Equity Release Reviews

“Are you trying to understand equity release? You are not alone – each month, over 7,000 people visit our website to learn about equity release. We know it can seem confusing, which is why we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll explain:

• What equity release is and how it works.
• How you can get a true quote.
• If equity release is a safe choice.
• The good and bad points of equity release.
• What other people think about equity release.

We trust this will help you feel more sure about equity release. We’re here to guide and support you every step of the way and provide helpful and clear information”.

Let’s dive in.

Is equity release a safe option?

Equity release is a legitimate and safe way of borrowing money in later life as long as you use a lender that is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Moreover, it is highly recommended that you only take financial advice from, and consider lenders, that are members of the Equity Release Council. This affords you additional protection and assurances. 

Equity release schemes reviews – what are people saying?

There is a lot of talk about equity release products online. Here are what some people have been saying on the MoneySavingExpert forum:

“Be wary of equity release. It is a high risk area (for advice) and it is on the list of areas that has the potential to be a mis-selling saga.”

Of course, you should be selective on the financial advice you receive as you consider a lifetime mortgage. There have been many instances of advisers, especially those who work directly for lenders, mis-selling lifetime mortgages. This might be because the adviser has not fully explained the costs, or because they have not explored alternative solutions for the client. Thankfully, the industry has a better reputation today. And it is best to use an adviser that is a member of the Equity Release Council. 

“High fees and higher rates- a way of the lenders finding a new market for profits. That said if you want to spend your equity- that’s your choice, just be careful. Use a financial adviser who has obtained the new specialist FSA authority for this “lifetime mortgage” area.”

This forum user is warning others against the high cost of equity release, including set-up costs and the actual cost of eventually repaying the loan. They also stress the importance of finding the right financial adviser as part of the process. 

“My parents took an equity release in 2006 and the interest rate is 6.2%.  Whilst the amount of equity released was minimal the amount owed is now quite substantial.”

Here we have another forum user with a first-hand example of how expensive lifetime mortgages can become due to the rolling interest. For example, if you were to take out £65,000 in equity with a 6.4% interest rate, after just 12 years of your lifetime mortgage, the new debt would be almost £137,000. 

Equity release company reviews

There are a lot of equity release companies to choose from in the UK, so making that decision can be difficult. Some of the most popular companies are More 2 Life, LV, Pure Retirement, One Family, Aviva and Nationwide Bank – among some other banks that also offer these products. 

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Find out how much equity you could release

You should be checking out what people say about these companies before applying. To give you a headstart on some of these companies, we’ve been searching for real reviews on their clients. Here’s what they had to say:

1. Pure Retirement

Pure Retirement only has three reviews on Trustpilot and all of these reviews are negative. However, the reviews stem from unhappy applicants that have had their applications rejected due to the reports from surveyors. For example:

“We had an equity release mortgage refused on the basis of a flawed surveyor report [..] we may have to spend large amounts of money refuting the erroneous claims.”

Although we cannot comment on whether the report was accurate or not, this is typical of Pure Retirement, which is extremely cautious in their approach to providing equity release – and is not a bad thing. This equity release provider only offers lifetime mortgages to clients who apply through independent financial advisers. 

2. More 2 Life

More 2 Life is another company that specialises in equity release. At the time of writing, they have over 330 equity release reviews on Trustpilot with an overall rating of 4.3 stars. This suggests that most clients are happy with the service and deal they have received. Here are some of the most interesting comments:

“I rang More2Life to enquire about paying interest on my recent Equity Release Loan (Lifetime Mortgage) that I had recently drawn. The lady who answered the call was called Emma and she was incredibly helpful and went the extra mile to fully explain what I needed to do and the options available.”

When searching the equity release reviews here, we did notice that nearly all of the positive reviews referenced staff names. This is slightly odd behaviour and may be a sign of fake reviews. Or it could be a request from the company to give credit to the staff. Either way, be somewhat cautious when reading these or other company reviews. 

3. One Family 

One Family is closing in on 900 Trustpilot reviews at the time of publication with a respectable score of 4.0 overall. Some of the company’s reviews centre around excellent customer service, such as:

“My impression was that the Adviser understood my fears about engaging in the process around lifetime mortgages. She was friendly from the start and easy to speak with.”

“When we decided to release equity from our house we found OneFamily online and we could not be happier with the experience. Andrea Coppard-Geal was our Advisor and she kept us fully informed of progress every step of the way.”

Should You Consider It?

Equity release is not a con. It is a legitimate method of borrowing money for older homeowners, and this money can be exceptionally useful to improve the quality of life in retirement. It may even be used to pay for private medical services and home improvements to make life easier. Some people consider it a con due to the amount needed to pay back at the end.