Equity Release allows you to obtain a lump sum or steady income stream using the value of the capital in your home.
The sum must be repaid at a later stage usually when the last legal owner dies or goes into long term care.
You may wish to use equity release, for example, to:
- fund your lifestyle
- reduce the value of your estate for inheritance tax purposes
- fund home improvements
- help your children financially
The First Step: Take Independent Financial Advice
Once you have taken independent financial advice and decided on the equity release product, you will be required to take legal advice on the terms of the equity release and for a solicitor to deal with the legal documentation before obtaining the funds.
The Second Step: Take Independent Legal Advice from Waldrons Solicitors
We are able to advise you fully on the legal implications and deal with the formalities of the transaction.
Typical Stages of Equity Release
- After you have taken independent financial advice, we will take your instructions including how you came to the decision that an Equity Release mortage is the right choice for you
- After receiving the offer from your Lender, we will advise you on the terms and effect of taking out the mortage
- We will deal with your Lender's legal representatives, addressing any issues that may arise
- When it is clear that you are certain you wish to proceed and, when the Lender's requriements are met, we will arrange for completion to take place
- We will receive the funds from your Lender and then pay those to you
- We will keep you updated throughout the matter and, with your consent, we will also keep your financial adviser fully appraised of progress
How much will it cost?
We offer fixed fees meaning that you will always have the peace of mind that regardless of the time we spend on your matter the cost will not increase. For a freehold property that is registered at the Land Registry, our charges would be as follows:
| Our Fixed Fee | £900.00 |
| Administration Fee - Bank Transfer | £30.00 |
| Archive Fee | £10.00 |
| Land Registry Fees | £6.00 |
| VAT | £189.20 |
| TOTAL | £1,135.20 |
The factors that affect the fee we will quote include the tenure of the property (whether it is freehold or leasehold - leasehold will incur an additional fee of £200 + VAT) and whether the property is registered with the Land Registry or not (an unregistered propery will incur an additional fee of £350 + VAT). Our investment in IT infrastructure has given us the ability to be directly connected to the Land Registry. This means we can instantly verify the registration status of a property and, if registered, its tenure. We can therefore be clear on costs from the beginning of your matter.
