Don't fall for the myths about equity release.

Written by Tyler Colton

The modern truth is largely different to the common myths surrounding equity release, from losing your home to owing more than your property is worth.

Our free guide to releasing equity will fully inform you about the real pros and cons as well as spark some ideas of the goals you could achieve by unlocking your home's value.

Whether you are looking for a way to clear your outstanding mortgage, gift an early inheritance to your loved ones, fund long-awaited home improvements, or simply tick things off you have wanted to do for a while, equity release could be your answer.

Explore why more than 50,000 over 55s have decided to learn more about their later life financial options from the team at Responsible Life.

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Age of youngest homeowner* The age of the youngest homeowner affects how much equity you can release. You must be aged between 55 and 110 to be eligible for equity release.

Select your property value* Enter the value of your property to calculate how much you can release. You must own a home with a minimum value of £70,000 to release equity.

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What is equity release ?

There are a variety of different products available to release equity. The UK's most popular form of equity release is a Lifetime Mortgage. With this product, you retain full ownership of your home.

Lifetime Mortgages are more flexible than ever before and are designed to last your lifetime, with interest rolling up over time. Interest rates are usually fixed for life.

Throughout the duration of your Lifetime Mortgage, there are no commitments to making monthly repayments. However, it is recommended to consider whether you could make voluntary payments to reduce the overall cost of borrowing over time.

An equity release plan will reduce the value of your estate and may affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits. Our team will help you to consider what the best choice is for you based on your current wants and future needs.

Your later life financial options.

There are now multiple products and features available to you to access the wealth of your home. When reviewing your circumstances, we will consider the following:

Lifetime Mortgage.

A Lifetime Mortgage is the UKs most popular form of equity release, it allows you to access a portion of your property wealth with monthly payments remaining completely optional:

A Lifetime Mortgage is designed to run until the last homeowner passes away or enters long-term permanent care.

Payments are completely optional and flexible to best suit you.
Interest rates are typically fixed for life.
You will retain 100% ownership of your home.
You will never owe more than the value of your home.

Funds from your Lifetime Mortgage can be accessed as a single lump sum or in smaller amounts over time.

Retirement Interest-Only Mortgage.

These mortgages work in a similar way to a standard interest-only mortgage, where you commit to making payments each month to pay off the interest. Retirement Interest Only Mortgages (RIOs) also take into consideration if you have a pension income and are designed to run for your lifetime.

Payments are required each month.
Interest rates can often be fixed for a defined period.
You will need to progress through affordability checks to ensure you can make the monthly payments.
Affordability checks will take into consideration income like payments, rental income and dividends. It’s designed to be flexible for a time when you might want to leave the workforce.

Provided that you make all your required payments, the amount that you owe will not increase.

Traditional Mortgage.

There are now a variety of traditional mortgages for those later on in life, however, monthly repayments are mandatory, and the mortgage must be paid during your lifetime.

Payments are required each month.
You will need to progress through affordability checks to ensure you can make the monthly payments.
The mortgage usually must be repaid once you reach a particular age.
Interest rates can often be fixed for a short period.

Want to learn more about your retirement mortgage options? Receive your free guide, an estimation of how much you could release and get in touch with our Information Team to provide further information on your options by calculating today.

Are you looking to break free of your mortgage?

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5-star service.

We offer a wide variety of products made available to the whole of the market, with flexible features throughout. We also offer access to products not available to the wider market.

At Responsible Life, we will assess your suitability for a range of solutions designed to help you take advantage of your property wealth. We find that the most popular way of releasing equity is with a Lifetime Mortgage. However, we want to ensure that you have access to a wide range of solutions and can also provide you with access to Retirement Interest-Only Mortgages and traditional mortgages if these are more suitable.

Your adviser will provide you with a consultation service that compares the available options, coming up with a recommendation of what could work best for you. The service will also explain how each product works and what features are available to help achieve your goals.

Our advicepromise to you.

Founded in 2010, we have now provided clear and trustworthy advice to over 50,000 homeowners, offering a transparent and holistic service that empowers you to achieve your goals, whatever they may be.

We will provide you with transparent and expert advice.
Provide no-obligation consultations to discuss your wants, needs and priorities.
Advice at your pace in the best way for you. We offer advice face-to-face, over the phone or over a video call.
You’ll only be charged an advice fee if you go through with the recommendation made by your adviser.
Your family or loved ones can be involved at any point in the process, and your adviser will be happy for them to attend your advice appointment.

How much tax-free cash could you release?

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