Lifetime Loans / Equity Release

Lifetime Loans / Equity Release products are loans that help you realise some of the value of your home while still living in it. 

You may not be quite ready to downsize or move to another part of town, yet you know you are sitting on a whole pile of money which could be put to better use for you and the family.

Your home is still your home and you like living there. You also want to have a place for the kids to come back to and maybe even for the grandchildren to visit at the weekends. The question is, how do you release the cash now while keeping your home? 

The answer is a Lifetime Loan / Equity Release product.

Equity Release products are loans taken out against the value of your home. You are using the value of your home to guarantee the loan, which is good until you sell the house, go into care, or pass away.

With a Lifetime Loan you are not selling your home, just a share in it and using the money to do what you want to do, like help someone in the family.

Common questions about Equity Release plans will get you the answers on how these straightforward financial products can benefit homeowners aged 60 and over.

When you look into Lifetime Loans and get answers to your questions, you will quickly learn the value of them.

A good financial planner will walk you through the ins and outs of Equity Release plans and help you choose the best one to meet your needs.

Common questions and answers about Lifetime Loans / Equity Release plans:

Once you reach the ripe old age of 60, you can access an Equity Release plan based on the value of your home.

At age 60, you can access up to 15% of the value of your home in the form of a Lifetime Loan.

The amount you can access increases by 1% every year up to a maximum of 40% at 80 and over. of the overall value of your home.

Lifetime Loans are for life – sometimes the answer is in the question.

You take out the Lifetime Loan once you turn 60, and the loan only becomes due when you sell the house, move into full-time care, or pass away.

The sale of your property covers the repayment of the loan, and your family is not saddled with the debt.

There are two types of Lifetime Loans in Ireland. You can take out what is known as a Rolled Up Loan or access an Interest Only Loan. The two Lifetime Loan types differ substantially, and you should be fully aware of what they involve.

A Rolled Up Loan is when the bank charges interest on the sum borrowed, and the compound interest only comes due when the house is sold.

The Interest Only Loan is the most popular Lifetime Loan, and it is when you make regular payments on the sum borrowed. The lump sum does not grow, providing you keep up the repayments.

You can borrow up to 40% of the value of your home at age 80 or over, so the older you are, the bigger the loan amount.

Lifetime Loans start at 15% of the home value when you reach 60. At 70 years of age, you can borrow a maximum of 30% of the value, and this goes up to 35% at 75 years of age.

The maximum amount you can borrow under an Equity Release plan is usually around the €500,000 mark, providing the value is in your home.

The minimum amount you can borrow with the Lifetime Loan is typically set at €20,000.

In Dublin, you can only take out a Lifetime Loan when your home has a minimum value of €250,000, while the minimum threshold is at €175,000 for the rest of the country.

You can still access the Fair Deal Scheme when you have a Lifetime Loan, but there are conditions you should be aware of that can restrict how the process works.

If a single person is using an Equity Release plan, the loan becomes due when they leave their home to go into care. For a joint borrower loan, a husband and wife, for example, the loan only becomes repayable if both people move into care.

You may need to discuss the terms of both the Fair Deal Scheme and the Lifetime Loan with the HSE and your loan provider.

Lifetime Loans in Ireland are for those who are asset-rich due to the value of their home but are cash-poor because they are no longer working or earning a high salary due to their age or health.

With a Lifetime Loan / Equity Release Plan, a person over 60 can access the value of their asset, the family home in most cases, and use that cash to improve their lives or the lives of loved ones.

Think about it for a second. You may have bought your home 30 or 40 years ago and have long since finished paying the mortgage. The house is yours to sell, but you do not want to move out or downsize but you would like some of the value now in the home.

A Lifetime Loan / Equity Release Plan could be just for you. You can stay in your home but get some of the value you have built up in it, which will benefit you and your family.

The benefits of a Lifetime Loan / Equity Release Plan range from putting some cash in your pocket to helping the grandkids go to college.

How many times a day do you wish you could do something special like go on a holiday but stop yourself because you do not have the cash? Well, if you own your own home and are aged over 60 then a Lifetime Loan may be the answer.

Some of the benefits of a Lifetime Loan / Equity Release Plan:

There are many benefits to taking out a Lifetime Loan if it suits your needs. You can indulge yourself for once in your life or just give the kids a bit of a start in their lives.

You can talk to a MortgageOne advisor to hear more about taking out a Lifetime Loan and the benefits of an Equity Release Plan.

Call MortgageOne today to find out more about Lifetime Loans / Equity Release Plans.

Our experts will guide you through the types of Lifetime Loans, which ones are available to you and how to access the right Equity Release Plan.

We have the team in place with years of experience and knowledge of the Irish market to get you the best plan available.

Call MortgageOne today, and let us help you release some of that value in your home.