, which carry special assessment risk on top.

Values, and why the FHA programme fits here

At a Lee County single-family median of $385,000 and a Fort Myers median value of $384,500, this market sits far below the FHA ceiling of $1,249,125. Unlike Naples an hour south, almost nobody in Fort Myers needs a private jumbo product to reach their own equity.

That is worth saying plainly, because it is an advantage. The federally insured HECM carries FHA mortgage insurance and the protections that go with it, including the non-recourse rule under which neither you nor your heirs owe more than the home is worth when the loan is repaid. Proprietary loans do not automatically carry those same protections. In Fort Myers you generally get to use the programme with them.

Counseling for Lee County borrowers

Federal rule 24 CFR 206.41 requires counseling with a HUD-approved agency independent of your lender before any HECM. Lee County has several HUD-approved agencies, including Affordable Homeownership Foundation at (239) 689-4944, Lee County Housing Development Corporation at (239) 275-5105 and Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties at (239) 652-4663. None of them is listed for reverse mortgage counseling specifically, so they are not the number to call for this.

HUD permits HECM counseling by telephone and that is how most Lee County borrowers do it. National agencies serving Florida include GreenPath at (888) 860-4167, Money Management International at (877) 908-2227, Credit.org at (800) 947-3752 and Housing Options Provided for the Elderly at (844) 432-6467.

Because HUD's roster changes, check for yourself through HUD's counselor search or call (800) 569-4287.

Questions we get from Fort Myers homeowners

My Ian claim was denied and the repairs are half finished. Can I still do this?

Possibly, and it is a common situation here given that more than 30% of Lee County claims were denied or went unpaid. The property has to appraise acceptably and be insurable. Where work is outstanding, a repair set-aside can sometimes fund it from the loan itself rather than from your savings. The scope decides it, so it is worth a look rather than an assumption.

Is my Fort Myers condo eligible?

Only if the project is acceptable to FHA, which you can check at HUD's condominium search. If it is not, the options are full project approval, Single-Unit Approval for your unit within FHA's caps, or a proprietary reverse mortgage that does not require FHA approval. Buildings of three habitable storeys or more also carry milestone inspection obligations worth checking.

Do I need a jumbo product in Fort Myers?

Almost certainly not. Values here sit far below the FHA ceiling of $1,249,125, so the federally insured programme applies. That is the better outcome, because it carries FHA mortgage insurance and the non-recourse protection that comes with it.

Why is there no insurance figure on this page?

Because we could not find a Florida Office of Insurance Regulation county average for Lee County that we were confident publishing, and the alternatives were agency blog estimates with no stated methodology. We would rather leave a gap than print a number we cannot stand behind. Your own renewal notice is the figure that matters anyway, and we will work from it.

Do I have to travel for counseling?

No. Lee County's HUD-approved agencies are not listed for reverse mortgage counseling, but HUD permits HECM counseling by telephone through national agencies and that is how most people here complete it.

Talk to someone who works Lee County

If your home was affected by Ian, tell us what was repaired and what was not. It is the fastest route to a real answer. 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.