CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Harry Trexler has lived in his Charlotte home for 30 years. It's where he raised a family, and now it's what's giving him his life back.

"Like I say, it's made life a lot easier," he said.

In 2004, Trexler's wife of many years was diagnosed with cancer. Two years ago, she died and Trexler was bankrupt from the medical bills. Then he took out a reverse mortgage on his home and everything has changed.

“Financially, it's like winning the lottery. I no longer have a monthly mortgage or legal fees,” he said.

Bruce Hamlett with Consumer Credit Counseling, a nonprofit agency in Charlotte, said the number of seniors seeking reverse mortgages has nearly tripled in the past year.

“It can really help, help to generate some income for that household,” he said. “Costs of gas are going up, costs of food are going up, cost of everything's going up but their income is not increasing so they're looking for ways to increase their income, and this, for a lot of people, is a viable option.”

Under a reverse mortgage, a homeowner who's at least 62 years old can borrow against the equity of their home. The credit line provides a source of cash while the homeowner gets to keep the home and never make another payment on it.

“If you have a mortgage on your property but it's paid down significantly, chances are you can probably take out a reverse mortgage and pay it off with the proceeds from the reverse mortgage,” Hamlett said.

That's what Trexler has done. He won't have to pay another dime on this home until he no longer lives there.

In a reverse mortgage, the money is paid back from the proceeds on the sale of the home when the owner either moves or dies.

“If I decide to sell the home I'll receive whatever equity's and be able to do something else, whether I have to go into a nursing home or whatever the situation is,” Trexler said.

But there are things to consider -- in fact an entire book full of them. Hamlett goes over every detail with seniors who are thinking about reverse mortgages. North Carolina law requires it.

“If your goal in life has been to leave this home to your kids when you're no longer around, you need to reconsider because you're pulling the equity out of this property. You're not going to have this home to leave to the kids if you take out this reverse mortgage,” he said.

Trexler said his two sons, now both grown, fully supported his decision and he said for the first time, he's free of money problems.

“Whether it's for financial reasons, health reasons, after you've had the reverse mortgage, nobody can take your house away from you. That's one of the beautiful parts of it,” he said.