Equity release companies (5+)

In this blog, we will provide a list of equity release companies operating in the UK

Equity release companies are a very good way to release equity in your property. You may want to release equity in order to provide a gifted deposit to your family member, go on holiday, invest or even buy a new property. When you release equity in your property through an equity release company you can either roll up the interest or make monthly mortgage repayments which contain only interest repayments almost like an interest-only mortgage.

The equity release company will then be repaid when you die or move into long term care.

When you are looking to get an equity release product from an equity release company it is best to get the best mortgage rate as you will have the equity release product for such a long time of your life.

If you are looking to get an equity release product from an equity release company then you may want to seek an equity release advisor who is able to offer you advice on the equity release companies available.

How does an equity release loan work?

An equity release is a financial product which allows you to release the equity in your home. You will usually need to be atleast 55 years of age to assess these sort o products in the UK. An equity release can be gotten on a mortgaged or unmortgaged property.

Equity release companies in the UK

The equity release companies in the UK have to be registered by the FCA to provide their equity release products. Equity release companies which are registered members of the equity release council provide the no negative equity guarantee. This means what you owe on the property will never be worth more than your home.

List of equity release companies

Below is a list of equity release companies which currently operate in the UK.

Aviva

Bridgewater Equity Release

Hodge Lifetime

Just

Key advise equity release

Legal & General

LV=

More 2 Life

Nationwide Building Society

OneFamily

Pure Retirement

Retirement Advantage

Retirement Plus

Aviva equity release

Aviva is an award-winning Equity Release company and has helped more than 200,000 people release £7 billion in equity from their homes since the year 2000.

To release cash from your home with Aviva, you need to be at least 55 years old.

Bridgewater equity release

Bridgewater Equity Release is an equity release company which was founded over 25 years ago and specialises in equity release products. Bridgwater equity release company has won numerous awards for its service, being voted Best Home Reversion Provider for 9 consecutive years between 2006 and 2014.

You will need to be at least 65years old to get an equity release with the bridge water equity release company and your home must be worth £120,000. The equity release company requires ou to either realise a minimum of £25,000 or release at least 25% f the equity in your home or whichever is lower.

Hodge Lifetime is a Uk equity release company. It offers a range of equity release products including a lifetime mortgage and a retirement mortgage. You need to be at least 5 years of age to use the Hodge lifetime equity release companies services.

Just equity release company

Just is an equity release company which also provides financial services to people who are retired. It is one of the best equity release companies in the UK.

To release equity with Just you will need a home which is worth at least £70,000 and you must be at least 60 years of age and seeking an equity release of at least £10,000.

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Key advice equity release

Key advice equity release is an equity release company( it is not a lender) in the UK. Key advice equity release has helped over 1 million people in the Uk to release equity. Key advice equity release organises 1 in 3 of the equity release plans which are approved by the Equity Release Council. You will need to be aged between 55 years and 99 years to be able to get a key advice equity release with a minimum property value of £70,000.

must be aged between 55 and 95 with a minimum property value of £70,000.

Legal and general

Legal & General is an equity release company which launched its equity release products in 2015. Legal and general’s equity release products are traded under the legal and general financial trade name which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Legal & General Group.

Legal & General will only release equity in mainland Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland and the Scottish Islands). The property must be worth at least £100,000 (£150,000 for ex-council, ex-housing association or ex-Ministry of Defence properties) and you must be aged at least 55 years old.

LV=

Liverpool Victoria is an equity release company in the UK. They provide both financial services and insurance services. LV started offering their equity release range in 2002 after forming a partnership with Hitchin.

To be able to get an LV equity release product you will need to have a property which is worth at least £70,000 and you must be aged between 60 and 95 years old. The maximum equity you can release with LV will be based on your age and the property value. The maximum equity release you will get from LV is for 55% of your property but you will need to be 95 to qualify for this.

More 2 life

More 2 life is a Uk equity release company. They are the third-largest lifetime mortgage lender in the UK and have lent over £1bn since starting up in 2008.

Nationwide building society

Nationwide building society recently started offering their equity release products in the equity release market in 2017. You will need to be at least 55 years of age to release equity with Nationwide.

OneFamily

OneFamily is a UK equity release company but before this, it is a mutual organisation which was founded in 2015 when Engage mutual and family investments merged. It has a 5-star rating from MoneyFacts for its Lifetime Mortgages.

To get an equity release product from Onefamily life you will need to be at least 55 years of age

With OneFamily’s Lump Sum Voluntary Payment Lifetime Mortgage, you can repay up to 10% of the initial loan amount each year, without incurring an early repayment charge.

Pure Retirement

Pure retirement is an equity release company in the UK. They provide a variety of equity release solutions.

Pure retirement were winners of Best Lifetime Mortgage Lender at Mortgage Finance Gazette Awards 2019 and Best Later Life Lender at the Financial Reporter Awards 2019,

Retirement Advantage

Retirement Advantage is an equity release company which offers a range of Lifetime Mortgages, from products that you pay no interest on during the life of the loan to those that allow ad hoc interest payment to those where you make regular monthly interest payments.

You must be aged between 55 and 90 to release equity with Retirement Advantage and the property must be in Great Britain

Retirement Plus

Retirement plus is a UK equity release company. They offer home reversion plans to those over 65 years of age.

Who is the best equity release company in the UK?

Many of the equity release companies in the UK are not graded by any single system so figuring out the best equity release companies in the UK is hard. Various equity release companies in the UK will have received awards from different UK bodies over the years but whether an equity release company will be best for you will be based on your circumstances.

The different equity release companies will offer you a different loan to value, a maximum equity amount which you can release, different equity release fees, a different equity release mortgage rate etc.

Some equity release companies will also have a maximum and a minimum age at which they will provide you with their equity release products.

If you are concerned about if you will get the best equity release from the equity release companies available in the UK then you may want to speak to an equity release advisor.

The most important factor you may want to consider when getting an equity release product from an equity release company may be the mortgage rate you would have to pay throughout the duration of your equity release product.

What is the interest rate on equity release?

The interest rate on equity release products will change over the course of the year as equity release providers react to ongoing economic events. The current interest rates on equity release products are around 5% to 6%.

The interest rate on your equity release product can also be fixed for the life of the equity release product.

What are the disadvantages of equity release?

Some of the disadvantages of equity release are that it can leave you with nothing to lave in your inheritance for your kids. Equity release products can also be very costly as they have compound interest. Some equity release providers will allow you to make monthly repayments towards the interest being charged which helps reduce the effect of compounding and you also get a no negative equity guarantee if the equity release company is part of the equity release council.

Can I sell my house if I have equity release?

Yes, some equity release companies will allow you toport your equity release from ne house to the other. If selling your house is something you plan to do then you may want to discuss this with your equity release advisor or equity release company to ensure this is the right move for you.

If you need financial advice and you live in the UK then you could contact the Money Advice service over the phone or via chat for impartial advice.

You can also contact the debt charity “Step Change” if you are in debt and need help.