Equity release under 55s!?

Fire_Fox

leahsfx wrote: »

My partner and I, both 35 bought our council property 3 years ago with max discount. We don’t want to sell within 5 years to avoid paying back percentage.
We have to get a bigger house due to family size increase; and soon!
Could we release equity on our current property to go towards another home and rent out or current ex council property? Or is this option only for over 55s?
We don’t have the funds for another 10% deposit on a new place and cannot stay where we are for another 2 years or equally loose out on the 40% we’d owe back to the council by selling up soon now.

Advise greatly appreciated.

Welcome to MSE.

How much of a family size increase? Tiny newborn baby or two older children from a previous relationship moving in? How big/ small is the house?

Get creative with room shuffling/ vertical storage (floor to ceiling, wall to wall)/ dual purpose furniture/ declutter and declutter again. The average household barely uses half or more of their home. We barely use half or more of our belongings.

Look at your house as a scale floorplan on paper or online, or lie on the floor and look at the bare ceiling space or empty the room of every scrap and start again.

For example how much time do you spend in your bedroom? What do you do (not that ) and for how long on average? Generally we: lie fairly still asleep for eight hours, get dressed/ undressed, personal grooming, storage of clothes and accessories. Loads of space is taken up by a massive bed that is unused two thirds of the time, space to pull out deep drawers. Floor space is very limited.

Switch to a double wall bed and whole wall of floor-to-ceiling storage with sliding doors. For fourteen hours each day you now have a big empty space in the middle of the room and everything safely away from little fingers. Can be a kids playroom, home office, daytime nursery/ changing area, workout room, art studio ... :beer:

leahsfx

Thank you to everyone who has replied and for valuable advise.

The post was not a wind up, genuine as was unsure of options but on research I now understand equity release and realise it’s not for us.

We have a 16yr old son, 6yr old daughter and baby due in 6 months. Live in 2 bed maisonette, quite small and atm we share with our 6yr old in larger room.

We have permission to rent out property from the council so that’s not an issue. At the moment if we sold we would owe 40% back. I guess we need to weigh up finances and decide from there.

Was just putting question out there as I wasn’t sure on 2 mortgage situations or if there was any other options.

Fire_Fox

You would need consent to let from the lender as well.

Is your sixteen year old likely to move away during University semesters at age eighteen? That would make creative juggling of sleeping zones easier.

At some point your new baby and child can have bunks, with safety bars below. Sixteen year old could have an double size loft bed, then you and partner use it later down the line when you are allowed a period of uninterrupted sleep.

Click-clack sofa beds can be way more comfortable and practical than the fold-out type. Floor-to-ceiling storage plus sizeable lock-up shed or summer house in the yard for more storage or bed for your sixteen year old during the summer vacation.

Obviously bed hopping/ swapping only if you have no other option! Do appreciate you will be overcrowded.