Equity Release

jem16

Is there a way to find out if Equity Release has been done on a house?

My friend has POA for her aunt who has just gone into hospital again for the 2nd time in as many weeks. It looks like a care home may be required in the not too distant future.

Her aunt lives on her own in a house after the death of her husband 4 years ago. Up until now she has been very capable but is becoming more confused. My friend is not aware of any Equity release being done on the house but another relative has said that she thinks there is.

My friend is going to look through the paperwork again but having been helping her aunt for these last few years, she does not remember seeing anything.

How would she go about finding out if Equity Release has been done?

malc_b

jem16 wrote: »

Is there a way to find out if Equity Release has been done on a house?

Most, if not all now, houses are registered with the land registry. They record who owns the house and any charges against it, for example if it has a mortgage or if it has equity release. I would give them a ring although there may be a charge to get the documentation. Alternate a credit agency might have access to this data.

jem16

malc_b wrote: »

Most, if not all now, houses are registered with the land registry. They record who owns the house and any charges against it, for example if it has a mortgage or if it has equity release.

Thanks. We'll have a look into that.

agrinnall

Given your location, if your aunt's house is also in Scotland then it's not the Land Registry that you will need to look at but Registers of Scotland.

http://www.ros.gov.uk/customerservices/index.html

jem16

agrinnall wrote: »

Given your location, if your aunt's house is also in Scotland then it's not the Land Registry that you will need to look at but Registers of Scotland.

http://www.ros.gov.uk/customerservices/index.html

Aunt's house is indeed in Scotland.

What's the difference between the site you linked to and this one?

http://www.landregistryservices.com/index.asp

greyfox

jem16 wrote: »

What's the difference between the site you linked to and this one?

http://www.landregistryservices.com/index.asp

The site you've found is a commercial one, the ".gov" one is an official site. (It's a bit like the difference between the official european health card site and the commercial ones which charge an arm & a leg to forward applications to the official one!)

If the property were in England, you would be able to download a copy of the registered title (from the official Land Registry site!) for a few pounds. I don't know if the same applies in Scotland.

jem16

My friend has phoned the number on the official gov site today. She has been advised to email them with the details of what she wants and where to send the invoice to. The details can also be submitted online but works out the same as the email request.

Seems to cost between £11 and £14 plus VAT so not quite as cheap as the England & Wales version and not instantly downloadable.

However my friend is happy that she can get the actual information required.