Understanding mortgages is an important step toward understanding reverse mortgages.
Merely, having been a mortgage borrower at some time, and even paying one or two off, may not mean you understand the contractual terms and responsibilities involved.

What you don't understand and what you unconsciously assume about mortgages, can make the subtle differences of reverse mortgages harder to appreciate:
•   The differences are where advantages lie. For instance, qualification for a traditional or forward mortgage is based on income, that is, your ability to repay or to service the mortgage debt. In qualifying for a reverse mortgage, income usually has little or no bearing. Qualification focuses on the appraised value of the property and the age, and therefore traditional years remaining, of the owner(s).
•   The similarities are where liabilities and responsibilities lie. For example, mortgage and reverse mortgage contracts include legally binding promises or covenants that require the property to be kept in good repair. This means gutting the bathroom or adding an extension, without lender acknowledgement, violates this covenant, and gives the lender the power to call the entire mortgage debt due and payable. Would this happen? That depends on the lender. Usually they only learn about renovations if more money is needed or something goes seriously wrong with the building.

Mortgages, reverse and otherwise, are expensive things to misunderstand.
Reverse Mortgages: Best Friend, Worst Enemy…Your Choice! explains the similarities and differences between traditional and reverse mortgages, so you can make informed decisions about the fit, and shop with confidence. See Chapter Two — What Is a Reverse Mortgage?

My motto of "Consumer Be Aware" encourages you to learn ahead of need. "Buyer Beware" is a before-you-sign alarm that may be too late—and expensive. Want to start by discovering what you didn’t know that you don’t understand about mortgages?
Decisions & Communities column: "Variable or Otherwise: What Has Your Mortgage Committed You To?" http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20101020_variable.htm