May I give an alternative view of equity release?
We'd heard all the gloom and doom when we did this in 2003, but we were tired of paying £260 a month on a mortgage. We'd have gone on paying this until we were 83 and, we thought, just in time to die and leave it all to someone else.
Everything changed when my beloved younger daughter, DH's beloved stepdaughter, died very suddenly at the end of 2002.
To cut a long story short, we decided to do equity release. It CAN be a bad deal, it can be a good one, depending on the deal you get. We think we got the best possible deal. The interest on the £45K equity release was pegged to the Bank Rate. As this has been historically so low for so long, the interest has not rolled up at anything like the rate we were warned about. To balance this, property prices have risen. In this area, with development of the local airport under Stobart's control, people need homes to live in, and a 2-bed bungalow like this one is an ideal starter home. In addition, not having the mortgage to pay on the £45K has freed up money for home improvements. In 2005 we needed a new roof to replace the old asbestos tiles. We've just had a completely new bathroom with walk-in shower - this is because of increasing age and infirmity. All this keeps the value to offset against the interest owed. Now we're told, the BR may go even lower.
However, I would echo what others have said. We've been lucky - who could know that the BR would stay so low for so long? Shop around. Get proper advice. The conveyancing solicitor who did this for us had a check-list of points to go through. One was the effects on any inheritance. No one in our family on any side was at all interested - it's your money, do what you want with it. Also, we're not claiming any means-tested benefits - these would be affected if we were.
It's a very serious step to take and demands serious thought and consideration.