Compare Equity Release is a trading style of award-winning Equity Release Supermarket - the UK's No.1 whole of market equity release advice firm.

The website has designed to offer a unique suite of research tools for homeowners who understand what they are looking for, but just need to find the right product, at the right price.

Compare Equity Release provides comparison tables, calculators and the industry’s first consumer research tool – smartER which, for the first time, offers consumers their own bespoke sourcing tool.

Finally, when you're ready to chat, our nationwide team of specialists are here to support and guide you through the application process.

With over 600 products available in the later life market, it can be a complicated task sifting through all the product choices and options, to find the best equity release deal.

Compare Equity Release has been specially designed to help you self-serve and find out as much information as possible, in your own time, without the initial need for an adviser.

Tools have been designed to fit whatever depth of research you wish to undertake. If it’s a ball-park maximum loan amount you’re looking for, then our equity release calculators will give you an idea of what could be available.

Moving then on up to the comparison tables – these are updated with some of the latest plans and interest rates to give you an insight into the products available across the whole of the market.

However, for the most in-depth research you need to ‘get smartER’ which is the industry’s first equity release sourcing tool. Based on your personal details, smartER will find every plan you’re eligible for and exactly how much you can borrow.

The maximum equity release loan is based on numerous factors. These are the age of the youngest homeowner, your property’s valuation, health & lifestyle, and even your postcode can influence the maximum release of equity.

Age and property value always have the greatest effect on your maximum loan. Lifetime mortgages (which are the most popular equity release plan), can potentially run for the rest of your life, hence lenders will mitigate risk to your estate by lending a lower amount at a younger age and gradually increase the loan-to-value (LTV) figure, and corresponding loan as you get older

Current maximum LTV’s range from 33% of the property value at age 55, rising to a maximum 60% of your property value by the time you reach age 83*. Use our equity release calculators to find out how much money you could release from your home.

*Rates – 1st Sept 2022

There are different types of equity release advisers, so it’s important to understand who you are dealing with and what range of products they can recommend.

Here at Compare Equity Release we can advise on the whole of the equity release marketplace – that means we deal with EVERY lender that offers a later life product. This can range from household names such as Aviva, Legal & General and Canada Life, through to more specialist lenders such as Pure Retirement and More2Life.

However, some brokers e.g. Key and Age Partnership only operate on a tied, or panel basis. This means they either will only refer to one lender e.g. Key to More2Life, or from a panel of lenders as Age Partnership do. Panel means they may have just four lenders they can advise on.

Restricting choice can therefore lead to consumers not obtaining the best product for them, as there maybe other plans, that tied, or panel brokers do not have access to, that may be the better option. Therefore, if you want independent whole of market advice where EVERY lender is researched, then use brokers such as Compare Equity Release.

Equity release plans are fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and governed by the Equity Release Council (ERC). Both these bodies provide safeguards and standards that brokers, lenders and solicitors must follow.

The most popular form of equity release are lifetime mortgages, where you always own 100% of your home, plus any increase in its value is retained by you. All equity release plans come with a no negative equity guarantee, which means you can never end up owing more than the value of your property.

New standards introduced by the ERC in 2022 mean that all lifetime mortgage plans now have flexible voluntary payments. Therefore, you now have the option to make payments against the interest charged by the lender, thereby controlling the balance, or simply allow the interest to accrue over your lifetime.

The downsides to equity release are that the inheritance you leave will be reduced by the balance of your equity release plans and if you claim means-tested benefits, these could be affected.

There can be four separate fees associated with setting up equity release schemes - all in keeping with any form of typical mortgage lending. They vary between lenders and products, and many have special offer periods. Hence if you need further clarification, our specialist advisers are always on hand to guide you.

Firstly, you will need your property independently valued, as this helps establish the amount you can borrow. With most lifetime mortgage lenders, this is usually a free service.

Additionally, you need an independent solicitor to that of the lenders. Again, fees between legal firms vary, however Compare Equity Release have access to a panel of experienced equity release solicitors offering a fixed fee arrangement. Contact us on 0800 028 3142 for further details.

As per FCA guidelines, you will need to obtain financial advice to apply for equity release. An advice fee is charged and can vary from a fixed fee to some brokers charging a percentage of the amount you release. Compare Equity Release will never charge more than our fixed £1,495 advice fee, and this is only payable once you have your money in the bank.

Lastly, there may be an application or product fee. With most lifetime mortgages this is usually free, however some products do still come with a fee and its therefore wise to check with us first.

From initial application to receipt of funds in the bank – this usually takes around 4 weeks. However, a process involving valuations and solicitors can sometimes stretch these timescales.

At Compare Equity Release not only will your adviser be there to support you, but also our dedicated admin team who will ensure you application process is as smooth as possible and keep you upto speed on its progress.

In addition, you will be provided with access to our exclusive case tracking facility which provides valuable email updates and enables you to track the progress of your case online 24/7 - whenever it suits you.

There is no requirement to pay off an equity release plan during your lifetime, however if you do there may be potential early repayment charges.

The most popular type of equity release plan is a lifetime mortgage, and as it name suggests is set up to run for the rest of your life. As such, lifetime mortgages are usually paid off when the last homeowner has died or moved into long term care.

However, all lenders now have plans offering fixed early repayment charges (ERC’s) - the same as any residential mortgage. This means that after a certain number of years, the ERC’s will cease, and the plan will be free to repay, other than maybe a closing admin fee.

With all lifetime mortgages now offering flexible voluntary payments, you can use this feature to repay between 10% to 40% of the amount borrowed, with no penalty. Using this feature to the maximum, will allow you to reduce your balance and ultimately repay the scheme over time – similar to a capital and interest residential mortgage.

In summary, you can repay your equity release on your death or moving into long term care. If you decide to repay earlier you can make voluntary repayments to reduce the balance down to zero over time. Finally, if you are in receipt of a lump sum of money, you can repay the outstanding balance at that time – subject to potential ERC’s.

Equity release is a generic term for releasing a cash lump sum from your property. In the later life market (homeowners age 50+) there are four ways to release equity from your property.

Lifetime mortgages are the most popular equity release plan. They allow you to release your money as either: a drawdown lifetime mortgage – where you are provided with an initial lump sum and a cash reserve facility - from which you can withdraw cash anytime in the future; or a simple lump sum lifetime mortgage – where you just to take all your money in one transaction.

Home reversion plans allow you to sell part, or all of your property to a reversion company. In exchange you receive a discounted cash lump sum and a guaranteed tenancy for life.

Both Retirement Interest Only Mortgages (RIO) and Retirement Mortgages are a form of over 50+ residential mortgage. They are income and affordability based on both pre and post retirement income. A RIO runs over your lifetime and repaid upon death or long-term care of the last survivor. Retirement mortgages are based on a fixed term of years and must be repaid at the end of the term.

With a lifetime mortgage, the amount you can borrow is based on the age of the youngest homeowner and the value of your property. Additionally, your property location and health records can affect your maximum loan.

For a detailed analysis of your borrowing potential - based on your personal details, our unique smartER research tool enables you to source products in your own time across the whole of the market.

Equity release is a fully regulated product and governed by the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

As an extra layer of consumer protection, all plans Compare Equity Release advise on, and our advisers meet the strict standards set by the Equity Release Council (ERC).

This ensures that products we recommend have all the features and standards the ERC state must be present. These include a no negative equity guarantee, the ability to make repayments and also being able to port your equity release loan to a new property.

You must be a homeowner age over 55 and your property will usually need to be of standard construction, freehold or leasehold (with at least 75 years remaining on the lease) and must be located within England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Eligibility criteria for each type of later life mortgages is dependent upon the following:

• Lifetime mortgage – minimum age of 55 and a main residence with a minimum valuation of £70,000. The minimum loan amount is £10,000. Any outstanding mortgage needs to be repaid prior, or upon completion of your new lifetime mortgage
• Home reversion – minimum age is usually 60, however under certain circumstances lenders can reduce to age 50. The property must be in England or Wales and a minimum valuation of £50,000.
• Retirement Interest Only Mortgages – start from age 50. Please contact for further details.

This can be broken down into costs incurred in setting up the plan and post completion costs.

The good news is there are many offers, and incentives provided by the lenders to help with set-up costs. These can include a free valuation; no application fee and some lenders even provide a monetary cashback on completion of the process.

The costs involved in setting up any plan will firstly involve obtaining a valuation report – conducted by an independent valuation officer. Next, your adviser may charge for their services and professional advice. Finally, you will need an independent solicitor who will charge for their legal services.

For in-depth detail of what lenders charge on their products why not use our smartER research tool which analyses the set-up costs of every equity release product across the whole of the market.

The answer is ‘yes’ and by switching plans can be a great way to either save money - by obtaining a lower interest rate, or when looking to borrow additional funds.

As interest rates have reduced, older plans maybe charging much higher interest rates than currently available. Switching your plan and obtaining a lower interest rate could therefore save £1000’s interest over the years & be of benefit to your heirs.

Our Compare Equity Release specialists can perform a switch analysis calculation to check whether it would be in your best interests to switch. Factors such as early repayment charges and new set up costs are all accounted for to establish that break-even point.

We provide further information on our dedicated switch plan page.