Reverse mortgages have a value proposition for India just like they have in the western markets. Ever since India started on the path of economic liberalization, more and more innovative financial products are being made available to the Indian public by private financial institutions. Many of these products are quite popular in the mature markets in the West and are only now being offered in the Indian market. However, there are still some products that are more than 20-years-old in the US, but are yet to make a debut in the Indian markets. It is only a matter of time before an innovative player puts together a model for the Indian context. One such product is Reverse Mortgage.

A regular mortgage refers to creating a debt by taking money upfront to pay for the property. The property itself is pledged to the lender without actually giving over the title for it. In return, the owner of the property pays a regular sum at regular intervals for a predicted tenure to the lender, to repay the debt. After a certain period, once the principal and interest for the debt are paid, the debt is cleared and the property is entitled to the original owner.