This week’s top broker comment goes to Doug for his reponse on the post: Later-life lending: ‘We can only see demand for advice growing’ – Marketwatch
He said: “We do a few interest-only remortgages in London and have seen many smaller lenders like Hinckley and Rugby Building Society and Mansfield Building Society come up trumps by allowing longer mortgage terms.
“So clients can get another five to 12 years on interest-only at ages 55 to 70 and then decide to downsize, do equity release or sell.
“Mostly, its properties worth £1m+ with existing mortgages with Santander, Virgin Money, Barclays and so on of only £150,000 or less, so the lender risk is very low even if house prices tumble in London.
“There are around 10 smaller lenders all offering this and rates start at 1.9% so it’s much cheaper than doing equity release at a younger age.
“By waiting these extra years, if equity release is used in the future the deals are better for older clients at that stage.”
