Borrowing into Retirement FAQ’s
To help give you more information and guidance on our Borrowing into Retirement products, we’ve put together answers to the following Frequently Asked Questions.
How much can I borrow?
The minimum loan we’ll consider is £25,000 and the maximum is £500,000. This is subject to the loan equalling no more than 60% of the valuation or purchase price of the property (whichever is the lower). This of course will depend on whether the amount proves to be affordable based on an assessment of your income and outgoings.
What income can be used to assess the affordability of the mortgage?
We can use pension income, self-employed income, employed income, investment income or a combination of these.
What happens if I’m working now but will retire during the term of the mortgage?
We’ll consider your application taking into account your ability to pay the mortgage both now and in the future by looking at your current income and projections of the income you’ll have in retirement.
Can the mortgage be in joint names?
Yes.
Can I borrow money for purposes other than home improvements?
Yes. There are a number of reasons you may wish to borrow money and we’ll consider lending for the purchase of a car, caravan, the deposit on another property, assisting family members, care home fees and consolidating other financial commitments.
Can I apply for a mortgage to do some improvements to my current home?
Yes, it is possible to borrow money to make improvements to your property whether that means taking a mortgage out on the property that you currently own outright or by moving your mortgage to us and borrowing more than your current mortgage amount to pay for the improvements.
What happens if I die before the end of the mortgage?
For any borrower of any age, we’d encourage you to take life assurance which would pay the mortgage off in full or in part at the time of death. However, if there was no life assurance in place, the mortgage debt could be paid from the sale of the property.
If the mortgage was in joint names and one of us died, what would happen to the mortgage?
When considering the application we would assess the affordability of each applicant should they survive the other, perhaps pension income would transfer to the survivor or the survivor would have enough income in their own right to afford the mortgage payments. If this wasn’t the case, we’d ask you to take legal advice before entering into the mortgage contract as it would be the obligation of the surviving borrower to continue to pay the monthly mortgage payments. You may consider the possibility of adding another family member to the mortgage or selling the property at this point.
Can I discuss this with someone without obligation?
Yes of course. We have qualified Mortgage Advisors who’d be delighted to explain borrowing into retirement in more detail for you and answer any further questions you may have. You can either speak to them on the telephone by calling 01509 389282 or if you prefer, you could arrange to speak to them in person.
Please be aware that our FAQs do not cover all aspects of our lending criteria, for further information or guidance please use our online contact form or telephone us on 01509 610707.
