Remortgaging is often offered for those who are looking to release the equity – that is the stored up value – in a house.  But can you do it in the buy to let market?  The answer is not only yes, but for those who are over 55 there are definate benefits.  This article explores those benefits.

“Could equity release assist the resurgence in the buy to let market & reclaim it from the doldrums?

With the equity release market becoming more & more competitive, we focus on a particular product that has found itself a definite niche in this difficult market.

You can’t have failed to notice in the past 6 months that ‘mortgages’ have become synonymous with terms such as ‘credit crunch’ & ‘falling property values’ & anything involving difficulty in obtaining credit.

The mortgage market is showing preliminary signs of improvement, but not before time & there is still a long way to go before it’s back on its feet.

One particular area in the financial services sector that has been associated with this slump is the buy to let mortgage. With blame being apportioned to these products having acted as part-catalyst to the advent of the credit crunch, lenders have had their fingers burnt & even withdrawn from lending on these products. It’s therefore difficult to see how they will recover in time & ahead of the general mortgage market.

However, all is not lost. You’ve heard the saying ‘being in the right place at the right time’ – well this could be one of those moments!

A landlord equity release scheme has now been available for a number of years which has been drifting along without much prominence. This equity release scheme from New Life Mortgages enables landlords over the age of 55 to be able to assist them financially by releasing capital from their buy to let portfolio’s.

Buy to let landlords generally build their portfolio’s by relying on property values to increase. Once additional equity is built up via property value escalation, the landlord can then apply for a buy to let remortgage to raise additional capital. These new funds can then be used as a deposit towards to next purchase & momentum thus carries it forward.

The problem now is that property values have fallen, hence this portfolio creation technique has been somewhat dismantled.

With the buy to let market having experienced massive growth over the past decade, thousands of mortgagees are now relying on the equity in their buy to lets and holiday homes for retirement purposes.

So how can equity release help?

Well, landlords over the age of 55 can now raise equity without having to sell their properties or even make any monthly mortgage payments in the process. Instead, the interest is “rolled up” and the loan is repaid only on death, enter long-term care or the house is sold.

This equity release scheme has proved to be attractive to landlords who want to release equity in their portfolio’s in order to supplement their pensions. With the current depressed property market, landlords may be reluctant to sell & thereby delay the eventual sale in order for their families to benefit from future growth.

The New Life equity release scheme could be taken out on an unencumbered property in which the capital raised could be used in assisting with retirement plans or even the purchase of another buy to let property.

Alternatively, the plan could be used to repay an existing mortgage. Thus, with the landlord still in receipt of rental income & not having to make any further monthly mortgage payments, it has the overall effect of increasing their retirement income.

Another benefit of this scheme is from a taxation viewpoint.

By taking out equity release, landlord’s could potentially avoid a capital gains tax (CGT) bill they would pay if they sold up – although they would be still be passing on a reduced tax liability to their heirs.

New Life’s equity release scheme takes advantage of the Inland Revenue rule that profits are revalued when someone dies. When people die and leave their belongings to their family, there is no CGT to pay at this time. On eventual sale of the property, capital gains tax is based on the difference between the proceeds of the sale and the market value at the time of death.

Another taxation perk for the landlord’s is that the interest charged on the equity release can be offset against the tax on the rental income, even though the interest is rolled up.

Other benefits in brief are that the New Life equity release plan has no impact on the landlords main residence. This will leave it free from any potential legal charges on the property.

Finally, the landlord can raise commercial finance at a residential rate which is currently 7.25% compounded monthly.

Main features of the New Life Mortgages buy to let scheme are: -

• Minimum age of the youngest must be 55
• Minimum loan £26,000
• Minimum property value £100,000
• Rental income must exceed the interest being charged
• Never owe more than the value of the property
• Early repayment charges are for 5 years only

New Life have extended this type of scheme to include holiday cottages and second homes, thus increasing the potential market.

It’s niche products like this from New Life Mortgages that will instill further confidence in the subdued property market & we look forward to further innovations in this sector.