CONTACT US NOW!
For a personalised illustration and one to one advice please complete our CALL BACK FORM so that an independent mortgage advisor can contact you to discuss your options further.
Lifetime Mortgage schemes unlock the value tied up in a home. There are 3 types:

Lump Sum + Income Option – This is where you raise a specific amount from your property (the lender will have a charge over the property), but rather than receiving a lump sum, instead this is converted into an annuity to provide you with an income. This has the benefit of offering a guaranteed life time income to supplement other income and pension, but the lump sum used to buy the annuity will die with you and cannot therefore be passed down to your children.

Lump Sum + Roll-up Option – This is where you raise a lump sum (the lender will have a charge over the property) and you are entitled to do whatever you like with this money. You may wish to spend it on doing up your home, medical fees, buying a holiday home, helping children paying the deposit on their first home, or invest it to provide you with an additional income, or perhaps a combination of all of these. The benefit of this option is that if you structure an investment under an appropriate trust arrangement you are able to receive a regular income whilst also removing the capital from your estate for inheritance tax purposes. As such you are able to pass the capital in the trust down to your children, provide a regular income for yourself and reduce your children’s liability to tax on your death. An all encompassing solution.

Home Reversion Plans – You exchange ownership on a percentage of your property in return for either a lump sum or regular income. Therefore logically if you wanted to release 25% of the value of your property you would expect to give up 25% ownership. Unfortunately these schemes do not operate on this basis. Typically if you want to raise 25% of the value you will have to give up in excess of 50% of your property. You are able to live in the property for life, but the lender will usually insist on the property being maintained to a certain standard to protect their interest. The annuity does not have to die with the annuitant. Obviously, this is what happens with a standard annuity, however, there are other annuities available where capital can be protected or a spouses income secure, but these annuities are more expensive.

Who do these schemes suit?
Those people who do not have savings or investments to supplement their pension in retirement and do not wish to move to a smaller house in order to release the equity tied up in their home. They are for homeowners who want to take advantage of the rising value of their homes in order to spend this cash on other things. You must be over 55 years old.

Any particular advantage?
YES. Equity release (lifetime mortgages) are straightforward as long as a qualified advisor is used to make sure that they are the best solution and to point out any drawbacks. They allow access to funds that would otherwise be unobtainable. Furthermore, these types of mortgages are now regulated and controlled by the FSA and all advisors must carry out additional qualifications leading to increased protection for the borrower. In addition to this most lenders offering these types of mortgages are members of SHIP (Safe Home imcome Plans) which means that they are not allowed to repossess your property nor allow any negative equity giving the borrower increased protection. Our panel of independent mortgage advisors only recommend lenders who are registered with SHIP.

How is interest charged?
The vast majority of lifetime mortgage schemes allow interest to be rolled up until after death. This is beneficial because it means you are not forced into making interest payments during your lifetime and can therefore benefit from any interest produced on your investments to enhance your lifestyle. You can choose between variable rates, fixed rates and capped rates, and again it is important to take advice to ensure you pick the right option for you.

CONTACT US NOW!
For a personalised illustration and one to one advice please complete our CALL BACK FORM so that an independent mortgage advisor can contact you to discuss your options further.
(If you are not over 55 years old but wish to release money from your house as a loan or re-mortgage in the normal way then please visit our standard mortgage and re-mortgage pages HERE).

Please think carefully before securing any debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it.
For all mortgages and loans please be sure that you can afford the repayments before entering into any credit agreement. The figures and information quoted on this site are believed to be correct at the time of issue and are subject to change without notice. Any quotation supplied is NOT an offer of a mortgage.
In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 all personal data handled by Assetz Finance will be processed fairly, lawfully and in the best interests of our client. The information and personal details provided may be disclosed to companies who have an agreed partnership with Assetz Finance and who will be able to offer you financial and property services that you require.  These companies may be located in your country of purchase or the UK.