All posts tagged Equity Release Company

Aviva is one equity release company providing retired or near retirement homeowners a chance to improve their cash poor situation. If you have entered retirement and find you are spending your retirement pension too fast there are only a couple of things you can do. You can adjust your lifestyle, downsize, or find a way to supplement your income. Equity release products such as the Aviva Lump Sum Max plan is a lifetime mortgage. To find out how this product can help you there are necessary tools like the Aviva equity release calculator available to you.

How Aviva Works
Aviva provides certain products for individuals over the age of 55. However, their products are announced on sites like Equity Release Supermarket and through a brokerage firm. If you go directly to their website, select the product shown, you will be sent to a brokerage firm that is not independent. They do not offer independent equity release advice. It is an agreement they have made with Aviva. It also means the product mentioned on Aviva’s website and through this tied sales team is not as competitive as Aviva products you can find on Equity Release Supermarket. You can use the safety net of a company you recognise and trust by choosing Aviva, but you do need to be aware the product may be a poorer deal for your beneficiaries on the long term.

Lifetime Mortgages
Lifetime mortgages are a loan for retired individuals because you make no payment towards the principle amount. There are only a few products which are interest only, where you do make an interest payment each month, but the product is not repaid in full until the end of your life. The Max Lump Sum plan from Aviva is a straightforward lifetime mortgage in that you make no repayments and pay no interest until the end. When you die or need long term care your loan will need to be repaid, often through the sale of your home. This is where it can become difficult for your beneficiaries. The sale of the home has to cover the capital sum plus any interest that has accrued. The more interest that accrues the less that is left over.

When you have a non-competitive product this means the interest rate is not in line with other equity release products. It could be significantly higher than competitive products found through independent brokers.

Independent Brokers
An independent broker is going to look for the best product for you. They will find the lowest interest rate for the maximum amount of value possible. You get to decide the best deal. Sometimes you may have to go for a higher interest rate to unlock the maximum amount you need.

An equity release calculator can be used to determine the maximum amount to be released such as 30% at age 65 versus 40% at 75. You can change items in the calculator to fit the competitive products on the market; however, Aviva equity release calculator does not allow for this. The Aviva tool is specific to the Aviva Lump Sum Max Plan. It will not provide results for any other plan even other Aviva products sold on independent sites. It limits your knowledge of available options. An independent calculator would not do this.

The Products on the Market
Aviva, Pure Retirement, and Just Retirement offer some of the equity release lifetime mortgage products on the market right now. At age 65 all offer 30% of the home value in a loan to value percentage based on age and home value. The percentage allows for the accrual of interest while keeping the loan low enough that it should not hit negative equity.

The older you are the more you can release which is why at age 75 you could get 41% from Aviva and 42% from Pure Retirement. Pure Retirement also offers free valuation, the larger cash back option, and no application fee if the loan is for more than £45,000.

Overall, you want to make certain you are working with an independent tool to get the best information possible. It may turn out for your needs and situation Aviva is the perfect company to go with through the brokerage firm. On the other hand you may find the Aviva equity release calculator results are not apropos for your situation and thus you need to shop around more. Using independent tools you can save time in your research.

Are you ready for all the good things that equity release has in store for you? It’s no surprise that many people over the age of 55 are focusing on the advantages of equity release. By definition, equity release is simply converting all or some of the equity in your home into cold, hard cash. Plenty of companies offer you an option for gaining cash like Stonehaven.

Stonehaven is a company that offers equity release possibilities for people who are over the age of 55. Only over 55’s can tap into what equity release schemes have to offer. So consider yourself lucky if you fall into this age bracket today. Stonehaven is pioneering because for the last 6 years it has been offering people over the age of 55 the chance to release equity with their award winning equity release company with a wide range of different schemes.

Sample a little bit of what these plans have to offer you by looking below:

Interest only lifetime mortgage: Stonehaven offers interest only lifetime mortgages. These are mortgages that allow you to get a cash lump sum where you are only paying the interest back and not racking up any extra debt on your account. Hence, it is unlike a roll-up lifetime mortgage (see below). Consider an interest only lifetime mortgage if you want the amount you are paying every month to stay the same instead of going up and down depending on what is going on in current affairs.

Fixed Interest Rate for life: Stonehaven’s plans offer a rate which is fixed for the rest of your life, leaving you safe in the knowledge of exactly knowing your monthly repayments. This allows one to budget accordingly & plan how to spend the household surplus.

Roll-up equity release: This is the plan that has the quirky name. A roll-up equity release plan is essentially a way for the interest you have on your mortgage to be rolled up in your equity release and you pay it within the loan. The money that you get from the roll-up equity release is basically tax-free so you can use it any way that you want. What happens with roll-up equity release is it stays as a debt so when you die, your family will not be burdened with a massive cut from HM Revenue when it comes to inheritance tax.

As mentioned, Stonehaven is not the only company offering lifetime equity release mortgages. You may find that another option is more affordable or better suited to your needs. Before deciding on one company always do your research. This is one of the top tips we can offer along with a few others.

Products with Advantages and Disadvantages
Whether you decide to choose an equity release from Stonehaven or another company there are going to be advantages and disadvantages of equity release schemes. You will want to decide if you are able to live with these or if you feel it is just too much for a little money.

Living without money especially enough to cover your bills in retirement is often too hard. You worked your whole life for a chance to relax. Taking advantage of products on the market that can offer you help is a good thing as long as you can live with the end result. Sometimes in life your younger family members need to live just as hard, so they can enjoy retirement rather than getting a helping hand from inheritance. If it is a matter of living with enough money to enjoy life in the end, then the potential removal of cash for use may be your best option.

As you search around for the best solution to fit your needs remember that drawdown, enhanced and home reversion are three other types of equity release products available to you on the market. They may fit your needs better than those at Stonehaven or not. Discuss all of this with a financial adviser to truly understand the full weight of your options and repayment needs.

Top tip: Read up on all of the thresholds for inheritance tax so you know how roll up equity release plans from Stonehaven affect you and your family in case you die. If you give out cash that is tax free now in small lump sums to your family it is not subject to inheritance tax. This could be a better benefit in the end. Also look at the benefits of interest only lifetime mortgages.