Lifetime mortgages 'adding value'

Posted: 29 Jun 2006 14:35:42 GMT

Lifetime mortgages are becoming an increasingly popular way to add value to homes, new research has revealed.

A study by Norwich Union has found that some 77 per cent of people use money released from lifetime mortgages to make improvements to their home, allowing greater quality of life and boosting the value of the property.

Homeowners with a lifetime mortgage borrow against the value of their home, with interest payments only made once the house is sold, the owners move in to care or die.

"[Equity release] is already helping thousands of people to make their retirement more comfortable, either by funding home improvements, filling any gaps in retirement income and making it possible for them to go on holiday," explained Daren Carter, director of sales and marketing at Norwich Union personal finance.

Improving income (31 per cent) and buying a car (26 per cent) were the two other main reasons behind equity release.


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