Equity release with house prices tumbling
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They are perhaps fearful of crystallising a loss by releasing money from their home. The intensive bad news in the media about the economy will also have persuaded many to wait for a more stable environment before entering into an equity release transaction.
There is, in fact, little cause for homeowners to delay consideration of equity release. Indeed, with modern flexible lifetime mortgage plans, the property valuation is not normally the most critical issue. Most homeowners do not need to raise the maximum cash sum at the outset – their principal concerns are to have a financial cushion, to supplement their retirement income and increasingly, to provide financial support to their hard-pressed families.
In a climate that has seen the withdrawal of an unprecedented number of standard mortgage products, the full range of lifetime mortgages is still available. Many deals have competitive fixed long-term interest rates and furthermore, it is often possible to get out of the schemes at a reasonable and predictable cost if personal circumstances should change. Equity release need no longer be viewed as a lifetime commitment. Instead, the situation can be reviewed in say five or ten years time when property prices have recovered.
