Are you eligible for our equity release?

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 UK homeowners aged 55 or over. Equity release can provide extra money to help with things that are important to you, from making improvements to your home and travelling to financially supporting your family.

A lifetime mortgage works differently from other types of mortgages. You borrow a cash lump, but there are no contractual monthly payments. Instead, interest accrues on the amount you owe each day. Each year, on your policy anniversary, any interest that has built up is added to your loan balance. This means that in future years, interest is charged on both the amount you originally borrowed and the interest that has already been added. This is known as compound interest and can significantly increase the amount you owe over time. You can choose to make voluntary repayments to help reduce the amount you owe.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.

As a result of this, taking a lifetime mortgage will mean you can leave less inheritance from the sale of your home, and may affect your tax position and eligibility for certain welfare benefits.

You'll need to take financial advice before you apply for a lifetime mortgage with us. Your adviser will talk through the specific sums and details, and it's important to consider the benefits, costs and risk before deciding whether our lifetime mortgage is right for you. 

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.

Where your home is

Your property will need to be in the UK, our lifetime mortgages are not available in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man.

The type of home you have

Your property will need to meet our lending criteria. Most homes are considered on an individual basis and your adviser can help confirm whether your property is eligible. 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.

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.

You must be aged 55 or over to have a lifetime mortgage with us. If you're applying with someone else, you'll both need to be at least 55.

For our lifetime mortgage the minimum loan amount is £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.