YOU HAVE YOUR SAY

EVERY week Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some about our article on equity release and the alternatives which could save you thousands. BEWARE of anyone who arrives at your doorstep in a smart suit and parks the latest BMW on your drive. He will have used other people’s money to pay for it all. You will not know you’ve been stitched up until ten or 20 years later.

G. J., Birmingham. MY PARENTS took out an equity release loan four months ago. They are 82 and 78 and they needed the money to pay for care. At the rate of 3.2pc, they would have to live to 104 and 100 respectively before the £80,000 loan doubled.

T. P., Cheltenham. AS A mortgage broker, I am yet to see anyone who would pass the affordability test for a retirement interest-only mortgage. Those who need them tend to only have state pensions; people with good pensions don’t tend to need them.

M. H., London. WE TOOK out a £70,000 equity release loan in 2012. In 2018 we had to downsize, because my husband could no longer climb the stairs. With an interest rate of 6.9pc we ended up having to pay back almost £118,000 — including a £19,000 early repayment charge.

C. C., by email. YOU need to have an income to support a retirement mortgage. It’s a problem because a lot of people who want them don’t have the income and that is why the take-up has been so low.

G. N., London. I WISH I knew there were alternatives to equity release when we took one out several years ago. We were attracted to the loans because we had no dependants, but it has ended up being very expensive.

J. S., by email.

TEMPTED BY EQUITY RELEASE? YOU COULD SAVE THOUSANDS WITH A RETIREMENT MORTGAGE INSTEAD

Money Mail, January 8