How does a health condition affect equity release?

A lifetime mortgage is the most common type of equity release. This is a form of borrowing secured against your home and provides a tax-free cash lump sum. It is available only to those aged 55 years and over. A lifetime mortgage allows you to remain in your home without the need to repay the loan until you go into either go into long term care or pass away.

The maximum amount of cash a homeowner can release using a lifetime mortgage depends on their age, personal circumstances, property value and their health. When applying for equity release the lender will agree the maximum amount you can drawdown. This amount is also expressed as the maximum loan-to-value that you can borrow.

Those with health conditions may find they can increase the maximum LTV available to them by using an ‘enhanced lifetime mortgage.’ An enhanced lifetime mortgage uplifts the maximum LTV available and therefore also the total amount the borrower can drawdown. The extent of these uplifts depends upon the nature of the medical conditions and the borrower’s age.

Enhanced lifetime mortgages usually have higher interest rates compared to traditional lifetime mortgages.

A good equity release adviser will help those that have a medical condition to assess if an enhanced lifetime mortgage and the higher interest costs this might incur are worth the additional uplift in cash released.

Lenders usually ask for information about a borrowers’ state of health. Answering these questions honestly is important to make sure you do not breach any conditions of the lifetime mortgage and could help you if you need to access a greater amount of borrowing using an enhanced lifetime mortgage.

Borrowers are not asked to have a full medical to be eligible for an enhanced lifetime mortgage. Mostly borrowers are asked to complete a simple health questionnaire. This allows the adviser to determine whether an enhanced lifetime mortgage is suitable. These questions should be answered honestly as the lender may write to the borrower’s doctor to confirm the details are accurate.

Moneyfactscompare.co.uk publishes the best equity release interest rates each month. These can be a useful guide for those wanting to find out more about equity release.