Equity Release Pros and Cons

And the good news is:

An equity release provides you with the privilege to access more considerable sums of money to spend while remaining able to continue living in your home.

However, there may be severe disadvantages to collecting the equity valued in your home in this manner.

Advantages of Equity Release Schemes:

The most significant advantage of an equity release is that it allows you to access funds you can use immediately instead of letting them remain locked in your property.

Perpetual increments in property prices entail a large ratio of homeowners are having serious wealth accumulated in their property's, but it is not accessible.

Just give it a thought...

Consider that the value of your home has been accumulating value over the years, but the total amount is just on paper but not accessible as cash you can use. Equity release enables you to access that money and support your finances during retirement, rather than leaving all of it locked for your beneficiaries. You can even use the equity release to cover your permanent care costs.

Live Freely on Your Property

An equity release plan is a beautiful alternative to selling your current property and moving to a less expensive one (downsizing) while utilising the price difference to supplement your retirement income.

Equity release ensures that you don't have to move and face the stress or expenses of relocating.

Save Your Monthly Expenditure

You'll neither need to repay the funds you access through equity release, nor will you repay interest on it until you move into permanent care or are deceased.

It's true:

An equity release won't cost you anything other than set-up or consultancy costs, if any.

Spend Your Money Your Way

After you get your equity release, you can use it to cover any expenses and home renovations or to multiply your income flow in retirement. You're also able to help your family financially with the money you take out of your home.

To add to that...

Some equity release providers allow you to use a "drawdown" plan, which permits you to release money as and when you need it.

Avoiding Unnecessary Interest

Regarding the equity release plan you choose, you'll only repay interest on the sum of money you release, an approach that'll help keep the interest fees low.

Risks & Downsides of Equity Release:

One of the most distinct downsides of equity release is that you'll not get a payment of your home's full market value. The money will be lower than you'd get if you opt to sell the property on the free market.

Cuts Into Your Inheritance

Another disadvantage derived from equity release is that it reduces the total amount of inheritance you're supposed to leave your beneficiaries afterwards. The specifics might vary regarding the plan you choose.

Your Debt Might Increase

It exposes you to possibly owing more than the amount you had initially borrowed by the time your home goes on sale – although the no negative equity guarantee ensures that it's only up to the sum of the value of your property.

Here's why:

Significantly because a lifetime mortgage also charges compound interest (like a regular mortgage). And if you don't pay off your interest regularly, you risk letting the entire sum compound.

For instance, an interest rate of 5 percent will cause the amount you owe becoming double after every 15 years. Perhaps you hope to leave a fair inheritance for your family; you must remain cautious as you select a plan for your lifetime mortgage. You can reduce the risk by paying off the interest as you go, or you can release your equity in a series of smaller amounts of lifetime mortgages only when you need them.

One other reason for this is that your finances stand a chance to compound if they remain invested in your home and grow.

Reduced Benefits

Releasing equity and having enormous sums of cash in your bank account might reduce the state benefits you are eligible for; like help with care costs. Whereas they will not consider the value of your home for as long as you are living in it, but having cash in the bank will be.

How Am I Protected With an Equity Release?

People remain protected from unprecedented losses as they take out an equity release by the Equity Release Council. The council mandates all equity release organisations bearing the Equity Release Council's logo on their material to ensure that you occupy your home until you die or move into a permanent care home.