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Equity release allows individuals aged 55 or over to release equity from their property, without having to make any monthly repayments. Our solicitor is available from 18/11/2024* and we offer independent Equity Release legal advice for all mortgage lenders who allow advice by video conference.
Our Fixed Fee is £299 INC VAT for the first borrower and £180 INC VAT for each additional borrower.
Does your Lender accept ILA by video conference?
Some mortgage lenders will not accept independent legal advice provided by video conference. It is your responsibility to check that they will accept a signature which has been witnessed by video conference. If your certificate is refused by your mortgage lender because your independent legal advice was conducted by video conference, Parachute Law reserves the right to withhold any refund of our fees.
Which lenders can we NOT help with?
- Canada Life
- Foundation Home Loans
- More2Life
- Together Money
- Together Commercial Finance Limited
There are two types of equity release, a Lifetime Mortgage or a Home Reversion Plan.
- Lifetime Mortgage - You take out a mortgage on all or some of the value of your house. The interest on the mortgage is compounded, so that you do not have to make any monthly payments (you can choose to make interest only payments if you wish). The value of the mortgage plus interest is payable from your estate upon death, or, when you move into long term care.
- Home Reversion Plan - You sell all or part of your house to a Provider, who will pay you a tax free cash lump sum (or regular payments), taking your life expectancy into account. You continue to live in your home as if it were your own (rent free) for the rest of your life.
It is important to fully understand the risks and implications of these options before you agree. Legal advice is mandatory for all legal owners of the property. Each owner must receive legal advice and the advice must be provided by a separate solicitor than the one handling the Equity Release for the Provider.
Our solicitor offers specialist Independent Legal Advice for your Equity Release.
You will need to make sure that your provider will accept Independent Legal Advice provided by video conference.
This service is available at a Fixed Fee of £299 INC VAT for the first property owner and £180 INC VAT for any owners of the property booked during the same appointment time.
Get Independent Legal Advice
- Remote video bookings available
- Slots from 9am to 5pm (we can work out of hours for additional fee)
- Fast turnaround
- Rated Excellent on Trustpilot
Qualified Solicitors | Competitive Quotes | Straight Talking Legal Support
Frequently Asked Questions
You do not simply get the full value of your property. You must have legal advice to ensure that you understand what you're getting and what you are giving up, in return for the cash.
What is the catch? Here are a list of some of the risks that may be included within the terms:
- You will receive far less than market value. Of course this is weighed against the savings of having to find somewhere else to live, if you were to simply sell.
- You might end up owing far more than you borrowed. Even if you only take an equity release on a part of your property, you could end up owing the full value of the property, leaving no inheritance for your next of kin.
- Having lots of money in your account may reduce the benefits you are entitled to, including help with the cost of care.. Equity in your home will not be factored into means testing, but once it has been released as cash, it will.
Your provider will set the interest rate. For a lifetime mortgage this must be fixed rate or, if variable, it must be capped. The longer you live, the more compound interest will build up. At around 5 per cent interest, the amount you owe would double every 15 years.
This depends on your situation. You will need to speak to a financial advisor and seriously consider how badly you need to release the funds and how important it is for you to leave an inheritance after you die.
There are also some options which could be less expensive. For example: You can get several smaller lifetime mortgages, so that you're not adding compound interest on the full amount for the full time.
Our advice certificates do not expire.
If your Provider has requested a more recent advice certificate, even if your circumstances have not changed, then this must mean that your offer/agreement has been reissued with a more recent date.
Even if the terms of the offer have not changed, we cannot amend the date of your advice certificate as this advice was valid for the expired offer. We would need to provide advice on the re-issued offer and provide a new certificate dated for the new advice.
We understand that this may be frustrating. If neither your circumstances, nor the terms of the offer have changed, we are able to offer you a new appointment and certificate for the reduced cost of £180. This cost includes the solicitors review of the reissued offer, to confirm that the terms have not changed.
The purpose of independent legal advice is to make sure that you understand the risks and implications of your lifetime mortgage or home reversion plan and that the decision is yours and yours alone. The adviser must be able confidently to confirm that you are not being coerced into signing the documents.
If you are not on your own during the equity release legal advice meeting, then the solicitor will stop the meeting and you will need to rebook at a time where you are alone at a cost of £120 INC VAT. We will not refund any fee to you if you don't rebook.
