Compare Equity Release to other ways of raising an income in retirement and you will see there are some very interesting alternatives. The page Equity Release Alternatives goes in to more details, but there is one scheme I would really like to raise your attention to because it is really not a good idea at all.
The plans to avoid are the ones where you actually sell your entire house to a company who then let you rent it back from them. These schemes are not regulated by the FSA. They do not provide you with any consumer protection and you need to avoid them like the plague.
There are examples where unscrupulous individuals or companies have offered these schemes, only to throw out the tenants who sold them the house in the first place. They get evicted when they cannot keep the rent up and – guess what – it was the new owners who have put the up a lot in the first place.
Only ever go for a scheme that is A0 regulated by the FSA and B) under the SHIP scheme.
You can sleep at night if you do so.
Tags: Compare Equity Release