Equity release

Equity release or later life lending has become much more common and mainstream. There has been an increase in providers in the market and this has driven competition so that you can get some later life products that are priced only a little higher than mainstream mortgages.

We get a host of enquires ranging from needing some emergency cash, using the property to move from just making ends meet to enjoying a comfortable retirement, raising cash to gift to family and finally to use as a tool to mitigate against inheritance taxes. Later life lending can be used for any legal purpose.

Later life lending does need to be thought through carefully though as it’s often a once in a lifetime decision, so it needs to be the right thing to do. We follow a very detailed process when we are providing this advice for the ultimate protection to you and your family or final beneficiaries.

It starts with a free initial consultation where we introduce ourselves and our service fully so you can be comfortable to proceed to the next step.

When you’re comfortable with our adviser and the service we provide we will then set about learning about your financial situation, your wider family and what your objectives are.

We do not insist but we encourage you to involve the family in these meetings, we would not want any bad feeling when the time comes to sell the home.  At an already distressing time you do not want your children to then realise unexpectedly they will not be inheriting the full value of your home. When the options are discussed children sometimes offer to help solve the problem to avoid having to use later life lending so that your home can be retained within the family. 

As part of this initial process we look to see if there are any other solutions or ideas that could solve your need. Could we get help from charity? Could we meet your objectives by moving home? Would a lodger solve an income need? Not all of these will be desirable, but we consider them all so that before you agree to proceed you have thought through all other potentially less costly options.

When it is established that later life lending is the only viable or acceptable solution we research the whole market to help you find the most suitable product to suit you. Cost is a big factor but there are many other considerations around flexibility and options that could work to your benefit in the future.

Because this is such an important decision you are making once we have a recommendation in mind,  we get every case pre-checked by an auditor to ensure the advice we are providing is the best it can possibly be.

Once we have the file approved, we set another meeting to present our findings to you and ideally your family. We take pride in being able to explain complex financial matters in plain English so that at the end of the meeting you will fully understand our recommendation. You will know how our recommendation solves your various needs, what all the costs and fees are, what all the other good and bad features are to the contract.

You can then take as much time as you like to consider the recommendation. When you’re happy and ready we help you with all the paperwork and manage the application process for you. We have a team of administrators working at our main office ensuring that everything runs smoothly for you. Your adviser and our admin team are on hand throughout to support you through to completion.

All initial consultations are free and without obligation so call us today for more information.

Taking an equity release loan could impact benefits you may be entitled to, have an impact on your personal taxation and erode the value of your estate.