Home equity release - what to consider

Lifetime mortgage drawbacks you should consider

• Provider charges - can be high. Life time mortgage interest rates are normally higher than standard mortgage rates. This results in comparatively high interest payments that soon swell the loan when added to it. This will reduce any residual estate available to your hiers.
• Early repayment charges - again, can be high. The providers have engineered these schemes to run their term. If you decide you want to repay the loan early they will try to recoup some fo the lost interest payments in a high redemption charge.
• Problems when moving - the majority of lifetime mortgages are portable to another property. However, a problem may arise if the property you want to move to is not similar in value to the property you are selling. Also, not all property is acceptable as security.
• Loss of means-tested benefits - extra income coming from your equity release scheme could affect any benefits, such as pension credits, you may be presently entitled to.

Home reversion scheme drawbacks you should consider

• No going back - once you have sold any part of your property to a home reversion scheme provider there is no going back.
• Nothing for your hiers - you no longer own the property so you are unable to leave it to your hiers upon your death.