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Lifetime Mortgage & General Equity Release Advice in Buckinghamshire
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.
Even if you are an expert in equity release, there is always something new to learn, especially when it comes to equity release Buckinghamshire.
Today, we’re going to cover the pros and cons of equity release in Buckinghamshire, as well as some frequently asked questions about the specific process of equity release (which is similar no matter where you live).
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There are many reasons to consider equity release Buckinghamshire, and most of these will relate to your personal circumstances, so we can only offer nuanced advice if you have a free consultation with us.
However, in the meantime, we can discuss the general benefits of taking out equity in Buckinghamshire.
Firstly, if your property is worth £70,000 or more and you haven’t yet chosen to release equity, where is that money going? The only place it can go is to your family when you pass away or move into long term care.
Though this is ideal for many people who want to leave their assets to their loved ones, it is not the best option for everyone.
By releasing equity in Buckinghamshire, you can make the most of the money that is locked up in your property rather than never benefitting from it. This is great for some people as they would rather enjoy their retirement while they can rather than saving their money to pass on as inheritance.
Secondly, even if you do want to make sure your family have enough funds, which many of us do, you could use equity release as a means of helping your loved ones right now rather than waiting until they inherit your funds.
You can do this by gifting your equity loan for things like house deposits, school fees, and fertility treatment.
The reason equity release is a great option for gifting is that there is no inheritance tax applied to the money for the first seven years (provided that you survive these seven years), whereas leaving a property or savings to family members usually involves a 40% inheritance tax (1).
What’s more, not everyone can afford to gift their family with a traditional loan, as the money needs to be repaid. However, with equity release in Buckinghamshire, you can trust that the money will be repaid when your property is sold, so there is no harm in requesting a loan to help out your loved ones.
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Again, we cannot give you specific reasons to avoid equity release in Buckinghamshire until you contact us with your personal details, as we do not yet know your financial situation or your family situation.
For this reason, we will again give you general reasons to avoid equity release in Buckinghamshire.
Firstly, if you are adamant about leaving a large amount of funds to your beneficiaries when you pass away, it may be best to avoid taking out equity as this will reduce the amount of inheritance that can be passed on.
You can still protect some funds for your family, but it will not be the same as leaving your money to your loved ones in the traditional way.
We do want to reassure you that many Buckinghamshire equity release customers have supportive families who understand their need to release equity, particularly if the homeowner is struggling financially.
They know that they will still receive an inheritance, and they would prefer to see their relatives enjoying their retirement rather than not touching the money that is in their property.
Secondly, if you do not believe you would be able to commit to an equity release plan, we strongly suggest considering other options.
When you become an equity release customer, you are expected to stay with the plan for the rest of your life, which may include not making repayments and not moving house.
This is not always the case, so if you do want to make repayments or move home, it is possible that you would find an equity release lender and an equity release scheme that would permit this. 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.
However, you shouldn’t go into equity release without considering this, as you may find that your lender is not very flexible.
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 Buckinghamshire:
Address: The Forum,, Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead HP1 1DN
Telephone: 01442 240250
Website: http://dacorumfirst.co.uk/
Address: Civic Centre, CR1, High St, Uxbridge UB8 1UW
Telephone: 01895 250958
Website: http://www.londoncb.co.uk/
Address: Barn Hall Annexe/Chiltern Av, Chiltern Ave, Amersham HP6 5AH
Telephone: 0808 278 7938
Website: https://citizensadvicebucks.org.uk/
Address: 2 Pebble Ln, Aylesbury HP20 2JH
Telephone: 0808 278 7938
Website: https://citizensadvicebucks.org.uk/
Address: 15 Queen Victoria Rd, High Wycombe HP11 1BB
Telephone: 0808 278 7938
Website: https://citizensadvicebucks.org.uk/
Other organisations you can reach out to include StepChange Debt Charity and Buckingham Council.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
To qualify for a loan for equity release in Buckinghamshire, aside from owning a property worth £70,000 or more, you must be at least 55 years old for a lifetime mortgage and 65 years old for a home reversion.
If you do not meet these requirements, it is unfortunately very unlikely that you will be able to release equity from your Buckinghamshire home. However, we still advise you to speak to an equity release adviser as they may be able to find a scheme that accepts you.
For instance, if you do not meet the minimum age requirement for home reversion schemes, it is sometimes possible to find a home reversion provider who will approve your application anyway.
If you speak to a Buckinghamshire adviser and discover that you are not eligible, the next best thing to do is either to consider the alternatives to equity release (downsizing, remortgaging, traditional loans, credit cards, borrowing from family etc) or to wait it out until you are entitled to a loan.
It goes without saying that you can’t ‘wait it out’ if your property is not worth £70,000, so this advice only applies if you are below the minimum age for equity release in Buckinghamshire.
If your property does not meet the requirements, you could consider remortgaging, but you may have to accept that you cannot get involved with equity release.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
We recommend calling us to speak to one of our highly experienced advisers. They are available between 8am-8pm every day of the week and they are ready to discuss your concerns about equity release.
It is possible for you to seek advice through an independent equity release adviser, and while this is great for some people, it often comes with a charge. On the other hand, our initial consultation will cost you nothing, as we believe everyone deserves to learn how equity release works.
Another reason to come to us for advice is that we will not hide the truth. If we believe you are not a suitable candidate for equity release in Buckinghamshire, we will inform you of this. If we believe it could work for you but there will be some challenges, we will be very open about what those challenges are.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
The first stage in the process is speaking to an equity release adviser. They will usually present you with a personalised illustration that demonstrates exactly how equity release will affect you and your family.
They will do this after asking questions about your personal circumstances so that they can determine what Buckinghamshire equity release could look like for you.
Next, the adviser will put in an application for you, and they will apply to the lender and the scheme of your choice. Generally, this will take around a week.
A property valuation has to occur after the application has been made to ensure the home is worth £70,000 and is in the right condition for the lender.
Around a week later, a formal mortgage offer will be made if the equity release provider is happy with the property, and a solicitor will inform the homeowner of this offer and ask if they would like to accept.
Sometimes, after the offer is made, the solicitor will ask further questions which can cause delays. However, this does not happen with every application.
Finally, the process will be complete, and you will be given a date that tells you when you will receive your loan.
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Most equity release applications in Buckinghamshire will take around 8 weeks from the first advice appointment to completion. Each stage in the process takes around a week. This of course depends on whether there are any delays along the way, and whether you change your mind about your plan.
Equity release does not cost the same for everyone, so again, we would have to know some personal details before giving you an idea of how much you could be spending. Overall, equity release costs can rise to up to £3000, including advice fees, application fees, administration fees, and solicitor’s fees.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
It is technically possible to opt out of most modern equity release schemes if you are prepared to pay an early repayment fee (which is present in many plans). However, we advise against this as you would lose a lot of money (2). Instead, we would rather you do your research before getting an equity loan.
This is why we are open about the disadvantages of equity release in Buckinghamshire. We want to make sure you are making the right decision rather than rushing into something that you might later regret.
There is no harm on holding off on equity release until you are convinced it is right for you. You could even work on upping your funds in this time by taking on extra hours at work (if you are still in employment) or tightening your budget. This would make releasing equity easier as you would have a solid income to begin with.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
Yes, we are happy to help you choose the right lifetime mortgage or home reversion for you if you are unsure which option would be best. We encourage you to be open with us about your plans for the future as this will help us to match you with your ideal plan.
Most of our customers opt for a lifetime mortgage, and we are likely to recommend this option to you. However, it is possible that we will advise a home reversion if you are a suitable candidate.
If we do recommend a Buckinghamshire lifetime mortgage, remember that there are eight main types, so you will have to do your research into each type, or ask us to explain each type, before you accept.
The types of lifetime mortgages are the drawdown plan, the buy-to-let plan, the income plan, the lump sum plan, the interest-only plan, the voluntary repayment plan, the second home/holiday home plan, and the enhanced/ill-health plan.
Each plan is unique, however, we can group them in different ways to help you decide which one is right for you. If you are interested in using equity release for a specific purpose relating to purchasing a new property, either the second home plan or the buy-to-let plan could work for you.
If you want to make repayments on your plan, you should consider either the voluntary repayment scheme or the interest-only plan. Both involve repayments, but the interest-only plan is designed to allow you to repay the interest rather than the loan amount.
Finally, the drawdown plan is great for people who want a cash reserve to withdraw money from as and when, the lump sum plan works for people who need a large amount of money immediately, the enhanced arrangement is great for people who struggle with their health, and the income plan is best for people who would rather have monthly instalments of the loan.
As we mentioned, each plan is unique, so do not allow these brief descriptions to define each plan completely, as you may find that there are other aspects of each scheme that appeal to you. For example, if a lump sum doesn’t appeal to you initially, you may change your mind when you realise it often comes with low-interest rates.
This is why it’s important to learn about each plan in detail; you won’t know which one is best for you until you explore each and every aspect of the plan, and we can help to speed up this process by giving you expert advice about each one.
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If you are a homeowner aged over 55 years and you would like to top up your income, either of these two options could work for you.
However, we would generally recommend the retirement interest-only arrangement to people who are more concerned about being in debt with an equity loan, perhaps as they would like to leave money to their family or because they do not like the idea of being in debt.
With a retirement interest-only mortgage, you repay just the interest on the loan each month. This may not sound like it would make a big difference, but it certainly does. With a lifetime mortgage, the interest accrues throughout the equity release process, and amounts to a large sum that is added to the loan at the end.
However, with a retirement interest-only mortgage, this interest is never a worry as it is repaid consistently each month. This means the eventual sale of the homeowner’s property only has to cover the costs of the loan itself, and not the interest. As a result, more money is left for beneficiaries after the property sale.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
If you would like to know more about equity release in Buckinghamshire, please get in touch with us on 0330 058 1579. If you are interested in making an application, even better — we will explain how you can do this and we will ensure you only submit an application when you are fully aware of the implications.
To take out equity from a property not located in Buckinghamshire, contact us and inform us of your location. In most cases, we will be able to help you, but we need to check that we cover your area first.
If equity release is worrying you, we invite you to share your worries with us. We understand that taking out a loan can be intimidating, and we want to ensure you are as informed as you can be, but also that you are aware of the incredible benefits of releasing equity.
Access help and advice today across Buckinghamshire in Amersham, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Berkhamsted, Bletchley, Bourne End, Buckingham, Chalfont St. Peter, Chalfont St. Giles, Chelsham, Chesham, Fenny Stratford, Flackwell Heath, Gerrards Cross, Great Missenden, High Wycombe, Iver, Leadenhall, Ludgershall, Marlow, Milton Keynes, Newport Pagnell, North High Wycombe, Old Stratford, Olney, Princes Risborough, Stoke Mandeville, Stony Stratford, Wendover, Winslow, Woburn Sands and Wolverton.
[1] How Inheritance Tax works: thresholds, rules and allowances https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax
[2] Can you pay back equity release? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/financial-services/retirement-solutions/equity-release-service/repay-equity-release/
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