# Printable Reverse Mortgage Checklist | ReverseMortgageKingston.ca

> A free, printable reverse mortgage checklist for Kingston homeowners: the documents, the questions for your lawyer, the seven steps and what comes after.

URL: https://reversemortgagekingston.ca/resources/

Checklist

# Kingston reverse mortgage checklist

This Kingston reverse mortgage checklist fits everything on one printable page: the documents to have ready, the questions to ask, the seven steps, and the bills you keep paying once the money arrives. Print it, or email the link so the whole family works from one list.

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Print the checklist

## 1\. Have these ready

-   ☐ Two pieces of ID for every owner on the title. A driver's licence and a passport are ideal.
-   ☐ The most recent statement for your mortgage, if the home has one.
-   ☐ Your City of Kingston property tax bill.
-   ☐ Your condo fee statement, if the home is a condo.

You don't need to gather income paperwork. Just tell Richard your income; proof of it is rarely needed.

## 2\. Ask these before you sign

-   ☐ My rate: fixed or variable, how much, and for how long?
-   ☐ My one-time costs: appraisal, set-up fee and lawyers, added up?
-   ☐ My balance: about how much after 5 years, and after 10, on the amount I plan to take?
-   ☐ Paying it off early: the charge in year one, two, three, four and five?
-   ☐ Paying some back: is there a yearly amount I can repay with no charge? (Some lenders allow up to 10% of the balance a year.)
-   ☐ Renewal: how will the rate be set when this term is over?
-   ☐ Long-term care: what changes if one of us has to move into a care home?
-   ☐ Family: will my son or daughter get a copy of each email?

## 3\. The seven steps

1.  **Your free estimate.** Answer a few questions about your Kingston home and who is on the title. The form takes about 90 seconds, and no one pulls your credit to give you an estimate.
2.  **Every lender compared.** Richard Hopkins, Mortgage Broker, looks at all four lenders for your property. In his first email you see the amount you could qualify for and the lenders that suit your home, and he asks what amount you have in mind. Less than the maximum is fine.
3.  **A quick application.** Once you've chosen an option, fill out a quick form and send a few documents. Your credit is checked once, and your application goes only to the lender you choose.
4.  **Approval.** The lender usually sends its mortgage commitment letter within a day or two.
5.  **Appraisal.** An appraiser visits the house once, so the lender has an independent value for it.
6.  **Independent legal advice.** Before you sign, a lawyer you choose, acting for you and nobody else, explains each page of the mortgage.
7.  **Closing.** The lender sends the money to the lawyer or title company doing the closing. They pay off your current mortgage, any other debts on the home and the costs, then deposit the remaining money into your bank account.

## 4\. Your own lawyer

No reverse mortgage in Canada can close until a lawyer acting only for you has explained it. Kingston has plenty of lawyers who do this; the fee in Ontario is usually $800 to $1,200. Take your photo ID, since lenders generally want the appointment held in person at the lawyer's office.

## 5\. After closing, keep doing these

-   ☐ City of Kingston tax bills: paid by each due date (the 2026 dates were February 27 and June 30).
-   ☐ Home insurance: never allowed to lapse; renew before the expiry date.
-   ☐ Upkeep: a sound roof, working heat and the usual repairs, so the home holds its value.
-   ☐ Living there: it stays your main home for at least six months a year, and a neighbour or relative looks in on it during any absence longer than 30 days.
-   ☐ Paperwork: the lender's name and contact details filed with your will, and your executor told where to find them.

## 6\. For your family to know

-   The time the estate gets: once the last borrower has died or moved out for good, 180 to 365 days depending on the product, to sell the house or repay the lender. Interest continues during those months.
-   Insurance on an empty house: call the insurer straight away, because cover on an unoccupied home commonly ends after about 30 days.
-   What the family keeps: every dollar from the sale above what is owed goes to the estate. At no point does the lender own the house.

From ReverseMortgageKingston.ca, checked October 16, 2026. General information, not advice about your own situation.

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Free reverse mortgage estimate (no sales pressure): https://reversemortgagekingston.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. ReverseMortgageKingston.ca is a website of Dominion Lending Centres Homestead Financial, not a separate brokerage. Richard Hopkins, Mortgage Broker, licence M16000896.