Are you eligible for equity release
The must-haves you’ll need to tick off before you apply
- Our starting checklist for anyone thinking of a lifetime mortgage with us
- It outlines restrictions around you and your home
- Make sure you meet all these criteria before you apply
Once you’re a few paces into the process of taking equity release, your adviser will talk through the specific sums and details that will help you decide whether our lifetime mortgage is right for you. However, there are some key requirements that you’ll need to meet before you take those first strides.
Our lifetime mortgage
The type of equity release we offer is a lifetime mortgage, which is a long-term loan secured on your home and is available to homeowners over 55.
The loan and interest are repaid, usually from the sale of your home, when you die or go into long-term care, subject to our terms and conditions.
Taking a lifetime mortgage will reduce the amount of inheritance you can leave, and may affect your tax position and eligibility for certain means-tested benefits.
Your property
How you use your home
The property must be where you live day in, day out. It should be your main ongoing residence and mustn’t be left empty for more than six months at a time.
Your home’s value
Our lifetime mortgage is only possible if your property’s worth £75,000 or more.
The type of home you have
A freehold house is the ‘typical’ property for a lifetime mortgage, but there are many other shapes, styles and sizes of home that qualify. You can, for example, get a lifetime mortgage on leasehold properties – such as flats, apartments and maisonettes – which may depend on things like the lease stretching for a certain number of years into the future.
Read more about getting equity release on leasehold properties.
Some styles of home will be an instant ‘no’ from us – including retirement apartments or any other age-restricted properties. If your property is built of unusual materials, or is quirky in its design in some way, it’s best to speak to our team.
Where your home is
Your property will need to stand on UK soil for it to qualify for a lifetime mortgage with us. Unfortunately this doesn’t extend to the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.
Any mortgage you still have
One important point about the house you own is that it needs to be mortgage-free, or at least have a very small mortgage left to pay. You’ll need to pay off any leftover mortgage amount, either before you start your application or with the money you unlock from your home. That’s something to factor into your sums.
Your age
There’s a firm line drawn here. You must be 55 or over to have a lifetime mortgage with us. And if you’re considering a joint application, you both need to have reached that age.
How much money you need
For an all-the-money-up-front lifetime mortgage, you’ll have to be wanting to borrow at least £15,000.
If you plan to keep some of your loan back for later, you can take a minimum initial lump sum of £10,000, and set up a cash reserve (which you can draw on when you need it) of no less than £5,000.
The highest amount you can borrow depends on things like your age and how much your home is worth. You can get an idea of a likely figure here.
