FAQs

Your lifetime mortgage is a type of equity release that allowed you to borrow money against the value of your home. You either borrowed a lump sum or opted to receive a monthly income (or both). You don’t need to make any monthly payments and don’t have to pay back the outstanding balance until the last borrower named on the mortgage moves into long-term care or passes away.

Your lifetime mortgage doesn’t have a specific end date. You only need to pay back the loan when the last borrower named on the mortgage moves into long-term care or passes away.

Yes, you can. You can pay by debit card over the phone or using our self-serve facility, by bank transfer or cheque.

If you send us a cheque, please remember to write your account number on the back.

Making payments towards your lifetime mortgage means you can save money on the interest you pay by reducing the amount you owe. You should only make payments if you can afford to do so. If you’re unsure whether making payments is right for you, you may wish to seek independent financial advice to help you with your decision.

Yes, you can. You’ll need to write to us to give us the new bank details that you want us to send the payments to. Your letter must be signed by all people named on the mortgage.  If you’re unable to provide your signature, please call us on 0330 159 7152 so we can look at other ways for you to make your request. Phone lines are open Monday to Friday 08:30am – 6:00pm.

Yes, you can pay off your lifetime mortgage at any time. To find out how much you owe and how to make the payment, you will need a redemption statement. You can request one by:

Yes, but first you’ll need to give us your authority. Visit the Update your details section on our Manage Account page and select ‘Giving someone third-party authority’ for information on how you can do this.

Your mortgage is an ‘interest roll-up’ mortgage. This means the interest is added to your outstanding balance each month and you don’t need to make any monthly payments to pay it back. You can find out what the interest rate is on your lifetime mortgage by checking your original mortgage offer or by calling us on 0330 159 7152. Phone lines are open between 8:30am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday.

You can stop the income payments at any time, but once we’ve stopped them they can’t be restarted. So, it’s important to be sure that you no longer require the monthly income before you ask us to do this. Interest will continue to be charged to the outstanding balance.

You’ll need to write to us and tell us that you want to stop the income payments. Your letter must be signed by all people named on the mortgage. If you’re unable to provide your signature, please call us on 0330 159 7152 so we can look at other ways for you to make your request. Phone lines are open Monday to Friday 08:30am – 6:00pm.

Your lifetime mortgage has a ‘No Negative Equity Guarantee’.  This means that if the sale price isn’t enough to pay off the outstanding balance, we won’t ask for the difference to be paid (known as a ‘shortfall’).

If you’re worried that the sale price of your property won’t be enough to pay off your lifetime mortgage, you should let us know straight away. We’ll need to approve any sale for less than the outstanding balance. When considering whether to approve the sale, we’ll carry out an independent valuation of the property to make sure that you’re selling it for a fair price. The ‘No Negative Equity Guarantee’ requires the property to have been properly maintained. If it’s been allowed to fall into disrepair, we’ll ask for the shortfall to be paid.

No. The terms and conditions of your lifetime mortgage require you to live in the property. If you want to rent out the property, you’ll need to repay the outstanding mortgage balance.