Equity release and later life mortgage advisers for Surrey

Case study equity release to help children buy property in Surrey

“I first looked into equity release because I wanted to help my three adult sons financially, all of whom were looking to purchase property. My first son wanted to move from a flat to a house with his wife and two children. They had grown out of the flat and needed more room. My second son was in a similar situation with his partner and son. Our youngest son wanted to buy his first flat.

As a retired Chartered Financial Planner, I took the research into equity release very seriously and I understand how specialist this area of financial advice is.

Equity release was a last chance saloon way back and you could get into all sorts of difficulties with it. Now the range of products and options is very wide. You have to take financial advice from a specialist in order to release equity from your property.

I did lots of research and through trusted former colleagues I was introduced to Access Equity Release and my adviser Paul.

I knew I wanted a very low redemption penalty but there were other questions and details that Paul was able to go through to find the right solution.

Paul was professional and diligent, contacting us when promised and always being available to answer the many questions we had during the process.

Furthermore, Paul was able to answer questions and concerns from my sons. They were really good about wanting to make sure this was the right decision for me and my wife. From our point of view, our sons would inherit anyway. Why wait until we die to enjoy the money and set themselves up financially? It also has benefits in relation to inheritance tax. It is a sort of carpe diem philosophy. Why wait when you can help your children now? I want them to enjoy their lives and I want to see them enjoying what we have worked hard for.

Equity release isn’t for everyone of course. For anyone questioning whether or not to look into it I would say there is no harm in getting the information and the advice. That is where people like Paul come in. You have to think about your circumstances but you shouldn’t disregard it if equity release could be the right option for you. It is not evil. There is a big range of equity release options out there. Think about what the planning issues are – raise money, give money, tax advice, affordability – all of these things need careful consideration.

I did a lot of my own research because of my professional background but the great thing is you don’t have to be an expert to get the information you need. You have to go through everything with a qualified adviser.

Even when I got the Key Features Document with all the interest rates and redemption penalty details – I did my own spreadsheets to model and check everything. However, for people who don’t want to go through this work, it is much easier these days to find trustworthy, balanced resources. The advice process is very thorough and you can always go back with further questions.

It means you cannot trip blindly down an alleyway – it is a good thing that you have to get advice. It is a highly specialist area and your adviser can answer questions that you can’t find the answer to.

The final thing to say about our experience is that there is no pressure. We decided not to take equity release in the end because another option became possible and we sold a property that was partially owned by us and rented out. This meant we could gift our children £100,000 each. For others who may not have other options there is nothing wrong with looking into equity release. If you are looking for an adviser I would recommend Paul to anyone who is looking to release equity from their property as his service is able to access the whole of the equity release market and his advice is fee-based which means that he can make an unbiased recommendation that is not commission led.”