Canstar senior financial analyst Harry Senlitonga says equity release products that allow seniors to use the equity in their homes to seek credit have been hit by the global financial crisis. "Unfortunately, we are seeing reverse mortgages fall victim to the funding shortfalls financial institutions are currently experiencing," Senlitonga says.

AS financial gales whirl about our ears, older Australians in search of funds increasingly have turned to reverse mortgages. Often it is a stop-gap measure until super balances recover and can provide a source of cash.

Yet everyday reverse mortgages may become harder to get, or more expensive, because of falling property prices that have prompted a wave of lenders to stop offering the product.

Financial firm Canstar Cannex has announced, for example, that that it will no longer rate reverse mortgage products, citing eight lenders, including Macquarie Bank and Bluestone, that have left the market or stopped promoting new loans in the past six months.

Canstar senior financial analyst Harry Senlitonga says equity release products that allow seniors to use the equity in their homes to seek credit have been hit by the global financial crisis. "Unfortunately, we are seeing reverse mortgages fall victim to the funding shortfalls financial institutions are currently experiencing," Senlitonga says.

So, what are the options for someone seeking to liberate some equity from their homes?

One is a private sale and leaseback arrangement, under which you sell the home at today's value, with a legal arrangement -- perhaps with children -- to stay in it until you die.

All agree to a partial upfront payment with the balance to be paid to the vendor, either on final settlement or as ongoing payments.

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