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Equity release is typically used by people over the age of 55 to help fund their retirement or provide additional cash for things like home improvements, debt consolidation or for gifting money to their children.
Typically, you are required to be over 55 for an equity release mortgage, since the minimum age for lifetime mortgages is 55 and for home reversions it is 60.
This is because equity release is designed to provide extra money for retirement purposes and also to manage your risk since the longer you use equity release, the more expensive it can be.
So if you are under 55 and looking to take out an equity release plan, you could potentially live for another 20, 30, 40 years or more and by this time, you would have paid a lot of interest to the equity release provider and this could exceed the value of your home.
However, help is at hand. Lending Expert works with some of the UK’s best mortgage and equity release companies to find an effective and affordable solution for you.
If you are looking for equity release under 55, there are a number of options available and you can still release equity from your home, whilst maintaining value in your home and putting aside money for your children’s inheritance.
Secured Loans – If you have a mortgage and a property that you own, you can apply for a secured loan. This means that the loan is secured against your home and you can borrow based on the value of the property and how much equity you have in it. With secured loans, you can borrow as little as £500 to £250,000 and this is often classed as a second charge loan or a second mortgage.
With competitive rates starting from 3.34% APRC, this can be an effective way to borrow over a period of 1 to 35 years, with the option to repay early at any time. One important note is that the lender may be able to repossess your property if you are unable to keep up with repayments long-term.
Remortgage to Release Equity – This is probably the closest thing to getting equity release under 55 years of age. If you have paid off a lot of your existing mortgage or you have been moved to the standard variable rate (SVR), this is a good opportunity to remortgage under different terms.
When you remortgage, you will be able to get different rates, terms and loans-to-value based on factors such as your income, credit status, payment history and value of your property.
When remortgaging to release equity, you can choose to release a lump sum from your home when the new deal is arranged.
This can be very effective, since you are able to access money upfront (like you would with equity release), but without giving up any equity in your home and your mortgage repayments are adjusted accordingly.
You will just need to check how far along you are with your existing mortgage plan, since leaving too early could incur early repayment charges.
If you are under 55 years of age, but your partner is older, it will be possible for them to take out an equity release mortgage. You will just need to transfer your equity in the property to this individual in order to proceed.
Yes, typically the older you are, the more equity you can release. This is because hypothetically the lender is closer to recovering their return on investment.
Other factors include your current medical conditions, the value of your property and affordability.
Equity release is typically used by people over the age of 55 to help fund their retirement or provide additional cash for things like home improvements, debt consolidation or for gifting money to their children.
Equity release exists in two forms, a lifetime mortgage where you can draw down 20% to 60% of your home’s value, but continue to live in the home until you die or go into long-term care, whilst still retaining full ownership. The other form is home reversion where you physically sell off a stake in your home and the lender recovers this when you die or go into care.
Equity release can be extremely effective for seniors or homeowners who have a lot of money tied up in their home. The money you can release is tax-free and can be distributed in one lump sum or you can draw it down in stages and only pay interest on what you use.
The drawbacks of equity release is that you are charged interest by the lender each month and this can slowly start to add up if you live for another 20, 30 or even 50 years, which is a good possibility if you are only 55 years old.
Ideally, you want to retain full ownership of your property and benefit if it increases in value, so you can sell it one day for another injection of cash or pass it onto your children as inheritance. But if you are tied into equity release for too long, you risk the interest charges eating away at the value of your home and eventually there may be little value or no value left at all.
So overall, equity release can be very useful to fund your lifestyle and top up your pension. But there are over 100 types of plans available and it is important that you speak to a professional like Lending Expert to find the right plan for you.
You may wish to maintain the value of your home or put money aside for inheritance and this is all possible. Make sure that you understand all the terms of your agreement will ensure that your equity release plan is a success.
Equity release allows you to release tied up cash in your home for you to enjoy now as either a one off cash lump sum or a monthly amount. There is no requirement to make monthly repayments with most equity release plans. Instead, on a lifetime mortgage, a fixed or variable rate of interest is rolled-up against the loan so that you have nothing to pay during your lifetime. The amount you could recieve depends on the value of your home and any outstanding mortgage or secured loans.
Yes. The loan is like a regular loan and you will need to make monthly repayments and meet the lending criteria of the lender.
If you are a homeowner aged 55 or over, you could benefit from releasing a lump sum of tax-free money from the value of your home with the help of an equity release scheme. Please note that for equity release you need to be 55 years of age or over to qualify. If you are under 55 and want to release equity then you may wish to consider a second charge loan or a remortgage on your existing property.
Yes, if you choose to take out a second charge loan against your home then you will be required to make monthly loan repayments to the lender until the loan is repaid in full.
If you are under 55 and decide to go down the second charge loan route then your broker will calculate how much you can borrow and how much it will cost per month in repayments. How much you can borrow will depend on your home equity and affordability of the loan taking into consideration your earning capacity and expenses.
The maximum loan to value on a lifetime mortgage is around 45%. That means that you can release up to nearly half of your homes value for retirement.
If you are under the age of 55 or 50 you can release equity tied up in your home via a remortgage or second charge loan. Contact our specialist broker above to see what solutions you qualifiy for.
Check your eligibility and apply online for a loan in the UK here on Lending Expert.
Loans displayed have a minimum term of 12 months and a maximum term of 360 months. Maximum APRC charged 49.9%.
Overall Representative Example for Secured Loans
Based on borrowing £18,000 over 120 months. Interest Rate: 6.5% fixed for 60 months with instalments of £227.38. Followed by 60 months at the lenders standard variable rate of 4.95% with instalments of £221.71. Fees Broker fee (£1,530); Lender fee (£495). Total amount payable £26,945.40 comprised of; loan amount (£18,000); interest (£6,920.40); Broker fee and Lender fee. Overall cost of comparison 9.1% APRC.
If you're under 55 and need to release equity from your home there are solutions available.
If you're over 65 and need a loan our brokers and lenders can help.