Lifetime mortgages can be used to improve the housing stock in the UK, by providing funding to make energy efficient upgrades, delegates at the Later Life Lending Event (LLLE) heard.
Presenting at the event on Thursday, Claire Singleton, outgoing chief executive of Legal and General Home Finance said this could be an “ever-increasing” use of the product in the future.
She added: “We know that there’s going to be some governmental pushes to try and do more around improving our housing stock.
“I’m really pleased that we do see people taking lifetime mortgages to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and in turn to bring down their energy costs – which is another crisis that’s facing society.”
Singleton referenced the launch of an energy saver cashback product from Legal and General last year, which allows borrowers to use their lifetime mortgages to renovate their homes and make them greener.
“I do think that’s another area for the market where we’ll see innovation,” she added.
Speaking of innovation in the sector, Singleton said she was “pleased” to see more customer protections being added to products such as no negative equity guarantees and interest servicing.
Singleton said: “Lifetime mortgages can be used for many different uses, and therefore flexibility is key.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS