Port Richey is about twenty minutes north of our office in Tarpon Springs, and it is one of the markets we know best. Roughly 26% of residents are 65 or older, the median home dates to 1983, and around 15% of the housing is mobile or manufactured.
It is also one of the most storm-exposed stretches of the Gulf coast. Idalia in 2023 damaged four to six thousand Pasco homes. Helene in 2024 pushed a surge of just over five feet above mean high water at New Port Richey and produced 9,430 reported damage incidents across the county. Any honest conversation about a reverse mortgage here has to start with what the water did to your property.
Port Richey and Pasco County by the numbers
| Figure | Value | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Port Richey median home value | $293,100 | US Census, ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates |
| Residents aged 65 or older | 26.1% | US Census ACS 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. Pasco County is 22.4% |
| Median year built | 1983 | US Census ACS 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates |
| Mobile and manufactured homes | 15.3% of units | US Census ACS 2019-2023. Single-family detached is 47.1% |
| Pasco County typical home value | $331,637 | Zillow Home Value Index, 31 July 2026, down 2.5% year over year |
| Total millage, City of Port Richey | 20.5792 mills | Pasco County Property Appraiser, 2025 tax year. Unincorporated Pasco is 14.6944 |
| Average home insurance premium, Pasco | $2,756 per year | Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, July 2026 report, data as of 31 March 2026 |
| Helene storm surge at New Port Richey | 5.04 feet above mean high water | National Weather Service Tampa Bay, 26 September 2024 |
| Pasco County damage incidents from Helene | 9,430 reported | County-reported preliminary figure, 30 September 2024 |
| FHA HECM maximum claim amount | $1,249,125 | HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-22, for 2026 case numbers |
Figures are as published by the cited sources as of August 2026 and will move. Nothing here is an offer of credit or a quote for your property.
Two floods in thirteen months, and what they left
Idalia came ashore in August 2023 and damaged between four and six thousand Pasco homes by the county's own estimate, with 150 people rescued from floodwaters. Helene followed in September 2024 with a surge of 5.04 feet above mean high water at New Port Richey and generally two to five feet along the rest of coastal Pasco. Around 200 people were pulled from rising water.
For a reverse mortgage, three things follow from that history.
Substantial damage determinations. Under FEMA rules a structure damaged beyond 50% of its value generally has to be brought up to current flood elevation standards. For an older single-storey house, and especially for a manufactured home, that can cost more than the property is worth. If your home carries such a determination, find out exactly where it stands before you apply.
Flood insurance. Where the property is in a special flood hazard area, flood coverage is part of what has to stay in force for the life of the loan. Letting it lapse is a default trigger, so the premium is permanent rather than a closing cost.
Unrepaired damage. The property still has to appraise acceptably. Where work is outstanding, a repair set-aside can sometimes fund it from the loan itself rather than from your savings, which for a household that has been putting off repairs is often the point of doing this at all.
Manufactured homes in west Pasco
About 15% of Port Richey housing is mobile or manufactured, and the same product runs right up the coast through Hudson and Bayonet Point. A manufactured home can qualify for an FHA reverse mortgage, but all four of these have to be true: a HUD label showing construction after 15 June 1976, a permanent foundation, classification as real property rather than personal property, and ownership of the land underneath rather than a lease.
The land condition is what stops most applications. Where residents own the home and lease the lot, which is the usual arrangement in the parks along this coast, a reverse mortgage is generally not available. Resident-owned communities are structured differently and some can work, so if yours is resident-owned it is worth having the documents read.
Timber Oaks in Port Richey is a different case again, about 1,000 homes built between 1973 and 1997, a mix of houses and attached product with association fees from roughly $43 to $470 a month. Nearby, Heritage Lake in New Port Richey runs to about 932 homes from the 1980s, Summertree about 800, Timber Greens about 783 and Heritage Springs in Trinity about 1,337. Site-built product in those communities follows the ordinary rules.
The millage difference nobody mentions
A property inside the City of Port Richey carries a total millage of 20.5792 for the 2025 tax year. The same property in unincorporated Pasco carries 14.6944. That is a difference of nearly six mills, and on a $293,000 home it is real money every year.
It matters here because a reverse mortgage requires property taxes to be kept current for the life of the loan, and a HECM financial assessment weighs whether you can do that. Two similar houses a few streets apart can produce different answers on the same income. If you are inside the city limits, your tax bill is doing more work in the analysis than you might expect.
Insurance is the gentler part of this picture. Pasco averaged $2,756 a year in the state regulator's July 2026 report, well below coastal south Florida, though the flood side sits on top of that for waterfront property.
Counseling for Pasco borrowers
Federal rule 24 CFR 206.41 requires counseling with a HUD-approved agency independent of your lender before any HECM. There is no HUD-approved housing counseling agency physically located in Pasco County at all.
The nearest agencies listed for reverse mortgage counseling are Consumer Credit and Budget Counseling in Clearwater at (866) 395-5769, and Real Estate Education and Community Housing in Tampa at (561) 491-1670. HUD also permits HECM counseling by telephone through national agencies including GreenPath at (888) 860-4167 and Money Management International at (877) 908-2227.
Check the current roster at HUD's counselor search or call (800) 569-4287.
Questions we get from Port Richey homeowners
My home flooded in Helene. Can I still get a reverse mortgage?
Often yes. The property has to appraise acceptably and be insurable, so what matters is the current condition rather than what happened. Where repairs are outstanding, a repair set-aside can sometimes fund them from the loan itself. The one thing to establish first is whether the property carries a substantial damage determination, because that brings elevation requirements with it.
I own my manufactured home but rent the lot. Does that work?
Usually not. An FHA reverse mortgage generally requires the land to be owned rather than leased. Resident-owned communities are structured differently and some can qualify, so if yours is resident-owned the documents are worth reading before assuming either way.
Why is my tax bill so much higher than my friend's?
Probably the city line. Total millage inside the City of Port Richey was 20.5792 for the 2025 tax year against 14.6944 in unincorporated Pasco. That gap affects the reverse mortgage analysis, because the financial assessment looks at whether you can keep taxes current for the long term.
Do I need flood insurance for a reverse mortgage?
Where the property is in a special flood hazard area, yes, and it has to stay in force for the life of the loan. Letting required coverage lapse is a default trigger. Along this coast that is a live issue rather than a formality, and the premium belongs in your long-term budget.
Where do I do the counseling? There is nothing in Pasco.
Correct, there is no HUD-approved agency in Pasco County. The nearest listed for reverse mortgage counseling are in Clearwater and Tampa, and HUD permits the counseling by telephone through national agencies, which is how most people here complete it.
Talk to someone from just up the road
We are in Tarpon Springs, a short drive south, and we work this coast constantly. Free, no obligation, and if a reverse mortgage is not the right answer for you we will say so. Hablamos Español.
See every Florida market we cover
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.