Taking advice about Equity loans

Before deciding which route you want to take, it’s worth bearing in mind that within SHIP alone there are some 20 different providers of equity loan schemes. This is a developing market and there are likely to be several more new entrants in the near future. Every lender can have different interest rates, loan criteria and customer benefits, each of which need to be thoroughly researched so that your personal requirements can be matched.

Many lenders will also deal only with ‘authorised intermediaries’ (specialist advisers in this field), which means you would be unableto obtain information from these companies yourself. Help the Aged therefore strongly recommends that those considering an equity loan approach an impartial and specialist firm of advisers able to consider equity loan schemes from the whole market beforemaking any decision.

If you decide to work with an adviser it is important to find one with experience of all the different equity loan schemes on offer. He or she should be able to compare the different equity loans and advise you on which will best meet your needs.The adviser will also be aware of the credibility and financial stability of the providers of the loan scheme recommended.

If you are claiming any income-related benefits, such as Pension Credit or Council Tax Benefit, it is important that you make sure that the adviser understands what impact your taking out an equity loan release scheme would have on your entitlements.If a regular income, or lump sum, from an equity loan scheme meant that you would no longer be entitled to these benefits the financial advantages of taking out this sort of scheme could be cancelled out. So it is therefore very important that you check that any potential adviser is familiar with the workings of the welfare benefits system.

Help the Aged has chosen NHFA Ltd to provide the Charity’s own Equity Release Advice Service. NHFA Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority to advise on lifetime mortgages. It has years of experience in dealing with older clients, which gives its staff a real empathy and understanding of their needs. NHFA advisers can select the most appropriate lender from the whole of the market, i.e. all reputable equity loan plans available, and, as specialist brokers, they can often negotiate special terms that might not be available to many other brokers you may approach.

All NHFA equity release advisers have passed the necessary examinations qualifying them to provide specialist advice in this area.They will look at your personal circumstances, select the most appropriate equity loan scheme for you or, if they identify that an equity loan is not right for you or there are better alternatives, they will tell you. They are also trained to calculate and verify eligibility for means tested benefits and support. The Help the Aged Equity Release Service, provided by NHFA Ltd, is a telephone-based service, which means that no salespeople will call on you.You can contact NHFA equity loan release advisers as often as you wish to ensure that you fully understand the options available to you; your family can be included in the conversations, if you so wish, wherever they may live. NHFA does not charge any up-front fees.You will be charged a fixed fee on completion: this is currently £500, and the lender will pay NHFA Ltd a procurement fee (commission), which is retained. Help the Aged (registered charity 272786) will receive a portion of the revenue generated through the Help the Aged Equity Release Service, as a result of NHFA advice being followed.This money goes directly towards the work the Charity is doing to combat poverty, reduce isolation, challenge neglect, defeat ageism and prevent future deprivation.