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Lifetime Mortgage & General Equity Release Advice in Bradford
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.
If you are retired or you will be retiring soon, we encourage you to consider equity release Bradford as a way of funding your retirement.
Many people find themselves working for longer because they cannot afford to retire, and though this is sometimes necessary, it does not have to be the answer for everyone.
Instead, you could take out equity and boost your retirement income, meaning you would not have to rely on employment income any longer.
Equity release can help you to save for things that may otherwise end up neglected. For instance, if you do not have enough money saved for your care costs in later life, you could take out equity and use this loan to pay for your care.
Another example is that you may be saving for a luxury holiday, and your equity loan could go towards this.
There is no restriction when it comes to where the money goes, so you have a huge amount of freedom when you accept an equity loan compared to when you take out a different type of loan.
Many people decide to release equity as they are not required to pay back the money they borrow, so it is a guilt-free way to take out a loan. Though you would still be in debt, you would not have to worry about it unless you particularly wanted to make repayments for any reason.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
Generally, equity release Bradford would not affect your state benefits, so you can get involved with this scheme without worrying about your income being impacted in a negative way.
For example, if you are claiming the Attendance Allowance, which is available to people who needed a carer due to being disabled, this would not be taken away if you released equity. Another example is free bus travel for pensioners – this would not change if you got involved with equity release in Bradford.
The reason equity release in Bradford would not affect these benefits is that they are not means-tested. In other words, your income is not a factor in whether you are eligible for these benefits.
However, if you are claiming any means-tested benefits, it is possible that they would be reduced or removed as a result of you taking out equity. Some examples of means-tested state benefits are Council Tax Reduction and Pension Credit (1).
Please speak to an equity release adviser if you are concerned about your entitlement to benefits being taken away.
They will help you to calculate whether it would be more profitable to release equity in Bradford, or to continue claiming benefits in retirement.
You must remember that equity release can impact any means-tested state benefits, so don’t just think about the ones you are currently receiving, but keep in mind any benefits you would have potentially been claiming in the future.
For instance, if you are not yet retired, consider whether you would have wanted to claim Pension Credit, and whether this would make you more financially secure than equity release would.
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 Bedford:
Address: 75 Wrose Rd, Shipley BD18 1HX
Telephone: 01274 391190
Website: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/bradforddistrict
Address: Argus Chambers, Bradford BD1 1HZ
Telephone: 0808 278 7828
Website: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/
Address: 5 Little Horton Ln, Bradford BD5 0BQ
Telephone: 0800 169 1536
Website: https://www.bradford.gov.uk/paying-for-services/money-advice/help-with-managing-your-money-and-debt/
You can read a more in-depth guide to the potential drawbacks of equity release here.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
You will be very pleased to know that equity release loans in Bradford are not liable for tax, which includes capital gains tax and income tax.
It is also very uncommon that people have to pay inheritance tax on the equity release funds that they receive from a deceased family member.
This is because inheritance money has to be £325,000 or above to be liable for inheritance tax, and once a homeowner has released equity from their home, their estate is usually much lower than this minimum amount.
Anyone who releases equity is still entitled to the State Pension when they reach the minimum age requirement, regardless of how much money they have released from their property.
The amount of money you can get from a State Pension is a maximum of £185.15 per week, and it can be claimed by anyone with 10 or more qualifying years on their National Insurance who was born after the 6th April 1951 (for men) or the 6th April 1953 (for women).
So, equity release in Bradford will never affect your State Pension. However, something it could affect is your pension credit (2). This is a benefit that is given to people of State Pension age who have a low income.
Plenty of people release equity and still get pension credit, but if they put a large amount of their equity release funds into savings, they could struggle. This is because their savings may exceed £10,000, which would render them ineligible for pension credit.
This could have a knock-on effect on their finances, as when you are no longer eligible for pension credit, you may not be entitled to help with your heating costs, reduced NHS treatment costs, a free TV licence, and council tax reduction.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
Equity release could be a positive or negative thing for your care costs, depending on how you look at it.
If you have not saved any money for care, and you do not have a way of saving enough money before this period of your life, equity release would almost definitely be the best option for you.
This is because it is a quick way to get your hands on a large amount of cash, and you would be able to put this away in savings for as long as you need to. When the time comes to use the money, you would be able to withdraw a lump sum, and it would be completely free of tax.
As you do not have to make repayments on equity release funds, you would not have to worry about being in debt as you approach care, as the equity release lender would not be expecting you to do anything to resolve the debt. Instead, they would sell your home when you entered permanent care, or when you passed away, so the pressure is not on you to pay the money back.
Finally, if you needed to spend some of the funds to survive retirement, you could have monthly payments, and you would be able to save a portion of this for your care costs each month. The lender would not be able to dictate how you spent the money, or how much you saved.
On the other hand, releasing equity is a bad idea for some people who already have the means to save up for later life care.
This particularly applies to people who are planning to work past retirement age and defer their pension (which gives them more money), people who already have plenty of money saved, and people who have a solid private pension as well as being eligible for the State Pension.
What’s more, there are certain reductions to care costs that people can benefit from if they earn below a certain amount. If these people released a significant amount of money from their property, they may not be eligible for this financial aid, and this could cause them to be unable to afford certain types of care.
Finally, if you have not long retired and you would not be entering care for many more years, you may decide against releasing equity due to the compound interest.
The longer you are on the equity release scheme without making repayments, the more the interest will build, and this could result in you owing a huge amount of money when you enter care.
However, if you made sure to get a no-negative equity guarantee as part of your equity release plan, you would never have to pay back more money than you owed, so the growing interest may not bother you.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
Any financial decisions that you make in later life are going to affect your family, if you are hoping to leave money to them. For this reason, we cannot deny that equity release in Bradford would impact your family, for better or worse.
In terms of positives, you may decide to use some of your equity loan to help your family out, and this would of course be a huge benefit to them. For example, you may offer to help them with the cost of rent, their mortgage, or important life milestones such as weddings or having children.
Another positive is that your family would get to see you thriving in retirement, rather than struggling.
If you did not have equity release, you could get into irreversible debt by taking out traditional loans, whereas equity release provides security in the sense that you do not have to pay back the money while you are alive.
However, equity release in Bradford could also be potentially harmful to your loved ones. If you spend all or most of the money, and you do not repay the interest or loan amount, they may be left with nothing when you pass away.
This is only the case if you don’t get inheritance protection and a no negative equity guarantee, which are two schemes that are now very common with equity release.
However, if your preferred lender or plan does not offer this, you may decide to go ahead with equity release anyway, and this would negatively affect your family.
Even if you do reserve some funds for your family, they may end up with less money than they would have received if you did not reduce the equity in your home.
This of course depends on what your financial situation is like and whether you would have taken out traditional loans, but it is certainly something to keep in mind.
That being said, you should not struggle in retirement simply to help your family out later down the line. We encourage you to do what you can to enjoy your retirement, as you deserve it after years of working.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
Equity release funds are not considered ‘income’, which is why they are exempt from tax. This means that technically speaking, releasing equity in Bradford would not affect your income.
However, it would certainly improve your financial situation. Different people benefit from equity release in different ways, primarily because they release different amounts of money.
This means we cannot tell you exactly how equity release would affect your finances until we know what your current situation is like, how old you are, and how valuable your property is.
Your income will be affected the most if you are over 70 and your property is very high in value, as you would be able to take out a large amount of money.
However, if you are younger with a lower-value property, there are still ways you can ensure equity release is as profitable as possible for you.
For example, you could shop around for lenders who offer large loans and low-interest rates, you could find an equity release plan with various financial benefits, and you could wait until you are older to release equity.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
To discover how equity release in Bradford would impact you personally, you can get in touch with Equity Release Warehouse by filling out this form or calling us on 0330 058 1579. Make the most of our free initial consultation, as it is not an offer you will see everywhere.
The property market in Bradford has changed dramatically in recent years, as it has all over the UK, so it is very likely that your home is currently more valuable than it was when you first bought it.
If this is the case, you would get a lot out of equity release, as you could access a large amount of money to help fund your retirement.
Make sure you read our post on who qualifies for equity release to ensure you are fit for the scheme. The general guidelines are that you must be a homeowner who is 55 years old or more, and whose property is valued at £70,000 or more.
If you are concerned that you would not qualify because of something like your financial situation or your credit history, first, do not make any assumptions, as equity release lenders do not value these things in the same way that traditional lenders do.
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.
Come to us with your concerns and we will help you to figure out whether anything could impact your eligibility.
If we determine that you are not entitled to an equity release loan with any lender, we will help you to consider alternatives to equity release such as borrowing from loved ones, working, remortgaging, budgeting, and downsizing.
However, generally, income and credit rating do not stop homeowners from taking out equity, so please continue to research this scheme even if you are on a low income and you have a bad credit rating.
The most important things are that you are the correct age and your property is an acceptable value.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
[1] How Does Equity Release Affect Benefits? https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits
[2] Will Equity Release affect my benefits? https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits
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