‘It was amazing! At last, we could move into our beautiful new home!

When Anne fulfilled her ambition of becoming self-employed she was overjoyed with her newly found status of professional independence. Life was looking good and she began to make plans to move to a larger house to enable her elderly mother to move in with her whilst giving them both the space they needed.

What she hadn’t anticipated however, was the difficulties she would face a year later when she wanted to move house and was unable to get a mortgage in her name due to a lack of financial history. Perplexed by this scenario she turned to her financial advisor who suggested she consider equity release as a viable option. Anne had heard of this concept before but knew little about the finer details. After vigorous research on her part, she could see the potential in this financial solution to her predicament and contacted Kevin Woods as recommended by her financial advisor.

A local equity release expert with decades of history working in the industry, Kevin met with Anne and her mother on Zoom and assessed their situation to see if equity release was the best option for them. Having established that taking out a Lifetime Mortgage would indeed be a good choice, Kevin researched the whole of market for the optimum product which gave them the best features for their specific situation. The recommended plan responded to their choice of repayment options, future drawdown facilities, and downsizing options with the ability to port the mortgage should they choose to move house again if required.

Once happy with the recommendations provided by Kevin, the process began, solicitors instructed and Anne began making plans for her house move. However, the process proved to be a little more complicated than anticipated due to a number of different legal factors which needed clarifying with the Lifetime Mortgage lenders.

‘I knew that buying and selling houses is always a tricky business but there was so much riding on the sale of my house knowing that there was a chain involved and other people waiting for enquiries to be answered. It was essentially a house swap and I knew the other owner was also waiting for any news. I felt so stressed whilst waiting for it all to happen. Both Kevin and Samantha were so supportive of my concerns and kept me updated every step of the way, letting me know exactly what was happening as soon as they had any updates. They really did hold our hands throughout the whole process.’

When Samantha heard the news that Anne’s mother’s equity release plan had completed and that the house swap could go ahead she phoned Anne immediately.

‘It was amazing! At last, we could move into our beautiful new home! I didn’t want to put mum into a residence, and she didn’t want to go either so now we are both happy and together. What great news it was!’

Anne is grateful that equity release had made this house swap possible for her in a home which has great potential for them both. And the added bonus? Anne has become good friends with the lady who took part in the house swap.

‘So now it’s coffee together at my old house or my new house depending on who is putting the kettle on first!’