Are you house rich and cash poor? Do you want to have extra money for daily and housing expenses? In the past, you essentially had two options. First, you could sell your home and move. Second, you could borrow against your home and then face monthly loan repayments. Today there is a third possibility - a reverse mortgage.

A reverse mortgage is a type of home equity loan that allows you to convert some of the equity in your home into cash while you still own your home. It works much like a traditional mortgage, only in reverse. Rather than making a payment to your lender each month, the lender pays you. This money can provide you with the financial security needed to enjoy your retirement years.

All reverse mortgages turn your home equity into three things: loan advances paid to you; loan costs paid to the lender and others; and leftover equity, if any, paid to you or your heirs at the end of the loan. Money can be paid to you all at once, as a regular monthly advance, at times and in amounts that you select, or some combination of these methods.

The money you receive is paid back, plus interest, when you die, sell your home or permanently move out of the home. You can never owe more than your home's value at the time the loan is repaid. Because you continue to own your home, you remain responsible for property taxes, insurance and repairs.

The amount of money you can obtain generally depends on your age, your home's value and location, the cost of the loan and the specific reverse mortgage plan or program you select. Most homeowners get the largest cash advances from the federally-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, or HECM. Another major product is the Home Keeper reverse mortgage developed by Fannie Mae.