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Lifetime Mortgage & General Equity Release Advice in Bedfordshire
Reviewed by Tom Philips
Get in touch today on 0330 058 1579 for a free, zero obligation consultation. We can help you locate equity release advisors in your local area.
There are several criteria you have to meet for equity release Bedfordshire before your application to an equity release lender will be considered. You have to own your own property, you have to be at least 55 years old, and your property has to be worth at least £70,000 (or sometimes more).
There are other criteria that can prevent you from being accepted by certain lenders in Bedfordshire. For example, they may require you to live in a certain location, have a good credit rating, or have your property in a certain condition.
Some equity release lenders are much more particular than others, so you will have to check their expectations before you apply for equity release in Bedfordshire with them.
Some of the reputable lenders the financial advisors will research on your behalf include Scottish Widows, Legal & General, Aviva, Liverpool Victoria (LV), Canada Life, more2life, Hodge, Just Retirement, Pure Retirement, One Family and LiveMore Mortgages.
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Yes, we can certainly help you to be less hesitant about equity release in Bedfordshire by reassuring you of the safety of the scheme. Reputable equity release lenders will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) so you can avoid being scammed by selecting a lender that fits this criteria (1).
It is also important to select a solicitor with good reviews, and one that is trained in equity release. Otherwise, they may not know what to look out for when it comes to accepting an offer for a Bedfordshire equity release loan. Your equity release lender will have their own solicitor, so you need to make sure you have one too.
With any loan that you take out, you are taking a risk. However, with equity release, it does not matter how much income you are receiving, as you will never be expected to repay the loan.
This makes equity release in Bedfordshire incredibly safe as you will always have the loan to rely on even if other sources of income fail you.
In terms of passing on money to your family, equity release in Bedfordshire could be deemed ‘unsafe’ as it reduces the funds that can be passed on.
However, your family will be aware of this before you pass away, and you can plan for it by implementing inheritance protection and perhaps gifting them money while you are still alive.
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To make equity release in Bedfordshire as financially beneficial as possible, you should take the time to speak to a professional adviser and learn about all the different plans that you can have with lenders in Bedfordshire.
This will help you to discover which plan would be best for you, based on how you handle your finances. For instance, if you know that you would not do well with a lump sum of cash as you would struggle to save it, you could choose a monthly payment option such as an income arrangement.
Another way to make equity release Bedfordshire financially beneficial is to choose a purpose-driven plan such as a buy-to-let scheme. This means you will be earning an income off your rental property for as long as you have tenants there, so you will be benefitting from both your equity loan and your rent income.
However, it is important to remember there are drawbacks to equity release. You can read the potential disadvantages of equity release here. Reading this will hopefully help you make a more informed decision on whether or not to release equity from your home.
If you are releasing equity to combat the cost of living, then it might be better to first try to see if you can better manage your budget. Below, we list organisations that may be able to help in Bedfordshire:
Address: 8, Harpur Centre, Bedford MK40 1TP
Telephone: 01234 867944
Website: http://www.bedfordcab.org.uk/
Address: 78-82 Bromham Rd, Bedford MK40 2QH
Telephone: 01234 360510
Website: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/bedfordshire/
You can also get more information about from Bedfordshire Council.
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You are not obliged to spend your Bedfordshire equity release loan on anything in particular unless you have selected a plan that requires you to purchase a second home, such as a buy to let plan or a second home plan.
With any of the other schemes, you are entitled to use your money as you please. You could donate to charity, give to family and friends, go on a luxury holiday, buy a new car, renovate your home, or simply put the money towards monthly expenses such as food and travel.
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Equity release works the same in every area of the UK, so our Bedfordshire clients can read our frequently asked questions about equity release and benefit from the general information provided.
However, there are of course different lenders, advisers and solicitors in each area, so your experience of releasing equity in Bedfordshire will be different from the experience of a client in another town for this reason.
When you decide to release equity in Bedfordshire, you have to pay a fee to speak to a professional equity release adviser in most cases. You could use our free initial consultation instead, but subsequent meetings will come at a small cost.
You also have to pay an application fee when you submit an application to a Bedfordshire lender, and your equity release adviser will inform you how much this is before you make your application.
Legal fees also come into play as you will need to hire a solicitor to help you through the Bedfordshire equity release process. You will be paying for their help with a property valuation, legal advice, checking title deeds, making requisitions, and various other procedures.
You will have to consider the cost of interest when taking out equity in Bedfordshire, as this can amount to a lot by the end of the scheme. However, unless you are on an interest-only scheme, you will not have to repay this as it will be covered by the sale of your property later down the line.
Finally, if you decide you want to repay some of your loan early, you may have to pay an early repayment fee. This can cost up to 25% of the amount of money you initially borrowed (2).
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The end of an equity release scheme in Bedfordshire is triggered when the homeowner moves into permanent care or passes away. Usually, the lender will be informed of this by a family member.
Any tenants living in the home are asked to move out, and the homeowner’s family must move all of their possessions out of the home too.
Soon after the home is vacated, the lender will begin to arrange the sale of the property. When this is finalised, they will collect the amount of money that covers the equity loan and the interest, and they will leave the rest to the beneficiaries.
We cannot say whether a Bedfordshire home reversion or a Bedfordshire lifetime mortgage is better, as each one has its own pros and cons.
If we are talking cost-effectiveness, a lifetime mortgage might be the better option. This is because with a home reversion, you sell your property for less than the market value, so you lose out on some money.
However, with lifetime mortgages, interest accrues over time, whereas home reversions do not involve interest. This means the most cost-effective scheme would probably be a voluntary repayment or an income-only lifetime mortgage, as they allow you to make frequent repayments.
These schemes would only be accessible to Bedfordshire homeowners who are able to pay back money each month, and some people aren’t as they do not have the income to afford this.
In terms of protecting inheritance, both schemes are reliable as they have been altered over time. With a home reversion, you can protect part of your home for your beneficiaries, and with a lifetime mortgage, you can implement inheritance protection to save some funds.
Regarding tax, again, both schemes are excellent as you are entitled to tax-free cash that you do not have to pay back while you are alive.
In terms of entitlement, you could argue it is easier to qualify for a lifetime mortgage as you only have to be 55 years old rather than 65 years old for a home reversion.
However, there are benefits to being older that only apply to lifetime mortgages. For example, with an enhanced plan, you can sometimes get a higher loan if you are older.
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Unfortunately, we cannot advise you on which lender to go with as we are only here to help you choose the right equity release plan for you and to help you understand how equity release works. We would not want to recommend a lender as we are not experts in this field.
However, we encourage you to find a Bedfordshire lender that is regulated by the FCA as this is the safest way to go about it. We also discourage you from getting involved with a lender that pressures you to opt for a certain plan, as this should be your decision.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
When it comes to equity release advisers in Bedfordshire, it’s always best to find one that is a member of the Equity Release Council (ERC). This means that if anything goes wrong and you need to complain, the ERC will back you up with their complaints process.
If you are unsure about releasing equity and you don’t want to invest too much money into the process just yet, you could either have a free discussion with a charity or contact us for a free consultation.
We know that equity release in Bedfordshire is a big commitment and not everyone is ready for it just yet, so we are open to discussing the advantages and disadvantages of this scheme without rushing you to make a decision.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
Your equity release adviser should listen to your needs and honour them when it comes to recommending a Bedfordshire plan for you. This will involve asking plenty of questions, and they may present you with a questionnaire to help them understand your personal situation better.
Any respectable adviser will show you a personalised illustration of how equity release works and how it will impact your life. If they do not offer this, you can request it from them, and they are expected to do this for you.
You can also expect your adviser to be honest with you about whether they believe you are eligible for equity release in Bedfordshire, and this includes being transparent about your eligibility for certain plans.
If they are not honest with you, you could end up having your application rejected, and you would have wasted time and money on completing this application.
This is not the end of the world as you can always apply for a different plan, but it’s best to be aware of your eligibility in the first place.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
We are proud to offer a free consultation for all our equity release customers, in Bedfordshire and elsewhere. All you need to do is input your details here and we will be in touch with more information. You could even call us yourself on 0330 058 1579 between 8am-8pm any day of the week.
Some of our customers worry that their finances are not secure enough for them to qualify for equity release in Bedfordshire; perhaps they have a low income or a bad credit rating. However, the vast majority of equity release plans require you to simply have a property worth £70,000 and that is all.
This means that plenty of equity release consumers in Bedfordshire have a low income and a bad credit history, but this has not impacted their ability to secure an equity release loan as no credit checks or affordability checks were carried out.
In fact, equity release in Bedfordshire is mainly aimed at pensioners who are cash poor but have valuable assets, so do not let your income affect your decision to release equity, as it is more about your assets and your age than anything else.
Access help and advice today across Bedfordshire in Ampthill, Arlesey, Bedford, Biggles, Biggleswade, Cranfield, Dunstable, Flitwick, Henlow, Houghton Regis, Kempston, Leighton, Buzzard, Luton, Sandy, Sharnbrook, Shefford, Wixams and Wootton.
[1] Welcome to the Financial Conduct Authority https://www.fca.org.uk/
[2] How much does equity release cost? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/financial-services/retirement-solutions/equity-release-service/how-much-does-equity-release-cost
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