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Nationwide Equity Release Review

Are you considering taking out an equity release loan with Nationwide?

We have compiled a nationwide equity release review to offer you the full picture of taking out a Nationwide equity release plan.

We will go into equity release as a type of loan, what it is, why you would take one out, and what Nationwide offers as an equity release lender.

After reading our Nationwide equity release review you might have more questions that you want to ask. Here at Equity Release Warehouse, our team of advisors is happy to chat through all of your questions.

Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579

About Nationwide

Nationwide is one of the largest building societies in the UK, offering thousands of loans and mortgages to its 16.3 million members [1].

During our Nationwide equity release review we uncovered that Nationwide differs from other UK high-street banks. Nationwide is a building society – meaning that it is run by its members, for its members. Most other high-street banks are owned by shareholders on the stock exchange.

If you are interested in Nationwide equity release, you have to be a member to qualify for an equity release loan.

To become a member of Nationwide and qualify for Nationwide equity release, you need to have one of the following Nationwide products [2]:

  • Current account
  • Mortgage
  • Savings account
  • Business savings account

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​​What is Equity Release?

Equity release is a type of loan that is lent by providers, such as Nationwide, that is associated with the amount of equity that has been built up in your home.

Equity release is secured against the value of your property. This is a combination of the amount of your mortgage that you have paid off and any capital gain in your home’s value increasing over the years.

So the chances are that the longer you have been in your home, the more equity that you will have stored in your home.

Equity release is an increasingly popular way for people who own their own homes to access large sums of money. People can access hundreds of thousands of pounds through equity release.

Equity release has gained popularity in large because most equity release loans are not required to be repaid whilst you are alive. Equity release plans are designed for people over the age of 55 to access large sums of cash to make their retirement more comfortable.

A big part of this is the peace of mind that you will not need to repay any of the loan back until after you pass away.

There are a variety of equity release products in the market. Each product is suited to specific circumstances.

The two most popular equity release products are lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans.

We have carried out a Nationwide equity release review to assess their most popular equity release plans, including lifetime mortgages.

Before you apply for an equity release plan, you can speak with an equity release advisor at Equity Release Warehouse to talk through your circumstances and find the best plan for you.

Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579

What Does Nationwide Offer?

During the Nationwide Equity Release Review, we found the most popular products on offer by Nationwide, including Nationwide equity release.

Nationwide offers its members a tax-free lump sum lifetime mortgage. This comes with a fixed interest rate for the rest of your life and is repaid upon the sale of your house when you pass away or move into full-time residential care. You do have the opportunity to make voluntary repayments to reduce the loan amount.

The amount that you can borrow with Nationwide for a lifetime mortgage depends on your age, the amount of equity you have in your house and the value of your home.

Our Nationwide equity release review uncovered two other forms of equity release plans that Nationwide offer: retirement interest-only mortgage and retirement capital and interest mortgage.

A retirement interest-only mortgage is very similar to an interest-only mortgage that you may have taken out to purchase a house in the past.

Unlike Nationwide’s lifetime mortgage, an interest-only mortgage does require regular payments. However, a retirement interest-only mortgage does not have an end date. You will repay the interest on the loan until you either pass away or move into full-time residential care.

This could be the right choice for you if you want to avoid your beneficiaries from paying large amounts of interest when your house is sold.

Nationwide’s retirement capital and interest mortgage work similarly to the interest-only mortgage. It differs in that you repay some of the capital borrowed as part of the regular payments.

This could be right for you if you want to reduce the size of your outstanding loan even further and leave your beneficiaries with a larger inheritance.

If you are interested in equity release but are unsure which Nationwide equity release plan is best for you, then speak to a member of the Equity Release Warehouse team for more information.

Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579

Are You Eligible for Equity Release?

Equity release is an increasingly popular way of accessing large sums of cash for people nearing retirement age. As the industry has grown, general rules of thumb for who will qualify for equity release have emerged.

Generally, if you are over the age of 55 and own your home in the UK, you will have a good chance of qualifying for an equity release plan with most lenders.

Our Nationwide equity release review found that Nationwide shares some of these standard eligibility criteria, along with some further benefits for Nationwide members.

To be eligible for equity release through Nationwide, you need to be aged between 55 and 85 years old. However, the maximum age increases to 95 years old if you are an existing Nationwide mortgage holder.

You must be a homeowner in the UK to qualify for any Nationwide equity release plan. This does not include shared ownership or right-to-buy homeowners.

If you want to apply for a retirement interest-only mortgage or a retirement interest and capital mortgage, you will be required to be in receipt of some form of pension.

If you are concerned about your eligibility for a Nationwide equity release plan, then speak to a member of the Equity Release Warehouse team for more information.

Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579

Why Would You Apply For Equity Release?

Everyone has their own reason for considering equity release. There is no one right reason and it is a good idea to discuss your reasons with an equity release advisor.

A very popular reason for equity release is so that people can use some or all of the equity to offer financial support to their family. If you are over 55 years old, then you will most likely have adult children and young grandchildren, who you might wish to help financially.

If you take out an equity release plan then you could use your money to help with your child’s or grandchild’s house deposit, to help them get on the ladder themselves.

Likewise, the money could be used to go towards education tuition fees to help pay off tuition fees or help them through education.

Equity release funds can be used to make your living situation a little more comfortable. You could undertake home renovations, or install an extension to your house, to make it a more enjoyable space to live in.

You may be in a position that requires special equipment to be installed around the house to help with mobility issues. You can use equity release funds to have specialist equipment installed or the floor plan modified.

People tend to use the money to undertake home renovation work as it not only makes your living more comfortable, but it will most likely increase the value of your property.

This can offer peace of mind knowing that the amount of money left over from the house sale will cover the equity release loan and maybe have some left over to pass on to your family.

If you are considering equity release, then you should share your spending plans with an equity release advisor, so that they can recommend the most appropriate equity release plan for you.

Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579

Why Choose Nationwide for Equity Release?

As well as being able to take advantage of some of the spending plans above, Nationwide also offers some further benefits to its equity release products.

1. No Negative Equity Guarantee

Nationwide equity release lifetime mortgage plan comes with a ‘no negative equity guarantee’.

This means that when the time comes to sell your property and pay off the outstanding equity release loan, the amount paid back will never be more than the total amount of the house’s value – even if the loan amount and interest come to more than the amount of the sale price.

This can offer you a huge piece of mind that if you take out a Nationwide equity release plan, your family won’t be expected to pay any of your loan amounts.

2. No Fees

If you qualify for a Nationwide equity release plan, there will be no set-up fees to pay.

Typically, you can expect to pay over £1,000 for the valuation fees and product fees of an equity release product. However, our Nationwide equity release review found that there are no fees for Nationwide’s products.

3. Free Mortgage Advice

As well as paying no fees for the equity release product, Nationwide also offers free specialist mortgage advice.

Nationwide has equity release mortgage advisers that can talk through equity release and if it is the right option for you. They are also able to help you navigate through all of their products and which could be the most appropriate.

There is no obligation to apply for a Nationwide equity release loan even if you receive free mortgage advice.

4. Cashback on Completion

If you decide to take out a Nationwide equity release lifetime mortgage, you will receive £1,000 cashback upon completion.

You are free to use this money any way you see fit. Nationwide advise that you put this cashback towards the legal costs of the solicitors.

5. Maximum Loan Amount of £1 million

Most equity release lenders have a minimum and maximum amount of equity that you can release from your property.

At Nationwide, the maximum equity amount that you can release is £1 million. So if you have a large property and would like to receive a large sum of equity, Nationwide could be the lender for you.

6. Flexible Repayments

You are not obliged to make any repayments with a Nationwide equity release lifetime mortgage. However, interest will compound on the loan amount and can easily outstrip the original loan amount if enough time passes.

Nationwide offers the option to repay up to 10% of the loan amount each year without incurring any early repayment charges. This can help bring down the overall cost of the loan, leaving your family with less to repay on the sale of your property.

Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579

Does Nationwide Have an Equity Release Calculator?

There is not a Nationwide equity release online calculator at this moment in time.

Instead, you can use the Equity Release Warehouse equity release calculator to discover how much money you could release from your home. You can use the results from the equity release calculator to form the basis of a discussion with an equity release advisor.

Keep in mind that Nationwide may offer slightly different amounts to those on show from the Equity Release Warehouse equity release calculator. This is because Nationwide has their own equity release products and qualifying factors that impact the deal that you could access.

For help using the equity release calculator and to understand how much equity release you could access from your property, give one of our equity release advisors a call.

Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579

Is Nationwide Equity Release Safe?

Equity release is a highly regulated sector in the UK with protection being offered to consumers from two main agencies. There are strict regulations in place to make sure that both equity release advisors and equity release providers are following the rules and regulations of the industry.

The equity release industry is monitored and regulated by two agencies: the Equity Release Council [3] and the Financial Conduct Authority [4].

Before engaging with an equity release advisor or an equity release lender, it is worth asking them if they are accredited by either of these two agencies.

Our Nationwide equity release review confirmed that Nationwide is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority.

If you are considering applying for equity release but would like to know more about the regulations surrounding equity release , then speak with an equity release advisor so that they can offer you more information on equity release rules and regulations.

Get in touch today with a member of the Equity Release Warehouse team for help and support.

Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579

Alternatives to Equity Release

Ultimately, equity release is just one way to access cash that you want to use for future plans. The reason that equity release is so popular is because of the large amount of cash that you can access through the equity in your home.

Not everyone is able to qualify for equity release. If you are under 55 years of age, or don’t own your own home outright, then you will fail to qualify for any equity release product.

Therefore, it is important to understand what your alternatives are for accessing large sums of cash.

Some alternatives to equity release include:

  • Personal cash savings
  • Downsizing your property to retain any excess cash
  • Taking out a bank loan
  • Utilising a credit card
  • Getting a personal loan from family or friends
  • Peer-to-peer lending
  • Government and local authority grants

It is important that you speak with a financial professional when considering borrowing large sums of money. You can speak to one of our equity release advisers to discuss your alternatives to equity release, should you not qualify for a plan.

Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579

Nationwide Equity Release Terms Explained

During the Nationwide equity release review at Equity Release Warehouse, we discovered a range of technical terms that Nationwide used when discussing their equity release products. Some of these terms include APR, Compound interest and CPI.

At Equity Release Warehouse, we understand that this jargon can be confusing and sometimes incredibly intimidating to those who might not know a lot about equity release.

This can sometimes even be enough to put someone off the idea of equity release altogether. At Equity Release Warehouse, we don’t want anyone to be put off the idea of equity release unnecessarily, which is why we have gone to the liberty of explaining some of these terms below for you.

1. Lifetime Mortgage

A lifetime mortgage is the most popular equity release product in the UK. Most equity release providers offer this type of equity release plan. A lifetime mortgage is an equity release loan which is only repayable upon the sale of your house when you either pass away or move into residential care.

2. Retirement Interest Only Mortgage

A retirement interest-only mortgage is an equity release product that requires you to make monthly repayments on the interest of the original loan amount. This is beneficial for counteracting compound interest.

3. Retirement Capital and Interest Mortgage

A retirement capital and interest mortgage is an equity release product that requires you to make monthly repayment on both the interest of your loan and part of the overall capital that you borrowed.

This can be more costly than an interest-only lifetime mortgage, but it will result in your family having a smaller loan to repay when your house is sold.

4. APR (Annual Percentage Rate)

An Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is a rate used to help you understand the total cost of your borrowing. It represents the yearly charge for the loan.

It is a simple way to compare the total cost of different loans. If one loan has a lower APR than another, it typically means that the cost of borrowing the first loan is less than the latter.

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5. AER (Annual Equivalent Rate)

An Annual Equivalent Rate (AER) represents how much interest you have incurred on your loan over the space of a year.

6. Compound Interest

Compound interest is the term used to describe the total interest that was charged against the initial loan amount, plus the interest that has been charged on the previous interest that has already been incurred. Compound interest is very beneficial for your savings and investment but is incredibly costly for your loans.

The compounding effect means that as time goes on, the amount of interest that is paid on top of your interest accelerates and grows exponentially. Compound interest is what tends to catch people out when they take out an equity release loan.

7. Fixed Interest Rates

A fixed interest rate is a term used to describe an interest rate on a loan that won’t change for a set period of time. You will be offered an interest rate that will not change for the entire term of your loan – referred to as the ‘fixed term’.

This is normally expressed in years, such as 2,3,5,10 years fixed term. Equity release plans usually come with fixed fees for the rest of your life – meaning that the interest rate will never change.

8. Negative Equity

Negative equity is a situation that you could find yourself in when your home drops in value and is now worth less than the total amount of your mortgage that you took out.

You can find yourself in this position if your house value drops below the price you paid for it. For example, if you took out a mortgage for £220,000 and your house is now worth £200,000, you would be in negative equity.

9. Freehold

Freehold is a term used to describe the type of tenure on land. Tenure of land is usually either freehold or leasehold.

If you have a freehold tenure, this means that you own the property and land in full. This means that you have the freedom to do what you want with your land. Unlike a leaseholder tenure, which comes with restrictions and sometimes lease charges.

10. Downsizing

Downsizing is a term used to describe moving from your current home to a smaller or less valuable property. People typically do this when their children move out of the family home, or if they need to access cash.

When you downsize you will typically be left with excess cash as the total price of your new home will be less than the sale price of your previous home. This tends to be more beneficial when you are mortgage free.

11. Early Repayment Charges

An early repayment charge applies to some equity release products in relation to paying off some of your loan early. Most lenders will offer you the ability to pay off a maximum of 10% of your outstanding loan amount every year – any more than this will incur an ERC. This can either be represented as a percentage or a fixed sum.

Please call our 24-Hour Helpline: 0330 058 1579

References

[1] https://www.nationwide.co.uk/-/assets/nationwidecouk/documents/investor-relations/nationwide-factsheet-2021.pdf?rev=45a269d64fac47a4a151c3f870f7ec40

[2] https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about-us/what-membership-means/

[3] https://www.equityreleasecouncil.com

[4] https://www.fca.org.uk

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