Are you a Santander customer with an interest-only mortgage? Do you wish to retire but you are concerned you won’t be able to meet your monthly mortgage repayments? Then you might have heard that releasing equity is one way to pay your interest-only mortgage back. And it’s true. However, depending on your age, you can typically release around 40% of the total value of your home.

If you are already a customer of Santander, it might seem logical to take out equity release through Santander.  However, Santander does not offer equity release, but typically refers its customers to specialist insurance companies that do, such as Legal & General, which is only one lender amongst many, so restricting yourself to just one lender may mean you miss out on a better deal elsewhere.

Equity release will allow you to release funds without the obligation to make monthly payments.  You only pay it back when you die or go into long-term care, whichever is sooner. However, you can limit the amount your estate will have to pay back when you die or go into care by selecting the best possible deal. We feel the way to do this is via an independent financial advisor, one who can search the ‘whole of the market’.

Although Santander does not directly offer equity release, there are tens of insurance companies that do. Thus, you really need to shop around for the best deal, and one of our partner advisors can assist you with this. All you pay is a one-off advisory fee, typically in the range of £900-£1500.

Regardless of whether you go with an advisor or go direct through a lender, you must also typically pay the solicitor’s fee. You are free to instruct your own solicitor if you wish.

Complete the equity release calculator below to find out how much you can borrow.