Helping to unlock the value in your home
Equity Release
Mortgages
Equity release mortgages allow those aged 55 and over to release tax free cash from their residential property, without having to make monthly payments
With equity release mortgages the amount you can release is based on your age and how much your property is worth. Depending on the equity release product you choose, you have the option to take the money as one big lump sum or a series of smaller lump sums. You can use the money you release however you like. Whether that is to help your children buy a home, pay off an interest only mortgage or other debt, renovate your home or travel round the world!
It’s a long-term loan that’s eventually repaid using your home once you pass away, or if you need to go into long-term care. Until then, you’ll remain a homeowner and won’t need to move out.
Am I eligible for an equity release mortgage?
Equity release isn’t right for everybody and every home, so it depends on you and your circumstances. You could be eligible if you meet the following criteria:
- You’re a homeowner aged 55 or over. If you’re married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting, you’ll both need to be 55 or over and own the property jointly
- You live permanently in your home. The property must be your main residence and not unoccupied for more than 6 months at any one time.
- You're mortgage-free or only have a small mortgage. Your remaining mortgage will have to be paid off as a condition of taking out our lifetime mortgage. You can do this from the amount you borrow.
- Your property is in the UK (not including the Channel Islands or Isle of Man) and worth at least £75,000. For flats and maisonettes, we only use 85% of the valuation to work out how much you can borrow. We have lending criteria that help us to decide what properties we will accept.
- You want to borrow at least £15,000 and the value of your property makes this possible.
Please note: Summit Capital Mortgages do not provide advice on Home Purchase Schemes and only provide advice on Lifetime Mortgages.
Our equity release mortgages advice process
Step 1: We listen
It’s important for us (and you) to take the time to get to know each other and to make sure we understand what you would like to achieve. It’s a cliche, but no two people are the same. And we want to make sure our advice and service is tailored to you. We would encourage family members to be involved with the process, should that be your wish.
Step 2: Our initial thoughts
After that, we’ll provide you with some details. Things like how much we think you can borrow and what conditions an equity release mortgage lender will insist on.
Step 3: We search the market
We’ll then move on to search the market for you. In addition to negotiating you the best rate, we’ll take into account other things like lender service levels. As well as using our unique knowledge of the equity release market to ensure we place you with the most appropriate lender. It’s all part of having an expert on your side. We can even arrange an Agreement in Principal for you with a lender so you know exactly how much you can borrow.
Step 4: Completion
We finalise your equity release mortgage and you can be confident that we’ve arranged the most suitable funding for you.
Making it easy
Our mortgage advice process
Step 1: We listen
It’s important for us (and you) to take the time to get to know each other and to make sure we understand what you would like to achieve. It’s a cliche, but no two people are the same. And we want to make sure our advice and service is tailored to you.
Step 2: We provide our initial thoughts
After that, we’ll provide you with some details. Things like how much we think you can borrow and what kind of a mortgage deposit you’ll need to buy that dream home. We’ll also suggest the best type of mortgage for you, looking at fixed and variable rates.
Step 3: We search the market for you
We’ll then move on to search the market for you. In addition to finding you the best rate, we’ll take into account other things like lender service levels and affordability calculations. It’s all part of having an expert on your side. We can even arrange an Agreement in Principal for you with a lender so you know exactly how much you can borrow.
Step 4: Completion
We finalise your mortgage and you move in. Alas, we can’t guarantee the moving experience will be easy, but at least you are safe in the knowledge that you have the most appropriate finance for you.
Equity Release Mortgage
Case Study
Case Summary
Our applicant was recently widowed, aged 82, and living in an unencumbered property worth £1.5m. She wanted to release equity to gift to her two children and withdraw some funds to hold in a savings account, in case of emergencies. She had income from a pension, but this was not substantial enough to service the level of debt that she wanted to take out.
Our Solution
We identified that the most suitable mortgage would be an equity release loan, where the interest is rolled up into the loan. The mortgage was fixed for the life of the loan, at a very competitive rate, so that the applicant did not have to worry about movements in the Bank of England base rate. She was comfortable with the fact that interest was added to the mortgage, as it meant that she didn’t need to service the loan from her pension, and she could remain in her family home.
The numbers
Mortgage Calculators
Our useful mortgage calculators can help you work out the key numbers without any hard questions.
