Equity Release & Lifetime Mortgage Advice
Considering releasing money from your home? Our specialist Lifetime Mortgage advisers can help you understand how equity release works, the costs and risks involved, and whether it could be suitable for your circumstances.
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Equity Release and Lifetime Mortgages: How Do They Work?
Equity release is a way of accessing some of the value tied up in your home without having to sell it and move.
There are different types of equity release. At Delta Mortgages, we specialise in advising on lifetime mortgages. We don’t advise on Home Reversion plans, which involve selling part or all of your home to a third party.
A lifetime mortgage is a long-term loan secured against your home. You continue to own your property, and depending on the type of lifetime mortgage you choose, you may not have to make monthly repayments.
If you choose not to pay the interest, it’s normally added to the mortgage. This means interest is then charged on both the original amount borrowed and the interest already added, so the amount owed can increase significantly over time.
The lifetime mortgage is normally repaid when the last borrower dies or moves permanently into long-term care, usually from the sale of the property.
Lifetime mortgages can provide useful flexibility, but they’re a significant long-term financial commitment. They can reduce the value of your estate, affect entitlement to means-tested benefits and limit some of your options in the future.
That’s why specialist advice is important.
Lifetime Mortgages at a Glance
You continue to own your home - A lifetime mortgage is secured against your property, but ownership remains with you.
Minimum ages vary between lenders - Providers set their own eligibility criteria, with minimum ages commonly starting between 50 and 55. The amount available to borrow typically increases the older you are (for joint borrowers, it's based on the age of the youngest borrower).
You may be able to take a lump sum or draw funds gradually - The options available will depend on the lender and product.
Monthly repayments may be optional - Some lifetime mortgages allow interest to roll up instead, although this increases the amount owed over time.
Existing mortgages usually need to be repaid - Any mortgage or other secured lending against the property will normally need to be repaid when the lifetime mortgage completes.
A lifetime mortgage is normally repaid when the last borrower dies or moves permanently into long-term care - usually from the sale of the property.
Your inheritance may be reduced - The lifetime mortgage and any accumulated interest will normally be repaid from your property.
Means-tested benefits can be affected - Releasing money from your home could change your entitlement to certain benefits.
It’s designed as a long-term arrangement - Repaying a lifetime mortgage early can sometimes result in an early repayment charge.
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How Our Lifetime Mortgage Advice Works
We’ll guide you through the process and make sure you understand both the immediate and long-term implications before you make a decision.
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Application, Valuation and Legal Work
If you decide to proceed, we’ll arrange the application and keep you updated throughout the process.
The lender will usually arrange a valuation of your property and your solicitor will deal with the legal aspects of the lifetime mortgage.
We’ll liaise with the lender and other parties involved to help keep everything moving.
Timescales vary depending on the lender, valuation, legal work, property and individual circumstances, so we won’t promise a completion date until we know more about your case.
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We Research Your Options and Make a Recommendation
If a lifetime mortgage appears suitable, we’ll research the options available to us and recommend a product based on your individual needs and circumstances.
We’ll explain the interest rate, fees, early repayment charges, repayment options and any important product features.
You’ll also receive a personalised illustration showing how the lifetime mortgage could work and how the amount owed may increase over time.
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Speak to a Lifetime Mortgage Adviser
Your first conversation is about understanding you, not choosing a product.
We’ll discuss what you’re hoping to achieve, your finances, your property, your future plans and anything else that could affect your decision.
We’ll also consider potential alternatives to a lifetime mortgage. Depending on your circumstances, these could include using other assets, downsizing, a conventional or later-life mortgage, a Retirement Interest-Only mortgage, or not borrowing at all.
If you’d like a family member or trusted person involved in the conversation, we’re happy for them to join you.
At Delta Mortgages, we believe equity release should be straightforward and stress-free. Our advisers are here to provide experienced guidance—so you can make the right decision with complete peace of mind.
Is a Lifetime Mortgage Right for You?
There isn’t one answer that applies to everyone.
People consider lifetime mortgages for lots of different reasons, including:
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repaying an existing mortgage
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making improvements or adaptations to their home
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supplementing their finances in retirement
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helping children or grandchildren financially
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funding significant one-off expenditure
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consolidating existing borrowing
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accessing money while remaining in their home.
But wanting to release money doesn’t automatically mean a lifetime mortgage is the most suitable solution.
For example, turning shorter-term unsecured debts into long-term borrowing secured against your home could considerably increase the overall cost, particularly where interest is allowed to compound for many years.
We’ll look at what you need the money for, what other options are available, your income and assets, your plans for the future, and the potential long-term cost; before making a recommendation.
What Protections Can a Lifetime Mortgage Have?
Lifetime mortgage products that meet the Equity Release Council’s product standards include important safeguards.
A no-negative-equity guarantee
When your property is eventually sold and the relevant sale costs have been paid, neither you nor your estate will have to pay more than the property is worth.
The right to remain in your home
You can normally remain in your property for life or until you move permanently into long-term care, provided it remains your main residence and you comply with the terms of the mortgage.
The ability to move home
You have the right to move the lifetime mortgage to another property, subject to the new property being acceptable to the lender.
Interest-rate protection
The interest rate for each release must either be fixed or, if variable, have an upper limit fixed for the life of the loan.
Penalty-free repayment options
New lifetime mortgages meeting the Equity Release Council’s standards must provide a right to make penalty-free payments, subject to the lender’s criteria.
Important Things to Consider Before Taking a Lifetime Mortgage
A lifetime mortgage can provide access to money tied up in your property, but there are important disadvantages and risks to understand.
Interest can compound
If you don’t pay the interest, it’s added to the balance. Interest is then charged on the increased amount.
Over a long period, this can significantly increase the amount that needs to be repaid.
It will normally reduce the value of your estate
The lifetime mortgage, accumulated interest and any applicable charges will normally be repaid from your property, leaving less for your beneficiaries.
Some products offer inheritance protection features, but these can affect the amount you’re able to borrow.
It could affect means-tested benefits
Receiving a lump sum or retaining money in savings could affect your eligibility for means-tested benefits or other support.
We’ll discuss this with you and, where appropriate, recommend that you obtain specialist benefits advice.
Early repayment charges may apply
Lifetime mortgages are designed as long-term products. If you later decide to repay the mortgage, an early repayment charge could apply depending on the product and circumstances.
Moving home may affect the mortgage
You may be able to transfer your lifetime mortgage to another property, but the new property must meet the lender’s criteria.
If you downsize, you may also need to repay some of the borrowing.
It could affect your future options
It could affect your future options
Borrowing against your home now could reduce the equity available to you later.
This can be important if your circumstances change, you want to move, need further borrowing or have future care needs.
There may be other ways to achieve your objective
A lifetime mortgage shouldn’t be considered in isolation. We’ll also look at reasonable alternatives and explain their advantages and disadvantages.
Equity Release & Lifetime Mortgage FAQs
Eligibility varies between lenders and products.
Things lenders commonly consider include:
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your age, or the age of the youngest applicant if borrowing jointly
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the value of your property
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the type and construction of the property
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its condition
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where the property is located
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whether it’s your main residence
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any existing mortgage or other secured borrowing.
Minimum age requirements vary between providers and commonly start at around 50 to 55.
Lenders also set their own minimum property values and property criteria, so being declined by one provider doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t other options available.
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There isn’t a single percentage that applies across the market.
The amount available will depend on factors including:
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the age of the youngest applicant
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your property value
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the lender and product
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the type and location of the property
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the amount you want to release.
Some providers may also take certain health or lifestyle factors into account when determining how much they’re prepared to lend.
We can calculate the amount potentially available once we know more about you and your property.
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Interest rates vary between lenders and products.
If you choose a lifetime mortgage where you don’t make interest payments, the interest will normally be added to the outstanding loan. The following period’s interest is then calculated on the increased balance.
This compounding effect means the amount owed can grow substantially over time.
Some lifetime mortgages allow you to make voluntary payments or pay some or all of the interest, which can reduce the amount that builds up.
If we recommend a lifetime mortgage, you’ll receive a personalised illustration showing the rate, costs and how the balance could change over time.
Yes, but the lifetime mortgage needs to be dealt with as part of the move.
If your new property meets your lender’s criteria, you may be able to transfer, or “port”, the lifetime mortgage to it.
If you’re moving to a lower-value property, you may need to repay part of the loan. Some types of property may also be unacceptable to a particular lender.
If you’re thinking about moving in the future, tell us. We can take this into account when considering suitable products.
Potentially, yes.
Any existing mortgage or other secured borrowing will normally need to be repaid when your lifetime mortgage completes.
This can sometimes be repaid from the money released through the lifetime mortgage, with any remaining funds paid to you. You could also use other funds to repay some or all of the existing mortgage.
This can be particularly relevant for homeowners with an interest-only mortgage approaching the end of its term, who don’t want to sell their home in order to repay the outstanding balance.
Whether this is suitable will depend on the amount outstanding, your other options, and the long-term cost of replacing your existing mortgage with a lifetime mortgage.
There isn’t one maximum age that applies across the whole market.
Each lender has its own age criteria and some providers accept applications at considerably older ages than others.
Age can also affect the percentage of the property's value that a lender is prepared to lend.
We’ll check the criteria of suitable providers based on your individual circumstances.
The main disadvantage is usually the potential long-term cost.
Where interest isn’t paid, it compounds and the balance can increase considerably over time.
Other considerations include:
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reducing the value of your estate and potential inheritance
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affecting entitlement to means-tested benefits
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early repayment charges if the loan is repaid in certain circumstances
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reducing the equity available for future borrowing
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affecting your options if you later want to downsize or move
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lender conditions relating to the property and how it’s maintained
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the potential cost of converting shorter-term debts into borrowing that could remain outstanding for many years.
These don’t automatically mean a lifetime mortgage is unsuitable, but they need to be properly considered before proceeding.
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Depending on your circumstances, alternatives could include:
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using existing savings or other assets
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using income rather than borrowing
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downsizing to release equity from your home
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a conventional residential mortgage
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a later-life mortgage
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a Retirement Interest-Only mortgage
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financial help from family
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checking your entitlement to benefits or grants
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delaying or reducing the amount you intend to spend
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considering different ways of dealing with existing debts.
Some of these options can have their own tax, investment, legal or financial consequences.
Part of our advice process is understanding why you want to release money, and considering reasonable alternatives before recommending a lifetime mortgage.
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It depends on the product.
Many lifetime mortgages allow you to make no regular monthly payments. Instead, the interest is added to the mortgage and repaid later.
Other products allow or require payments, and many provide the flexibility to make voluntary repayments.
Making payments can significantly reduce the amount of interest that accumulates over the lifetime of the mortgage.
We’ll explain the repayment options offered by any product we recommend.
A drawdown lifetime mortgage allows you to take an initial amount and potentially access further money later from an agreed facility, rather than taking everything in one lump sum.
For example, if a lender agrees a total facility of £70,000, you might initially release £20,000 and leave the remaining amount available for future use.
You would normally only pay interest on money once it has actually been released (so just on the £20,000 in this example).
That can reduce the amount of interest accumulating compared with taking the whole £70,000 immediately, when you don’t yet need it.
Future withdrawals remain subject to the terms of the product and lender. The interest rate applying to a later withdrawal may also be different from the rate applying to the original release.
We can compare lump-sum and drawdown options based on how and when you expect to need the money.
There isn’t a guaranteed completion timescale.
A lifetime mortgage application will usually involve:
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receiving specialist advice
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making an application
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a property valuation
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underwriting by the lender, whose timescales can vary
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legal work and advice
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a formal mortgage offer
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completion.
Straightforward applications can complete relatively quickly, while property, title, valuation or legal issues can make the process take longer.
If you have a particular deadline you’re hoping to receive the money by, tell us at the outset so we can factor this into the process and manage expectations around timescales.
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A lifetime mortgage is normally repaid when the last borrower dies or moves permanently into long-term care.
In most cases, the property is then sold and the lifetime mortgage, any accumulated interest, and any applicable charges are repaid from the sale proceeds.
For a joint lifetime mortgage, the loan would usually remain in place while one borrower continues to live in the property as their main residence.
The exact process and timescales will depend on the lender and the terms of the mortgage.
For a joint lifetime mortgage, it normally continues until the last remaining borrower dies or moves permanently into long-term care.
At that point, the lifetime mortgage becomes repayable.
In most cases, the property is then sold and the mortgage, accumulated interest, and any applicable charges are repaid from the sale proceeds. Any money remaining belongs to the estate.
Alternatively, a family member or beneficiary may choose to repay the outstanding balance from other funds if they want to keep the property, subject to the lender’s redemption requirements and timescales.
The exact process and timescales will be set out by the lender.
Where a lifetime mortgage meets Equity Release Council standards, the no-negative-equity guarantee means your estate won’t have to repay more than the property is worth after the relevant sale costs have been taken into account.
Yes, but an early repayment charge may apply.
How these charges are calculated and how long they apply varies considerably between products.
Lifetime mortgages can also have circumstances where an early repayment charge isn’t payable, and many lenders allow a certain level of voluntary repayment without a penalty.
If you think there’s a realistic possibility that you’ll want to repay the mortgage early, this is particularly important to discuss before choosing a product.
There isn’t one lifetime mortgage provider that is best for everybody.
Different lenders have different:
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interest rates
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age requirements
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loan-to-value limits
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property criteria
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early repayment charges
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drawdown facilities
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inheritance protection options
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repayment features.
The lowest interest rate also won’t automatically be the most suitable product if its other features don’t meet your needs.
We’ll compare suitable lifetime mortgage options based on your circumstances, rather than simply looking at a headline rate.
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Money borrowed through a lifetime mortgage isn’t normally treated as income, and is therefore not normally subject to income tax when you receive it.
However, what you subsequently do with the money can have tax consequences.
For example, investment returns could be taxable, and gifting money to other people can have inheritance tax implications.
Holding the released money as savings could also affect means-tested benefits.
Where tax planning forms part of what you’re considering, you should obtain appropriate tax advice.
Yes, potentially. Some lifetime mortgages offer an inheritance protection feature, which allows you to ring-fence a percentage of your home’s future value to leave to your beneficiaries.
The trade-off is that protecting part of the property’s value will usually reduce the amount you’re able to borrow.
You may also be able to reduce how quickly the mortgage balance grows by making voluntary payments towards the interest or capital, depending on the product.
Whether inheritance protection is suitable will depend on how much you want to release now, how important leaving an inheritance is to you, and the features available from suitable lenders.
Absolutely! A lifetime mortgage can affect the value of your estate and may be an important family decision, so we encourage clients to involve family members or somebody they trust where they feel comfortable doing so.
They can join meetings, ask questions, and hear the explanations alongside you.
However, you remain our client, and the decision is yours. We won’t discuss your personal or financial information with a family member or other third party without your consent.
If you’d like us to speak to someone on your behalf, we can agree with you what information you’re happy for us to share.
There’s no requirement to involve your family, but many clients find it helpful to have someone they trust included in the conversation.
Yes. Before a lifetime mortgage completes, you’ll need to receive independent legal advice so that the legal implications, your rights and obligations, and the terms of the arrangement are explained to you before you proceed.
There will also be conveyancing work to complete the mortgage. This can include checking the title to your property, arranging repayment of any existing secured borrowing, and registering the new lender’s legal charge against the property at HM Land Registry.
In many cases, the same solicitor or legal firm can deal with both the independent legal advice and the conveyancing work, although different solicitors may sometimes be involved depending on the circumstances.
This legal advice is separate from the financial advice you receive from us, and provides an important additional safeguard within the lifetime mortgage process.
Still unsure if equity release is right for you?
That’s completely fine.
Speaking to an adviser doesn’t commit you to taking a lifetime mortgage, and there's no fee for an initial chat.
We'll take the time to learn what you want to achieve, explain the options and alternatives available, and help you understand the potential costs and risks.
How Delta Mortgages Can Help With Lifetime Mortgage Advice
You’ve worked hard for your home. It’s more than bricks and mortar – it’s your security, your memories and, for many people, one of their biggest financial assets.
If you’re considering equity release, getting specialist advice can help you understand whether it’s suitable for your circumstances, what alternatives are available, and which options could meet your needs.
At Delta Mortgages, we provide specialist equity release advice on lifetime mortgages. We don’t advise on Home Reversion plans.
With a lifetime mortgage, you continue to own your home while borrowing against some of its value. The money released is usually tax-free, although taking equity from your home can affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits and will normally reduce the value of the estate you leave behind.
We know equity release can feel like a big decision, so we’ll explain how it works, the costs and risks involved, and the alternatives available; clearly and without any pressure. We also encourage you to involve your family in the conversation where you feel comfortable doing so.
Compare Lifetime Mortgage Rates and Features
We’ll research suitable lifetime mortgage options available to us and compare the rates, costs, criteria and product features that matter to you.
Clear, Specialist Advice
We’ll explain the details in straightforward language and give you the time you need to consider your options and ask questions.
Our equity release advisers have all achieved a specialist qualification in equity release, so you’ll be speaking to an adviser with specialist knowledge of these products and the considerations involved.
Lump Sum, Drawdown and Repayment Options
Depending on your circumstances, we can consider different lifetime mortgage structures, including lump-sum borrowing, drawdown facilities, and products that allow payments towards the interest or capital.
Planning for the Future
We’ll consider more than what you need today.
Your future plans, inheritance wishes, possible house moves, benefits, access to further borrowing, and other financial resources can all influence whether a lifetime mortgage is suitable and which features are important.
Support From Application to Completion
If you decide to proceed, we’ll manage the mortgage application, liaise with the lender and keep you updated as the valuation and legal work progress.
You’ll still receive independent legal advice from your solicitor as part of the process.
Equity release isn’t suitable for everyone. If a lifetime mortgage is appropriate for your circumstances, we’ll explain the suitable options available and make sure you understand the costs, features and risks before you decide whether to proceed.
This is a lifetime mortgage. To understand the features and risks, ask for a personalised illustration.
Written and reviewed by: Lauren Drake
Credentials: Mortgage, Protection & Equity Release Adviser – CertCII (MP & ER)
Date last reviewed: 08 October 2026
This page has been reviewed for accuracy and relevance. Mortgage criteria, product availability and legislation can change.
