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Lifetime Mortgage & General Equity Release Advice in Cornwall
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.
Equity release Cornwall deals with two key equity release products: lifetime mortgages and home reversions. There is no right answer when it comes to choosing one type of equity release, as they benefit different equity release customers in different ways.
If you want some help with choosing between a lifetime mortgage or a home reversion, we encourage you to speak to independent financial advisers as they will be able to explain the features and risks of each option.
All advisors are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and appear on the Financial Services Register. This means you are fully protected by the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Also, add advisors and lenders are signatories of the Equity Release Council. This means you benefit from a no negative equity guarantee.
Equity release is available for both freehold and leasehold properties, and properties held in shared ownership.
Some of the reputable lenders the financial advisors will research on your behalf include Saga, Scottish Widows, Legal & General, Aviva, Liverpool Victoria (LV), Canada Life, more2life, Hodge, Just Retirement, Pure Retirement, One Family and LiveMore Mortgages.
If you are open about your individual circumstances and your financial situation, they will be able to figure out which style of equity release would be the most suitable for you.
Get assistance now across Cornwall in St Ives, Padstow, Penzance, Truro, Bude, Port Isaac, Polperro, Mousehole, Porthcurno, Bodmin, St Austell, Mevagissey, Perranporth, St Agnes, Boscastle, Sennen Cove, Marazion, Polzeath, Hayle, Helston, Holywell, Wadebridge, St Mawes, Carbis Bay and Launceston.
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Most of our customers opt for lifetime mortgages. It is the most traditional form of equity release Cornwall, which means it is very reliable as homeowners have been taking out lifetime mortgages for decades.
Put simply, when you take out a lifetime mortgage in Cornwall, you are agreeing to take out a mortgage that does not have to be repaid, and will therefore stay with you throughout your life. In return, you will have access to the funds in your property.
Some lifetime mortgage customers choose to receive a tax-free lump sum of cash that they can spend on home improvements, dream holidays, paying off loans, or helping family and friends.
Others access tax-free funds through a cash reserve, withdrawing the money only when they need it the most. It is also possible to do a combination of the two if you select a drawdown lifetime mortgage.
Home reversions are much less popular than lifetime mortgages in Cornwall, but it is still an excellent scheme for people who want to tap into the funds in their property.
Much like the lifetime mortgage scheme, the home reversion plan allows customers to access equity release funds that are released from their property in Cornwall. This money is also tax-free and homeowners are not restricted in terms of how they use the funds.
The difference with a home reversion is that the homeowner must sell a portion of their property to an equity release provider for less than the market value, and this means they are no longer the owner of the property for the duration of the scheme.
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The average price for a property in Cornwall is £334 000, which happens to be the same as the England and Wales average.
However, the median property price in Cornwall is higher than in England and Wales. It stands at £270 000, with the nationwide average being £251 000 (1).
Though this may generally be perceived as a negative point from prospective buyers trying to get onto the property ladder in Cornwall, when it comes to equity release, it’s great news.
The more valuable your property, the more money you could release from it to put towards your retirement income.
Many of our customers bought their homes many years ago, and therefore they get to benefit from living in a valuable property despite paying a modest amount to purchase the property to begin with. However, they are sometimes cash poor as the value of their home does not reflect their wealth.
If these homeowners are not prepared to move to a smaller home, they may decide to release equity in Cornwall, as this allows them to access cash to fund their lifestyle while still enjoying their property.
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Yes, you do not have to live in a particular part of Cornwall to take out equity from your property. It is a misconception that equity release only takes place in the wealthier parts of Cornwall, but the truth is that it is a universal scheme that is not limited to certain locations.
As long as you meet the requirements for equity release, you can get involved. You must be at least 55 years old, you must be a homeowner, and you must have a property worth at least £70 000. It is also preferable that you do not have an existing mortgage. However, if you do, you could use the equity release loan to pay this off.
Some areas of Cornwall will be more desirable to equity release lenders as they will be more likely to generate money for them, so although you can take out equity from anywhere in Cornwall, your loan amount may differ depending on where you live.
Having said that, location is not everything. You could live in a more affordable part of Cornwall in an extremely valuable property, and this could mean you have a loan as high as someone living in a wealthy area in a very small home.
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The length of time for equity release differs depending on the specific route you take, but it should not take more than two months from start to finish (2). Here are some factors that may influence the time it takes for you to receive your equity release loan.
The longer you spend investigating equity release in Cornwall, the longer you will have to wait before receiving your loan. However, this does not mean you shouldn’t bother doing your research, as this could lead to you regretting your decision to take out equity in Cornwall.
Some people immediately know which equity release plan is best for them, but others take a while to find out which scheme they want to opt for.
This process will be much quicker if you are only eligible for a few plans as it is, but some people meet the eligibility criteria for all equity release schemes, and it can take time for them to discover which one is the most suitable for them.
It is unfortunately not uncommon for there to be delays in the equity release process as there are many stages that you go through that rely on all the professionals involved being timely with their decisions and responses.
Sometimes, there can be delays caused by the lender, the solicitor, or the adviser. You may even cause delays if you are hesitating about your decision to release equity in Cornwall.
All solicitors are, of course, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and are members of the Law Society of England and Wales. If you are unhappy about the work you receive during the equity release process, you are entitled to raise a complaint with the Legal Ombudsman.
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There is plenty of information out there about how the equity release application process works, but little is spoken about what happens after a homeowner receives their loan.
To begin with, if monthly payments have been requested, there is no set date that an equity release customer will receive their funds, as they will be transferred steadily over time. However, with a lump sum scheme, the money will be transferred all at once.
After receiving the loan, homeowners get to choose what to spend their money on, or whether to save the money for their future. They will have most likely decided this before releasing equity in Cornwall, as equity release advisers will always encourage the customer to make this decision when they do their research.
After this, the scheme will remain consistent until the homeowner either passes away or goes into long-term care. At this point, the family must inform the equity release lender of the change in situation. The property sale will then be organised.
The properties of home reversion customers are usually sold very quickly, as the equity release lender is already entitled to the home (or at least a large share of it). However, with lifetime mortgages, the sale can take much longer, sometimes up to a year.
When the property sale is finalised, the sale proceeds will go to the equity release lender to cover the costs of the loan taken out by the equity release consumer. Then, the remaining funds will be passed onto the homeowner’s beneficiaries according to their will.
If the funds do not exceed £325 000, which is the threshold for inheritance tax, the family will not have to pay tax on the money they receive (3).
This applies to most families of equity release consumers, as the removal of funds from the property reduces its overall value, meaning it rarely exceeds £325 000.
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We are aware that not everyone is eligible for equity release in Cornwall. If you are under 55 years old, you aren’t a homeowner, or your property is worth less than £70 000, you, unfortunately, cannot release equity in Cornwall unless your situation changes.
However, some people are technically entitled to an equity release loan, but their personal situation is not suited to equity release. Here are some circumstances in which homeowners may want to consider alternatives to equity release.
If you have access to money in the form of savings, it may not be worth it to release equity and get yourself into debt for no reason.
Though equity release debt does not have to be repaid, it will be taken when you pass away or move into long-term care, so it would be better to stick to your savings and keep your family’s inheritance as high as possible.
If you have a track record of moving house often, and you believe this will continue into retirement, you should consider an alternative to equity release in Cornwall. Though some plans do offer downsizing protection, it will not always be possible to move house with equity release, or you may have to pay a hefty fee.
We want to make it clear that it is certainly possible to leave an inheritance to your loved ones after releasing equity in Cornwall. However, the inheritance that you leave is likely to be much lower than it would be if you didn’t release equity.
For this reason, we would recommend relying on a different source of income if you want to leave as much money as possible to your loved ones. You could perhaps consider short-term loans, a part-time job, and government grants.
It is possible to pursue equity release in Cornwall individually, and for your partner’s name to be kept off the mortgage. However, if you then pass away before your partner, they will be forced to leave the home, so it is not recommended to do this.
What’s more, if you want a home reversion, you would have to sell your property to a lender, so your partner will not get to compromise on this. It is best to pursue an alternative to equity release if your partner does not agree to the scheme.
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. Equity release has several potential drawbacks, not least the fact that equity release isn’t the cheapest form of borrowing.
Another drawback worth noting is you could lose your entitlement to certain statement benefits when you take out equity release, and you will need to inform the Department of Work and Pensions that you are now in receipt of an equity release-related income.
For these reasons, it’s important, at least initially, to look at other ways to better meet the cost of living.
Below, we list organisations that may be able to help in Cornwall:
Address: Penryn St, Redruth TR15 2SP
Telephone: 01209 314449
Website: http://www.kernowcreditunion.co.uk/
Address: Community Centre, South Terrace, Camborne TR14 8ST
Telephone: 0800 144 8848
Website: https://www.citizensadvicecornwall.org.uk/
Address: Duchy House, 21 Dean St, Liskeard PL14 4AB
Telephone: 0800 144 8848
Website: https://www.citizensadvicecornwall.org.uk/
Address: The Orchard, YMCA Cornwall International House, Alverton Rd, Penzance TR18 4TE
Telephone: 0800 144 8848
Website: https://www.citizensadvicecornwall.org.uk/
Address: Boscawen House, Chapel Hill, Truro TR1 3BN
Telephone: 01872 266383
Website: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/cornwall/
You can also find useful resources on Cornwall Council’s website. It might also be worth checking out the help offered by national organisations such as StepChange and Money and Pensions Service.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
Please feel free to use our free equity release calculator to discover how much money may be locked in your property. The calculator produces a figure based on your age, home type, and home value. It can be used for houses and apartments alike.
The best way to get an accurate picture of how equity release in Cornwall could help you is by contacting us and asking to speak to an expert adviser.
Our advisers are experienced in guiding people through the stages of equity release as well as recommending plans for customers, so you will be in great hands.
If you are concerned about the disadvantages of equity release, you are not alone. Many customers are hesitant to pursue equity release in Cornwall as they worry about the safety of the scheme and its long-term impacts.
This has not been helped by the large amount of misconceptions spread by the media. We have tried to counteract this in our discussion about equity release myths.
No matter how much we reiterate that the scheme is very safe, nothing will reassure you more than having a consultation with us, where we can explain exactly how equity release in Cornwall would change your life.
Initial consultations with us are completely free of charge. All you need to do is request a callback from us or call 0330 058 1579.
Access help and advice today across Cornwall in Bodmin, Boscastle, Bude, Callington, Camborne, Camelford, Falmouth, Fowey, Gunnislake, Hayle, Helston, Hersham, Launceston, Liskeard, Looe, Lostwithiel, Marazion, Newquay, Padstow, Par, Penryn, Penzance, Perranporth, Polruan, Port Isaac, Redruth, Saltash, St Austell, St Ives, St. Agnes, St. Austell, St. Columb, St. Ives, Tintagel, Torpoint, Truro and Wadebridge.
Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579
[1] Cornwall property prices https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/cornwall.html
[2] How long does equity release take? https://www.thetimes.co.uk/money-mentor/article/equity-release/
[3] How Inheritance Tax works: thresholds, rules and allowances https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax
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