The number of health conditions that may entitle you to an impaired life equity release plan are vast and varied. However, you could have experienced more than one at some point in your life. As your advisor begins to get to know you, he or she will gather the information in order to establish the keyfacts illustration from the providers which will begin to form the basis of your enhanced mortgage plan. The four main providers work on the same foundation to gather the keyfacts illustration in order to establish the amount of mortgage you are able to achieve based on the key facts and rounded up with the soft facts, your impaired life equity release plan will begin to shape up. The soft facts are the simple rounding up areas in which you will likely make a decision on which provider you will choose for your equity release plan.
To establish the hard facts, you will be asked a number of health-related questions and these will be entered on a lifestyle questionnaire. The following questions will be asked or a variation of the questions. However, it must be highlighted that these conditions are considered to shorten life expectancy:
- Have you smoked more than ten cigarettes per day for more than ten years?
- Have you suffered a heart attack for which you now take regular prescribed medication?
- Have you been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease?
- Have you ever had any cancer diagnosed which required chemotherapy and/or radiation?
- Are you overweight?
- Do you have diabetes and take insulin regulating medication?
- Have you been forced to take early retirement on medical grounds?
These hard facts will form the basis of your lifestyle questionnaire which your advisor will then use to research the best enhanced lifetime mortgage for your current needs. Answering yes to more than one of these questions could entitle you to a larger mortgage purely because your life expectancy will be reduced as a result of suffering from one or more of these conditions.
You don’t need a long list of health conditions to be able to qualify for an enhanced lifetime mortgage but the general basis is that the more severe your health, the more money you will qualify to borrow.
Once a provider has formed the keyfacts illustration based on your lifestyle questionnaire the soft facts can then be assessed by your provider in order for you to make an informed decision on which provider to choose.
Soft facts will include the following:
- Maximum release available to you based on the keyfacts illustration
- Interest rates
- If a draw-down facility is available
- The brand strength of the provider.
The above and the full range of the providers’ other features such as cashback, no-fee valuations and no-fee arrangements can also be factors that are taken into consideration in order for you to make a decision. You will be able to research each provider and get fact-based opinions from other consumers and you can begin to narrow down your choice as to who is offering you the best enhanced lifetime mortgage. Your advisor will guide you and he or she will be able to offer accurate figures based on the information you have provided. Once any medical documents have been acquired from your GP in order for the product to be underwritten by the provider, your enhanced lifetime mortgage is on the way to becoming cash in your pocket. Your keyfacts illustration is the most vital part of the process and enables each provider to make an offer based on your circumstances.
