Downsizing is not the safe answer and equity release is not the lazy one. This prices the move using the published stamp duty bands, names the costs people leave out, and frames the choice rather than resolving it.
Downsizing is not the safe answer and equity release is not the lazy one. They are different trades, and this page frames the choice rather than making it for you.
Equity release may involve a lifetime mortgage, secured against your property, or a home reversion plan. It will reduce the value of your estate and impact funding long-term care.
One costs money once. The other costs nothing now and compounds. The third is not about money and settles it more often than either.
Money, once, at the start. Stamp duty, fees, and the upheaval of moving. What it does not cost is interest, and there is no debt growing behind you.
Nothing at the start and compound interest afterwards. You keep the house, the neighbours and the garden. The debt grows for as long as the plan runs.
Whether you would be happy somewhere else. That is not a financial question and it is usually the one that actually decides it.
Stamp duty is the part that is published, so it can be worked out exactly. It is also the part people forget, because most of them last bought a house when the thresholds were different.
England and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Wales have their own systems with their own thresholds, and this table does not apply there.
| You buy at | Stamp duty |
|---|---|
| £150,000 | £500 |
| £200,000 | £1,500 |
| £250,000 | £2,500 |
| £300,000 | £5,000 |
| £400,000 | £10,000 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 |
We have not put figures on those, because they depend on your house, your area and what you take with you. Get real quotes rather than trusting an average.
A smaller house is not always a cheaper one. In some areas a two-bedroom bungalow costs more than the four-bedroom house being sold, and the whole plan produces less than expected. Check local prices for the kind of place you would actually move to before assuming there is money in it.
See what a plan costs over the same period →Advice is required to proceed with equity release and there may be other options which better suit your circumstances. Only if your case completes would an advice fee be payable, and the adviser will tell you what theirs is before you commit to anything. Other lender and solicitor fees may apply.
Which one to do. We have no view, and a page that had one would be giving advice about the largest asset you own. What we would say is that the arithmetic is the easy half: the hard half is whether you want to move, and that is worth answering honestly before doing any sums at all.
The fourth one is the important one and it is not a question for an adviser.
What would a place I would actually be happy in cost, locally, today?
Not a smaller house in the abstract. Look at real listings for the specific kind of home, in the area you would want.
Adding up stamp duty, both sets of fees, removals and setting up, what does moving cost me?
Total it before comparing. People consistently underestimate this and it is the number that makes the comparison meaningful.
What would I owe on a plan at year ten and twenty, against that one-off cost?
The fair comparison. One number is spent once; the other compounds.
Do I want to move?
Ask it plainly and answer it plainly. It settles this more often than the arithmetic does.
Is there a third option I have not considered?
An adviser has to consider alternatives before recommending equity release. Ask what else is on their list.
Short answers to the things that come up most. None of it is advice, and every figure on this page carries its source.
Stamp duty, estate agent fees as a percentage of the sale price, two sets of legal work because you are selling and buying, removals, and the cost that never appears in anybody calculation: carpets, curtains, decorating and a different kitchen.
Moving costs money once, at the start, and there is no debt growing behind you. Equity release costs nothing at the start and compound interest afterwards, and you keep the house, the neighbours and the garden.
No. In some areas a two-bedroom bungalow costs more than the four-bedroom house being sold, and the whole plan produces less than expected. Local prices are worth checking before the arithmetic is done.
No. It is England and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Wales have their own systems with their own thresholds, and this table does not apply there.
This site does not answer that, and the deciding question is usually not a financial one: whether you would be happy somewhere else. That is not something a page can weigh for you.
Equity release may involve a lifetime mortgage, secured against your property, or a home reversion plan. It will reduce the value of your estate and impact funding long-term care.
One qualified equity release adviser. They will go through your figures and tell you if there is a better answer. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity and Vimeo. Say no and none of them loads. What each one stores, and what Microsoft use theirs for.