Northern Ireland Equity Release

Services We Offer

Equity Release – What options do I have?

There are two types of equity release plan:

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Lifetime Mortgage

A lifetime mortgage is secured against your home like a normal mortgage, but you don’t usually need to make payments. Instead, interest on the mortgage gets rolled up and added onto the balance.

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Home Reversion

A home reversion plan involves selling all or part of your home to the provider for a lump sum. There is no interest or rent to pay to the provider.

With both plans, you retain the right to live in your home until you die or leave the home permanently. If you take the plan out jointly, the plan will run until you both die or leave the home.

Will I still own my home?

This depends on the type of arrangement and if this is a priority for you, we will arrange an option to achieve it.

With lifetime mortgages, you retain full ownership of your home. However, as interest is added to the balance, the equity in your property can be eroded away. This can be overcome by making payments towards the plan. Some providers have the option to make monthly payments built in, and others allow you to pay 10% of the balance annually (either bit by bit or with a lump sum) which means you can pay the interest to leave equity remaining when the plan finishes. The providers we use provide a ‘no negative equity guarantee’ which means you will never owe more than the sale price of your property.

With home reversion plans, you sell all or part of your home to the provider, depending on the amount you need to release. If you sell a percentage of your home, you will always legally own the percentage you did not sell. This means that the percentage you still own will form part of your estate when the property is sold.

What are the risks?

It is important to understand how equity release works and the risks involved.

  • There is no tax to pay on the money you release, but it may affect your entitlement to certain benefits.
  • The amount released will not reflect your property’s market value.
  • Interest which is rolled up and added to your balance can reduce your equity and affect the legacy you are able to leave.

We are here to support you and welcome questions. If you have a question about any of the information here, please get in touch.

How much will it cost?

We charge a fee of £1,695 for providing advice, sourcing the most suitable plan for you, and submitting your application. This becomes payable before we submit the full application. This means that you do not have to pay a fee for our initial consultation or for reviewing quotes and information about your options.

The provider pays us a procuration fee for our service to them. We are on your side, so we recommend products only when they are right for you, not because the commission is right for us.

You will need a solicitor to act on your behalf when you take out equity release. Typical fees for this are around £650, and you can use a solicitor of your choice.

Some providers have plans which come with an arrangement fee, and some are free to set up. We explore all options to find the most cost effective plan for you.

Equity Release Calculator

If you're aged 55+ why not use our simple form to request an estimate of how much you can borrow?

By submitting this calculator you agree to be contacted by a qualified Equity Release Advisor.

Why choose us for advice on equity release?

We are an established firm of Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) based in Northern Ireland. We take pride in offering honest advice to our clients and we aim to build and maintain an ongoing, valued relationship with you based on integrity and mutual trust.

We are flexible in our approach to providing you with financial advice, using face to face meetings, email, telephone and Skype so that our services are accessible and convenient for you. We do not charge any fees for our consultations and we encourage you to invite someone you trust to come along to our meetings to ensure you feel that you are in safe hands.

To find out more about our services and how we can help you, please get in touch.

We can also provide advice on: 

Retirement Planning

Including Annuities, Fixed Term Annuities and Flexi-access drawdown.

Pension Solutions

Including advising on Defined Benefit/Final Salary Schemes.

Investment Planning

Inheritance and Tax Advice

Personal and Corporate Health and Life Protection

(Life, Critical illness, Income Protection etc)