Aging in Place & Home Equity Options in Riverside County

Riverside County Office on Aging and Local Programs

A homeowner who wants help at home can start with one question: who in the county coordinates services for older adults? In Riverside County, that is the Office on Aging.

According to its programs and services overview, the Office on Aging runs more than 27 programs and services. They serve older adults, adults with disabilities, family caregivers, and residents of long-term care facilities throughout Riverside County. The page says all of them are free to people who meet each program's minimum qualifications. The services it lists include:

• HelpLink Information & Assistance. This is a place to ask what exists and who to call.
• Care Coordination & Case Management. This is help organizing the care a person needs.
• Nutrition & Meal Services.
• Transportation information. The page describes information about public transportation and about volunteers who drive older adults.
• Caregiver support, including support for grandparents and other family members.
• The Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

The list on that page continues beyond these items. It also describes a senior volunteer program that serves the Coachella Valley and Blythe.

Help with daily tasks at home is a separate question. In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) is a California program that may pay for a caregiver who helps an eligible person with daily tasks, so that person can stay at home. The Riverside County Department of Public Social Services is the county department to ask about current IHSS eligibility and how to apply. The county's main website, rivco.gov, is the starting point for finding other county departments.

When the House Itself Needs to Change

Sometimes the house itself is the problem. Stairs get harder, and a bathroom can feel risky. Changes such as grab bars, a ramp, or wider doorways can make a home safer and easier to use without a move.

Help for these changes comes from several places, and the right place depends on where the house sits. The California Department of Aging works with local aging offices across the state. In Riverside County, the Office on Aging's HelpLink is a natural first call to ask what modification help is offered right now.

The City of Riverside and other cities in the county run their own housing offices. A city's housing or community development office is the place to ask whether it offers a home repair or rehabilitation program for older or lower-income owners, and on what terms.

For some rural homes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has repair programs for owners who qualify. Whether a particular property and owner qualify is a question for USDA directly. The national guide to aging in place financing options explains what each kind of repair help involves.

The right place to ask about modification help depends on where your home sits, so a single call to HelpLink can save a lot of searching.

How Home Equity Can Help Pay for Aging in Place

Home equity is the part of the home's value you own outright: what the house is worth, minus what is still owed on it. When the house holds most of a family's wealth, it is natural to wonder how that equity could pay for care or repairs. Each way to use it trades something different, and the fit depends on the whole picture. The options below run roughly from those that leave the house untouched to those that borrow against it.

1. A budget and benefits review. This means checking every public benefit and county service first, before touching the house.
2. Property tax relief. This lowers or delays a cost the homeowner already carries. It is described in the next section.
3. Help from family. This can mean money, time, or shared costs. The adult child's guide to home equity covers how a family can help.
4. Selling or downsizing. This turns equity into cash, but it means leaving the home.
5. A home equity loan or a HELOC. A home equity loan is a lump sum, borrowed against the house and repaid in monthly payments. A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a credit line secured by the house. You draw on it as needed and repay what you use. With either one, the home secures the debt, and the payments must fit a fixed income.
6. A cash-out refinance. This replaces the current mortgage with a larger one and pays out the difference. It also comes with monthly payments.
7. A reverse mortgage. The most common type is the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM). HUD's HECM page says it is the only reverse mortgage insured by the federal government, and that it is available only through a lender approved by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

Because a reverse mortgage works so differently from the other loans on this list, its mechanics are worth spelling out. For a homeowner on a fixed income, the main difference is what happens to monthly payments and to the balance. Here is how it works, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

• A HECM is only for homeowners 62 and older.
• Title stays in the owner's name.
• Borrowers make no monthly mortgage payments.
• Interest and fees are added to the balance each month, so the amount owed grows over time.
• The borrower must use the home as a principal residence, pay the property taxes and homeowners insurance, and keep the house in good condition.
• The loan is repaid when the borrower no longer lives in the home, for example when the last borrower dies, sells, or moves out.

A reverse mortgage is a loan. It is not income, a grant, or a government benefit, and it is not the answer to every situation. The guide to home equity options for seniors compares these seven options side by side.

Knowing how each option works means you can have a clearer conversation with a lender, a counselor, or a family member when the time comes.

California Property Tax Relief for Older Riverside County Homeowners

Property taxes keep coming as long as you own the house, and with a reverse mortgage, paying them is part of the deal. So it helps to know the county calendar and the relief that exists.

When the bills come and when they are due. The Treasurer-Tax Collector's calendar gives these dates for the yearly (secured) property tax bill:

• Bills are mailed: in October.
• First installment: due November 1. A 10% penalty is added after 5:00 p.m. on December 10.
• Second installment: due February 1. A 10% penalty and a cost are added after 5:00 p.m. on April 10.

If a delinquent date falls on a weekend or a county holiday, it moves to the next business day.

What happens if taxes go unpaid. For a homeowner whose budget is stretched, a missed installment can grow into a larger problem over several years, so the county's later steps matter too. According to the county's delinquent tax pamphlet, any taxes still unpaid at 5 p.m. on June 30 make the property "tax defaulted." From then on:

• A redemption fee is charged.
• Penalties of 1½% per month begin.
• A five-year installment plan is possible. It requires a payment of at least 20% of the redemption amount, plus interest, by each April 10, along with each year's current taxes and an annual fee.
• After five years in default, a home becomes subject to sale.

Supplemental bills. A supplemental bill is an extra property tax bill that can follow a change of ownership or new construction. The Assessor explains that this bill is sent to the owner directly, not to a mortgage company.

The Homeowners' Exemption. The Riverside County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder says this exemption takes up to $7,000 off the assessed value of a home the owner lives in as a principal residence on January 1. That saves about $70 a year in property tax. Filing is free:

• Full exemption: file by 5 p.m. on February 15.
• 80% of the exemption: file between February 16 and 5 p.m. on December 10.

The county's May 2026 reminder encourages owners who are unsure whether they receive the exemption to check their status.

Senior Citizen Property Tax Postponement. Postponement means the property taxes are put off now and repaid later, rather than forgiven. Because the postponed amount still has to be repaid, it works differently from an exemption, which simply lowers the bill. The California State Controller's Office runs the program and publishes its current eligibility rules, deadlines and repayment terms, so the Controller's Office is the place to confirm whether a particular homeowner qualifies.

Proposition 19. According to the Assessor's Proposition 19 page, an owner aged 55 or older may move a home's property tax base to a replacement home anywhere in California, for transactions on or after April 1, 2021. The replacement home must be bought or built within two years of the sale. The "equal or lesser value" test allows the replacement to be worth:

• up to 100% of the old home's market value, if bought or built before the sale;
• up to 105%, if bought or built in the first year after the sale;
• up to 110%, if bought or built in the second year after the sale.

Putting the Pieces Together for Your Riverside County Plan

Planning to stay home often means juggling several things at once: the house itself, the yearly costs, care needs, and longer-term money questions. Taking them in order can make the load lighter. Start with the free and low-risk steps covered above, county services and tax relief, and turn to home equity only once those are clear. If equity is part of the picture, understanding how each option works comes before any conversation with a lender.

Counseling is part of the reverse mortgage path. The CFPB states that a HECM requires counseling from a HUD-approved agency. It also says a homeowner can talk with a counselor while still only considering the idea.

A counselor explains how the loan works, what happens to the home later, and what other options exist. Counselors give unbiased information about the loan a homeowner may be considering. HUD lists approved counselors in its HECM Counselor Roster, and it lists (800) 569-4287 as the number to call.

There is also a short window after signing. The CFPB says that with most reverse mortgages, a borrower can cancel for any reason, without penalty, within three business days after closing.

Golden Roof Equity's pages on California home equity options for seniors explain each choice in more depth. Its home equity access options calculator offers an illustration of how equity is figured, as value minus what is owed. It is an illustration only, not a statement of what any lender would provide.