The question as to whether a reverse mortgage is credit driven or not comes up quite frequently. It’s just so hard to believe that there is such a mortgage that doesn’t consider your credit scores. Especially in our current environment of continuously increasing credit score requirements for forward mortgages.
The answer is essentially no. No, reverse mortgages are not credit score driven. A borrower can theoretically have a 400 credit score and still qualify to borrow using a reverse mortgage. By the same token, a borrower could have no score at all, and still qualify for a reverse mortgage.
However, (you knew there had to be one of those lurking) this being a government loan, the government wants to protect itself in the deal. Meaning, if you owe money to the government they will require you to pay them back with the proceeds of the loan. If there is not enough equity to do so, you will not be able to obtain the reverse mortgage.
So, yes, you can have late payments on any and all debt. You can have bankruptcies and foreclosures in your past. You can even owe the IRS money and still qualify for a reverse mortgage loan. You just have to have enough equity in the home to pay your current liens off assuming there are any, the closing costs, and the government any monies you owe them.
FHA Reverse Mortgage Information 