Equity release is a way of freeing up some of the money you have tied up in your home for you to use, either as an income, or a lump sum. You must be a homeowner and be over 55 to be eligible.
There are broadly two different methods of equity release. The first and most common is called a lifetime mortgage and the second is called a home reversion plan. They are very different and it depends upon your circumstances and situation as to which will be the right choice, if any, for you.
Equity release isn’t suitable for everyone; we estimate that we’ll arrange equity release for only 1 in 4 people that contact us requesting it. This is because our aim & process is first, to look at all the other options which may be more suitable, such as downsizing to a smaller property, seeing if a family member could support you with additional income, or if there are any benefits or claims you could make that you didn’t know about or weren’t claiming.
Please fill in your details below and we will be in touch by phone within 24 hours to talk through your options. If equity release might be suitable for you, we will arrange a no obligation appointment during the initial call.
The appointment will be at a time and date that is convenient for you & it’s purpose is to gather all the relevant information from you, to establish the right course of action to take, alongside explaining both the benefits & the risks of equity release, so that you can make an informed decision of how best to proceed.
We provide initial advice for free and without obligation. Only if you choose to proceed and your case completes would a typical fee of £999 be payable.
More Information
Equity release may involve a home reversion plan or lifetime mortgage which is secured against your property. To understand the features and risks ask for a personalised illustration.
Equity release requires paying off any existing mortgage. Any money released, plus accrued interest would be repaid upon death, or moving into long-term care.
What Is Mortgage Affordability?
We’re often asked “can I borrow 5x my income for a mortgage” or “should I just multiply our joint incomes by 4?” Whilst income multiples exist in the background that lenders won’t exceed, it isn’t the sole driver of the amount you can borrow. The amount of money you can borrow on a mortgage is dependent on a number of things covered below.
1. The amount & frequency of your income – are you salaried or paid weekly? Do you earn overtime or receive bonuses or commissions & are they monthly, quarterly or annually, are you self employed and submit accounts at the end of the year or are you a limited company director and receive dividends?
2. The amount of credit commitments you have; so that’s debts such as loans, credit cards, car finance, store cards etc. Are these debts staying or being paid off before you buy the home, and if they’re being paid off how will it be paid – mortgage lenders will often check that the debt has been paid off before completion by doing a final credit check if you say you will pay it off.
3. How many children, if any, do you have – it often costs a lot of money to have children & lenders make an assumption about that cost based on national statistics. We also might have to take into account the costs of childcare and nursery for example as well.
4. Any other income you receive – eg some people get child benefit, some have working tax, or child tax credit. Some people receive personal independence payments, there may be CSA or maintenance payments paid monthly to support a child – all of these can be taken into account in various combinations.
5. Your age & how long you can take the mortgage over in combination with your retirement plans. The longer you can stretch a mortgage, often the more you can borrow as the payment will likely be lower and therefore more affordable, however the longer the mortgage the more interest in total is payable so it’s a double edged sword!
As Mansfield’s top rated award winning mortgage & protection brokerage our job is to look at all the above points & then to work out what your borrowing capacity is & what will be affordable – now sometimes this isn’t what a client wants to hear, nevertheless we have a duty of care to make sure you’re not stretching things financially. This can sometimes be a difficult discussion as a client can sometimes desperately want to buy a house & is adamant they can afford it, but as advisers we have to be cautious & look at what might happen in the future & determine that, if things change with interest rates would it remain affordable at that point because we never want to see a client in financial difficulty.
You see, there’s more to it than at first meets the eye, and it’s actually a very big financial decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly – which is why it always pays to have a chat with someone that knows what they’re on about.
We are independent mortgage brokers covering Mansfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield & Chesterfield. If you need a mortgage broker in Mansfield, mortgage broker in Sutton-in-Ashfield or mortgage broker in Chesterfield we’re here to help.
AP Mortgage Solutions Ltd
CONTACT DETAILS
Direct: 07387 585282
Email: a.paddick@apmortgagesolutions.co.uk
Hours
Monday – Friday: 9am – 8pm
Saturday: 9am – 5pm
Sunday: By appointment only