Jointly Owned Mortgages and Equity Release Explained

Over-55s are able to apply for an equity release loan on property that they own. This gives you either a cash lump sum or regular payments to supplement your income, and you don’t need to make any repayments until you’ve gone into care or passed away.

Do We Both Have Be 55 Years Old to Apply for an Equity Release Scheme?

If you co-own a property with a partner, you must wait until you are both of the minimum age. The loan only becomes repayable when both partners have died or moved into long-term care.

You can choose to take joint equity release if you own a property with your partner. This ensures you won’t lose your home when one of you moves into care or passes away.

But if you own your home with your partner, you should make sure you take out a joint equity release loan.

Read on to find out what a joint equity release loan is, and why it matters.

Looking for other information on Equity Release? This guide has info on 'Jointly Owned property Equity Release schemes' We have also written extensively about:

• - How safe are Equity Release schemes?
• - Releasing Equity for new property
• - Equity Release to help with Retirment Planning
• - Equity release schemes tax implications

We update all our guides regularly. If you are researching Equity Release and we haven't got an exact guide that helps you, keep coming back as we update daily.

Joint Equity Release

A joint equity release loan works just the same way as a normal equity release loan. You can take either a lifetime mortgage, where you keep your home and borrow up to 60% of its value (depending on your personal circumstances) that’s repaid when you die or go into full-time care, or home reversion where you sell your home (though not at full value), with the rights to remain in it until you again pass away or go into care.

The difference being that with joint equity release, both you and your partner are protected in your home. When one of you passes away or goes into care, the other can still remain in the home without being forced out.

Equity Release: Drawback

The only drawback is that your loan amount will be based on the younger customer. You won’t be able to apply for a lifetime mortgage until you’re both 55 years old at least, or 60 years old if it’s a home reversion plan you’re interested in.

And because the value of your equity release loan is partially based on your age (read more about Equity Release Age), and is higher the older you are, you’ll get less with a joint equity release loan than you would if it were just based on the older partner.

Taking Single Equity Release

You could combat this by taking a single equity release loan, but to do this you’d need to transfer the deed into the name of the older partner. It’ll mean you’ll get more money, but it’s also a risk – if the elder partner passes away with a lifetime mortgage plan, the younger partner would have to pay it off or sell the house to fund the repayment.

If you’ve chosen home reversion, the younger partner would lose the right to live in the property and would likely only have 6-12 months to relocate.

Equity Release: Getting a New Partner

You may of course be single when you take out an equity release loan but then find a new partner that moves in to live with you. You should tell your lender, but even then they may not be able to add them to your agreement.

In that case, you should prepare for what would happen if you did need to move into care, or you did pass away, as your partner would need to repay the agreement or leave the home.

How Can Money Savings Advice Help You With Releasing Equity?

Here at Money Savings Advice, we have partnered with some of the UK’s leading Equity Release brokers. They have already helped thousands of people get the best Equity Release deal and they can do the same for you.

Choosing an independent adviser means they won’t recommend a scheme unless they are sure it is in your best interests. Their advice is also regulated by the FCA, which gives you an additional layer of protection.

If you would like to speak to one of these brokers who can provide you with a ‘whole market quote’ then click on the below and answer the very simple questions.