Louisiana law says a written counseling notice is required at 60, and a reverse mortgage Louisiana homeowners choose lets you borrow against your property. Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, known as HECMs, account for most loans and carry insurance from the Federal Housing Administration. You don't pay anything monthly toward principal or interest. Over time, the amount you owe increases instead. Across Louisiana, lenders closed 170 HECMs in fiscal year 2025. Between October 2025 and August 2026, 0 loans hit the $1,249,125 national lending limit.
Counseling notices that Louisiana Revised Statute 6:1104 requires
Anyone 60 or older is an elder under Louisiana Revised Statute 6:1104, so a lender offering, selling or arranging a reverse mortgage for them must provide a written counseling notice, even though federal HECM loans begin at 62. The notice lists what parts of the law you and a loan counselor should talk about. To help you ask the right things during your counseling session, your lender must hand over this state checklist. Take the notice with you to your session and it'll help you get through all the required discussion points.
Your counselor has to go over whether something besides a reverse mortgage would work better for your situation. Those choices include cheaper home equity lines of credit, programs that defer property taxes or government aid programs. With a home equity line of credit, you can borrow when you need to and pay each month. How a reverse mortgage may impact your taxes and whether you qualify for government assistance programs is another thing the counselor must explain.
Could the senior assessment freeze and the $30,000 exemption being proposed cut your property taxes?
Already, seniors with low income in Louisiana can freeze the assessed value of their home, stopping tax hikes driven by climbing home prices. Your parish assessor sets a dollar figure for your home, and that assessed value is what your tax bill is based on. The vote on Amendment 6 takes place November 3, 2026. It's a constitutional measure that's pending and isn't law yet. If you're at least 65 and qualify for the freeze, up to $30,000 of your home's assessed value would be exempted. As you get older, that exemption goes up and it adds to the homestead exemption that's already in place.
Tax relief is important because federal reverse mortgage rules everywhere say you have to pay your property taxes and keep up your homeowners insurance. You're also required to live in the property as your main home and to maintain it well. If you get behind on property taxes, your HECM loan could go into default. A tax default may cause a foreclosure, which is why holding down your annual bill protects your home.
Complaints in writing to the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions
Complaints about regulated non-depository entities, like residential mortgage lenders, brokers and originators, are handled by the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions. When a mortgage company makes loans but doesn't accept bank deposits, it's a non-depository entity. When you're in a dispute with a reverse mortgage lender in Louisiana, your complaint has to be put in writing. Fill out the official complaint form and mail or fax it to the Non-Depository Division in Baton Rouge. You can also call its mortgage complaints number at 888-525-9414.
There's also a federal way to complain that works in every state. Consumer complaints about mortgages are taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which then sends them to the company. Within 15 days, most companies send a response.
