Releasing equity to buy a second home

Whether you’re looking to buy a second home for weekend getaways or sunny holidays abroad, a lifetime mortgage, a loan secured against your home, may be a solution for you. 

How do I use equity release to buy my second home?

To buy your second home, you can apply a lifetime mortgage against your current home, and your current home must remain your main residence. This loan isn’t usually repaid until you, or the second applicant (if a joint loan) die or go into long-term care. With the money you’re able to release from the lifetime mortgage you can use to buy, or help buy, your second home.

• First you’ll need to find out how much equity you can release from your current property, use our Equity Release calculator to find out how much equity you might be able to release. All you'll need to know is an estimate of how much your property is worth. You will need to be aged 55 (or 50 for our Payment Term Lifetime Mortgage) or over to take out one of our Lifetime Mortgages.
• Once you’ve got an idea of how much you could release, you can start your search for that special second home.
• You should then get in touch with us to discuss your options, we’ll ask you what you’re planning on using the money for and some information about the property you’re looking to buy.
• We’ll then walk you through the process and we’ll be with you every step of the way. Find out more about what’s involved with these 8 simple steps.

What costs are involved when buying a second home?

From solicitor fees to removals, there’s all the usual costs to consider when buying a house. You’ll need to make sure that you’ve factored these in as well as the costs involved in taking out equity release if you choose to use a lifetime mortgage to buy a second property.

The costs of taking out one of our Lifetime Mortgages are all outlined on our costs page. Although we don’t charge an advice fee, there are other costs to consider.

Unlike a residential mortgage, with most lifetime mortgages there’s no need to make any monthly interest payments, however there are options to repay some or all of the monthly interest for a period of your choosing. Any unpaid interest is charged on the loan amount plus any interest already added, which means that the amount you owe can increase quickly over time. There may be cheaper ways to borrow money.

What you’ll need to consider:

• Re-mortgaging to get the capital you need to buy another house might also be an option for you, an adviser will be able to talk you through what’s the best option for your circumstances.
• If you use a lifetime mortgage to buy a second home, then you might not be able to make your second home your main residence later down the line. You could potentially move your mortgage from one property to another, but this will depend on the value of your second home. Other terms and conditions will apply.
• Get in touch if you have any queries about if a lifetime mortgage is the right option for you.