A poll of 800 people conducted by Pure Retirement found that for three quarters of respondents, fixed rates were among the top three most important reasons for choosing a particular lifetime mortgage.
Some 19 per cent of people said the no negative equity guarantee aspect was key and 45 per cent put it as one of their top three most important features.
The third fundamental lifetime product feature was the ability to borrow more money, as cited by 12 per cent of respondents. Some 38 per cent respondents put this in their top three.
The ability to port a mortgage was seen as important to nine per cent of respondents, as was the option to make repayments. A further nine per cent said being able to make regular repayments without incurring charges was a key feature.
Paul Carter (pictured), CEO of Pure Retirement, said: “It’s always interesting to hear our customers’ views about what they deem important when it comes to later life lending, and these results only serve to underline how critical rates are to our customer base, which tallies with the challenges we’ve faced as an industry since the mini Budget last autumn and the attendant effect it’s had on the Bank of England’s base rate.”
“With inflation having dropped relatively sharply in recent weeks and cautious optimism around the BoE’s base rate potentially starting to come down over the coming months, the signs are there for recovery, and as a lender we’re looking forward to supporting applicants with a range of attractive lifetime mortgage solutions when the time is right for them to explore later life lending.”
