Present prevailing housing market difficulties excluded, few will argue that a house will increase many times in value over a long period of occupancy. At the time you took out a mortgage on the property it seemed the repayment would last for ever and the amount of the loan was colossal; but in years to come all will be paid off and the value of the property will have dramatically risen. You will effectively be sitting on a large profit, and a way to realise some, or most of that profit is by way of home reversion equity release; here are a few things you need to know about.
The home reversion equity release provider will purchase your house, or a substantial share of it, for less than the market value, which means if you want to buy it back later you will have to pay the full market value prevailing at the time. You also have to transfer legal title of the property to the lender, though you remain living in the house effectively rent free.
Because the lender owns the house; either in entirety or a proportion of it, the value of your estate to your family is either reduced or non-existent when the property is sold on your death or admission to a long term care home.
Any tax based or means tested benefits can be affected, but the transaction is tax free.
But accepting all of the above, home reversion equity release is a quick (and sometimes the only) way to obtain a large cash lump sum, which can be spent on whatever you choose to make retirement more comfortable. If your immediate family have retirement provision of their own and are prepared to accept that they will not inherit all or part of your property then it may well be an option of realising substantial funds that you wish to consider.
Learn more about equity release schemes.