Anyone have experience with these? Like many financial products, there are those littered with rorts and hidden expenses/fees. Wanting to explore this prospect as I prefer to not take my hard-earned to hell when the time arrives. Have done the usual internet research, but would prefer the personal touch from direct knowledge or a referral to an appropriate consultant. Cheers!
Nigel, I know the Aviva product is good, I used to manage the telephony sales team. Not sure if it's available direct from Aviva now as they made the regulated sales teams redundant after I moved departments. The Prudential product is also very competitive and like Aviva a big reputable company.
I looked into equity release Nigel it wasn't for me and it's the option from hell if you ask me. I'm sat with an old chap in the village now as I speak who's fallen mighty foul of it! I'm selling and releasing loads of money which will pay for renting a nice pad and plenty of toys and will just about run out if and when I really old. Plus the gov won't get to nick any more of my money. Again it's not for everyone but might just be worth looking at. There's some stunning rental properties out there....with BIG garages too
Hi @nigelrb for anything financial and consumer rights related I always look to Martin Lewis. He talked about this on one of his recent shows. His site is full of useful considerations https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2010/06/should-you-equity-release/
Agreed it's not for everyone Lozzy, but if done correctly it can be a good option. The advisors I managed did it properly and helped a lot of elderly people. Yes sure we have all heard of a few cases where the advice was not correct and the salesman was just thinking of his commission, what you don't hear about are the thousands that have been advised correctly and have a much improved standard of living because of it. If you don't have anyone to leave your estate to, than yes spend it, equity release is a good way of doing just that, without increasing your monthly outgoings.
Thanks Boothy. I shall study that in depth later on. I accept your logic @Lozzy , but if I take an annual rental of say, £833.00 per month (£10,000 per year for round figures) and multiply that by a 'reasonable' life expectancy of a further 20 years (making me 87) that would expend £200,000 just on rent. That doesn't sound equitable to me. I accept that it might work for you if you're calculating on lower rental values. Hit the nail on the head, @Gaffa22 . I hate being shafted, and despite having reasonable intelligence, when we're venturing into an unknown field we can be bait for the vultures. I do have family to leave my estate to, but I prefer to leave token gifts and preserve my hard-earned for my own pleasures. My biggest concern/fear is losing my 'rights' over my own property. I understand the industry is regulated, but loopholes appear even under the tightest control. Have made a couple of tentative queries and now await some definitive advice.
Yes you deffo need legal advice, With a reputable ER product you don't lose the rights to your property unless you die or go into long term care. After all It's just a mortgage that you don't pay back until you die or go into care. The fact that you don't repay capital or interest does mean that you will erode the value of your property, but again the reputable products are calculated in such a way that you can never erode all the value, and you still own the property like a normal mortgage. These are the sort of details the solicitor must check for you. I was a financial advisor and manger for many years and still work in the industry, I can honestly say ER is something I would and possibly will consider for myself.
I am currently going through equity release using Age Partnership, and so far it has been fairly straightforward. We looked at all the various providers (Key is one that advertises on TV a lot at the moment) and there is a lot to choose from. The reason we are doing it is that it allows us to pay off the mortgage which we still have about 6 years to run, and given that I have been made redundant twice in the past 28 months or so, it just avoids the stress of having to find the mortgage repayments every month such as we are having to do at the moment which also means that what little we had saved has also gone. It started off with an advisor coming to see us and sitting down and going through our requirements. Very straight forward after which he went away to look at the best service for us. A week later he returned and went through the options pro's and cons and so forth. We decided to go for it because It gives us peace of mind. It reduces the stress on my knackered ticker of having to make enough to meet my mortgage commitments every month. It ensures we keep a roof over our head, but we still have the option of moving/downsizing later on if we wish. Nothing gets paid back until we both die or go into care homes It gives us a bit of cash back in our savings. My daughter will still inherit something later when we snuff it. We have only looked to release a proportion of the value of the house. The total cost of arranging it is around £2500 which includes legal fees, and the arrangers commission. Valuations have just been done at no cost. They do try and sell a will writing service and a power of attorney agreement but they soon shut up when I pointed out that we had only recently re-written our wills and the area of law I worked in meant I could get it done a lot cheaper. Anyway, for what its worth, everything is progressing smoothly. We have been told 6 - 8 weeks for completion, but until such time as the solicitors are instructed we still have the option of pulling the plug without any costs. It probably will not suit everyone, but it is certainly an option worth considering if you want/need a large lump sum without having to make either large or any repayments during your lifetime.
Nevermind your house Nigel, let's have a conversation about your SP2! Would you like to release some equity in that......to me!?
Look Charlie, I know you're a good guy and all, and we have exchanged some very informative and enjoyable conversations. The status of the SP2 at the moment probably ranks equal with the 2019 Super Cub in that it generated a lot of excitement but hasn't really delivered. Don't get me wrong, it is a brilliant and enjoyable bike, but I just cannot see it attaining the dizzying heights of the RC30 and RC45 status and value. Given that I originally had £23,000 plus equity in it, which has now devalued to about 17 - 18,000 (if I'm lucky) the best I could offer is first dibs should I decide to sell it. Of benefit to you though, is that I have printed out this post and stapled it to my Last Will and Testament with instructions that @CharlieR85 be joined to my estate as first contact for liquidating said SP2. This codicil will be null and void should you or your agent appoint CollectPlus as a courier.
Thanks very much @T.C for your lengthy advice and comment. I had received info from Age Partnership but also seek a comparative proposal from a similar company. Your evaluation of Age Partnership is very reassuring, although I accept the individual consultant plays a key role in that. For a single person (especially) this system does have merit. As you rightfully state, we are still able to leave behind our estate to family as well as enjoy the rewards of our life's work as well. I guess it's called win/win.
I'm sure there are situations where Equity Release is a valid option, but somehow I am expecting to see the TV adverts in a couple of years similar to the "were you mis-sold PPI", and another spate of spam texts, email and whatever new tech there is out there.
Valid point BSS because there are a few in the field with very aggressive advertising programs. That makes me wonder how much is being sunk into adverts from MY fees. As @T.C will support, research and legal advice is the key in these situations, but then again, none of us is insulated from any future retrospective legislation that might adversely impact our financial equity and obligation to the lender.
Massive difference to PPI Nigel, ER is fully tegulaged by the FSA And as such the product is also approved and regulated, so yes that won't stop all aggressive sales and potential incorrect advice, but the vast majority of reputable advisers would not breach the rules and risk being struck off. It's quite difficult to pass all the exams now to achieve the required diploma status. So regulated advice and products are safer now than they ever have been.
