Lifetime mortgage or other means

ian8945

My wife and I own a fist floor flat. I have primary progressive MS and need to move to a ground floor flat which will cost more. Both my wife and I are pensioners, I receive the full state pension and my wife receives a 75% pension. I receive a small pension of £200 per month and my wife receives £60 per month. Our flat has been valued at one hundred thousand but we would need around an extra forty thousand to buy a ground floor property. I have looked at lifetime mortgages but I would really appreciate advice.

Thank you in advance.

kingstreet

Advice would best be sought from a later life lending specialist and member of the Equity Release Council who can advise you on the options available - usually retirement interest only, traditional capital & interest and interest roll-up/part roll-up where in the case of the latter some voluntary interest payments can be made to achieve a discount on the interest rate charged.

Brie

Have you considered renting a housing association flat instead? Either a GF one designed for seniors or one that has a lift and is therefore accessible?

gwynlas

Dependent on where you live in the counry some HAs frequently haveproperties available for rent including bungalows.

Some might already have aids and adaptations such as being wheelchair accessible.

The advantage of renting rather than buying is that you would not be caught up in a lifetime mortgage and repairs/maintenance are the responsibility of landlors.

Please be aware however of some schemes that have horrendous service charges

whizzywoo

I am just wondering if you could qualify for Pension Credit? You have MS and you perhaps receive DLA or PIP and presumeably your wife is caring for you. If she has reached State Pension Age then she would not receive any money for Carer's Allowance but she would have an underlying entitlement to it. This does change the threshold criteria for claiming Pension Credit.

I recommend that you contact Age Concern with a view to a benefits check to make sure that are receiving everything you should be receiving.

I would also recommend that you approach a specialist mortgage broker who deals with Equity Release and Lifetime Mortgages. A lot of people knock equity release but it has much stricter rules now than years ago. Several posters have mentioned renting Housing Authority bungalows but I don't think that it's that easy and there may be very long waiting lists.

My husband and I have a lifetime mortgage and it has enabled us to move into a new build home which is much more suitable for both our physical needs. We sold our previous home which didn't realise as much as we needed for the new place but the Lifetime Mortgage made up the difference.

We had the choice of not paying any interest at all and letting the debt roll up with compound interest.

We could agree to pay the monthly interest only and so the debt does not increase.

We can pay the monthly interest plus an amount off the capital (subject to a 10% maximum in the first few years). This is the option we chose but can choose to revert to the other two options whenever we want to. The debt is never allowed to be more than the house is worth.

A lifetime mortgage does have its downsides. You have to have a specialist advisor and there is usually a charge if you take out the mortgage. If you don't pay the interest then the debt does increase at a quite frightening rate so if you have any children there may not be anything left to leave to them. The mortgage companies are quite picky about what properties they will lend on. Understandable as they don't want to be left with a property they cannot sell in the future.

Do you have any family members who could assist you with the £40,000 shortfall for buying a ground floor property? It may be that they would be willing to advance you the money as a gift.

davidleo7557

This is a situation where it’s really important to look at all options before committing to a lifetime mortgage, as they can reduce equity significantly over time and affect inheritance.

You may also want to explore alternatives such as downsizing support schemes, local authority housing options, or standard retirement interest-only mortgages, depending on affordability and eligibility.

Given the health and housing needs involved, it would be sensible to get regulated independent financial and legal advice before deciding.