If you’re in need of a cash
lump sum, you may consider joining the thousands of people who have taken out
an Equity Release plan, enabling them to borrow money against the value of
their home. Yet ‘urban myths’ about
Equity Release still abound; so it's time to set the record straight.
Myth 1: You won’t own your home any more.
There
are two ways to release the cash tied in up your home. The first is ‘home reversion’ – and in that
instance then yes, your home is sold to the home reversion company in exchange
for cash and the right to remain living in the property.
But
the far more usual approach to equity release is a ‘lifetime mortgage’, covered
by The Equity Release Council guarantees.
You borrow money against the value of your home, but the property
remains yours. The equity release
company is granted a legal charge over your title deeds to ensure that any
remaining debt is repaid to them when the property is sold. But importantly the property is still yours
and you can live in it for the rest of your life if you want to.
