Lets be honest , the mention of the word Equity Release is enough to make some people run for the hills. And maybe its because they have genuine concerns due to a horror story they have heard from friends or read it in the newspapers etc, so they believe Equity Release is equal to losing your house, children’s inheritance and passing on debts to their estate etc etc. And its a sad fact in the past equity release plans were not very well designed compared to todays plans and caused a lot of problems.

But here is the good news:

Equity Release has changed, for the better.

Modern Equity Release

Equity release plans today are completely different to the plans that existed in the past. Through past mistakes, the lenders and the regulators have learned valuable lessons and as a result Equity Release products have become much more consumer friendlier plans with very flexible options, which we will discuss later.

Financial Conduct Authority

Equity Release is a regulated product and the providers are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Equity Release Council

Equity Release Council is a non profit trade body set up to protect the interest of the home owner . The council promotes high standards of  conduct and practice in the provision of and advice on equity release which have consumer safeguards at its heart. Equity Release lenders who are members of the equity release council offer certain guarantees such as “No negative equity guarantee ” and Portability etc to their clients.