# Printable Reverse Mortgage Checklist | ReverseMortgageBurlington.ca > A free reverse mortgage checklist to print: papers to gather, questions to ask before you sign, the seven steps and what to keep up afterwards. No sign-up needed. URL: https://reversemortgageburlington.ca/resources/ Free to print, no sign-up # Reverse mortgage checklist for Burlington homeowners This reverse mortgage checklist puts everything on one page: what to gather, what to ask, the seven steps, and what you keep doing once the money arrives. Print it, or send the link so your whole family works from the same list. [Get my free estimate](https://reversemortgagebroker.ca/estimate/?utm_source=reversemortgageburlington&utm_medium=satellite&utm_campaign=resources) No cost · No credit check · No sales pressure Print this checklist ## 1\. Documents to collect - ☐ Two pieces of ID for each person on the title. A driver's licence and a passport are ideal. - ☐ Your latest mortgage statement, if there is a mortgage or line of credit on the home. - ☐ This year's property tax bill. In Burlington, the City, Halton Region and the school boards share one bill. - ☐ Your condo fee statement, if you own a condo. - ☐ Your latest Halton deferral statement, if your taxes are deferred through the Region. - ☐ A continuing power of attorney for property, if one has been made. ## 2\. What to ask before signing - ☐ Is the rate fixed or variable, what is it, and how many years does it last? - ☐ Added together, what will the appraisal, set-up fee and legal fees come to? - ☐ If I borrow this much now, about how much would I owe after 5 years? After 10? - ☐ In each of the first five years, what would paying it all off cost me? - ☐ Is there a yearly prepayment allowance with no penalty? (Certain lenders let you repay as much as 10% of the balance each year.) - ☐ At the end of the term, how is the new rate set? - ☐ If one of us moves into long-term care, what changes? - ☐ Will you copy my son or daughter on the emails? ## 3\. The seven steps, in order 1. **Free estimate.** Answer a few questions on the free estimate form. It takes about 90 seconds, and your credit isn't checked for an estimate. 2. **Every lender compared.** On your behalf, Richard Hopkins, Mortgage Broker, compares every reverse mortgage lender in Canada. In his first email you see how much you could get and which lenders suit your home, and he asks what amount you have in mind. You don't have to take the maximum. 3. **Quick application.** Next comes a short form and a few documents. Nobody checks your credit until you've confirmed you want to go ahead, and only the lender you pick receives your application. 4. **Approval.** Within a day or two, the lender usually sends its mortgage commitment letter. 5. **Appraisal.** An appraiser visits to value your home, booked by the lender or the broker depending on the lender. 6. **Independent legal advice.** Before signing, you sit down with a lawyer of your own, acting for nobody else, who explains the mortgage. 7. **Closing.** On closing day the lender sends the money to the lawyer or title company handling it. Your current mortgage, any other debts on the home and the closing costs are paid first, and the money that's left goes into your bank account. ## 4\. The lawyer who works for you No reverse mortgage in Canada closes without independent legal advice. Before you sign, a lawyer acting for you alone explains each part of the mortgage. Budget roughly $800 to $1,200 in Ontario, and take your photo ID, because the appointment is usually in the lawyer's office. ## 5\. Your ongoing jobs after closing - ☐ Pay each property tax instalment by its due date. Burlington splits the year into interim and final bills. - ☐ Keep insurance on the house, renewing before the policy lapses. - ☐ Look after repairs so the house stays in reasonable shape. - ☐ Live in the house as your main home for six months or more each year. Before a trip of over 30 days, arrange for someone to look in on it. - ☐ File the lender's contact information with your important papers and tell your executor where it is. ## 6\. Notes for the family - After the last borrower dies or moves out for good, the estate typically gets between 180 and 365 days, depending on the product, to sell or pay off the loan. Interest continues to build in that period. - Call the insurer if the house will be unoccupied. Coverage on an empty home commonly ends after around 30 days. - Whatever the sale brings in beyond the loan balance belongs to the family; the lender never takes ownership. Checklist from ReverseMortgageBurlington.ca, checked October 15, 2026. General information, not advice for your situation. --- Free reverse mortgage estimate (no sales pressure): https://reversemortgagebroker.ca/estimate/ Operated by Dominion Lending Centres Homestead Financial, a mortgage brokerage licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, brokerage licence #11711. Independently Owned and Operated. ReverseMortgageBurlington.ca is a website of Dominion Lending Centres Homestead Financial, not a separate brokerage. Richard Hopkins, Mortgage Broker, licence M16000896.