Beach vacations, beers on the golf course, picking up that dusty guitar you put down decades ago. Everyone dreams about living the relaxing retirement lifestyle, but not everyone plans out how to pay for it.

Homeowners without a solid retirement plan may be relying on their home’s value to fund their post-career plans—the question is, how do you get that equity out?

If you listen to fame endorsers alike Alex Trebek, Robert Wagner, Henry Winkler and Tom Selleck, it sounds equivalent getting a reverse mortgage—a peculiar loan for seniors over 62 that turns equity into cash—is your best alternative.

Before weighing the pros and cons, you unusual need a clear understanding of how a reverse mortgage works or you could wind up in serious goods or services owed. That’s where we come in: we did the research and talked to experts to put together this universal pros and cons list.

That way, you can make an educated decision about whether a reverse mortgage is right for you.

Let’s Start with the Basics: What is a Reverse Mortgage?

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Growing (HUD), a reverse mortgage is a loan that converts house equity into cash for retiring homeowners while allowing them to continue living in their homes.

The concept may be plain, but the process is deceptively complex—and it’s an alternative with a number of negatives to consid