Monday, April 19, 2010

Can A Lifetime Mortgage Help You To Enjoy Your Retirement by equity

What do you have planned for your retirement years? Do you plan to travel? Would you prefer to stay at home and simply relax? Whatever your plans are, retirement takes money and if you have not saved enough, you could have difficulty in meeting even your basic needs. There is hope for you to be able to enjoy those retirement years without the fear of a lack of funding through a lifetime mortgage.



If you were asked to make a list of your most valuable assets, your home would top the list. Many people work a lifetime to own the home of their dreams.



A lifetime mortgage provides a way to have a monthly income that is based on your home's equity. You have grown that equity through payment or your mortgage throughout your working life with inflation having increased the property value over and above the original purchase price. Now you can tap into that equity in order to meet your needs while still living in your home for as long as you want. Lifetime mortgages do not force you to sell the home to meet expenses. Instead the home remains yours for as long as you want. When it is sold, the lifetime mortgage is paid off and the remainder is distributed to either you or your heirs.



As long as you are at least 55 years in age, you can qualify for an equity release mortgage (another term used to describe lifetime mortgages). Any moneythat you release as part of your equity release can be used in any way that you please, because it is your money. There are no ongoing monthly payments, but instead interest is rolled up against the original borrowing, and then repaid when the property is sold.



If you come to your retirement years and find that you need help in completing the payments on your mortgage, a lifetime mortgage will allow you to get the money needed to repay the mortgage balance outstanding so that any ongoing mortgage payments in retirement will cease. Please do bear in mind however that the amount of equity you can release from the property will be dependent on the property value, and the age of the youngest applicant.



As the funds from an equity release scheme can be used for any purpose, they often get used where grandparents want to help a grandchild with a deposit for their first home, or to assist their children with help toward tuition fees for their grandchildren.



Others find that the funds from a lifetime mortgage allow them to take out private health insurance when previously the premiums would have been unaffordable. While this insurance can be expensive, it can provide total peace of mind that cover is in place at a time of life when serious illness is more common.



Lifetime mortgages are not suitable for everyone though as it will reduce the amount of the estate that is left for your heirs. Those with high value properties on the other hand can often benefit from a lifetime mortgage that helps to reduce a capital gains tax liability.



The best solution is to talk to a suitably qualified equity release specialist who will take noteof all your requirements, present and future, and who can then provide you with independent advice so that you are able to reach an informed decison on whether a lifetime mortgage is right for you.


There are many pros and cons to a lifetime mortgage, and so independent advice about all equity release options is essential. Take advantage of free equity release advice, and book a consultation today!


Article Source: Can A Lifetime Mortgage Help You To Enjoy Your Retirement

1 comment:

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