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The questions to take with you

Every page on this site ends with questions. These are the ones that apply whatever your circumstances, gathered in one place so you can take the list rather than the site.

Every page on this site ends with questions. These are the ones that apply whatever your circumstances, gathered so you can take the list rather than the site.

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.

How this page is kept
Written by
Equity Release Facts editorial
Last checked
6 September 2026
Next review
6 March 2027

Why a list of questions rather than a list of answers

Because we are not allowed to answer most of them, and because the ones that matter depend on facts about you that we do not have.

An adviser can answer all of these. A solicitor answers two of them. Nobody should mind being asked any of them, and how somebody reacts to being asked is itself informative.

The one to ask first

What alternatives did you consider, and why did you rule them out? An adviser has to consider them. The reasoning tells you how carefully.

The six alternatives →

About the money

  • What would I owe at year ten, fifteen and twenty, on the rate you are actually recommending?
  • What is the total of every fee, and which of them are payable even if this does not complete?
  • What would I receive after my existing mortgage is repaid?
  • What voluntary payments can I make, and up to how much a year?
  • Is my early repayment charge a fixed percentage or linked to gilts?

About the consequences

  • What would be left of my property at those same dates?
  • Would this affect anything I am claiming, and have you checked?
  • What happens if I want to move house in ten years?
  • What happens to the plan if one of us dies and the other stays?
  • What would happen if I wanted to repay it early?

About the people

  • Are you and this provider Equity Release Council members?
  • How are you paid, and by whom?
  • Which solicitor is acting for me, and are they independent of the lender?
  • Can I take all of this away and think about it?
What we are not telling you

The answers. Every question here has to be answered by somebody who knows your circumstances and is authorised to advise you, which is not us. What we can do is make sure you knew to ask.

Worth knowing

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.

Where this comes from
  1. 01 Equity Release Facts · opened 6 September 2026 Practical guidance, with every figure sourced on the page it belongs to This page carries no figures of its own. Where it refers to one, it links to the page that sources it.

Read next

What has changed on this page
  1. First publication, gathering the questions from every guide on the site.
How this page is kept
Written by
Equity Release Facts editorial
Last checked
6 September 2026
Next review
6 March 2027
Checked 10 September 2026
[6.20%]lowest lump sum rate, fixed for life[lender rate sheets] [6.44%]lowest drawdown rate[lender rate sheets] 43.5%most you could release at 70LTV schedule, July 2026 54%most you could release at 80 or overLTV schedule, July 2026 55Legal & General's youngest applicantL&G lending criteria, 6 September 2026 £0to pay each month unless you choose tosubject to lender terms [6 to 8 weeks]typical time from application to money £70,000Legal & General's minimum for a houseL&G lending criteria, 6 September 2026

Questions people ask about this

Short answers to the things that come up most. None of it is advice, and every figure on this page carries its source.

Why does this page ask questions instead of answering them?

Because the answers depend on your circumstances, your property and the plan in front of you, and giving them would be advice. We are not advisers and are not authorised to recommend anything. What we can do is make sure you walk in knowing what to ask.

What is the note under each question for?

It explains what a good answer sounds like. Asking about the early repayment charge is useless to somebody who would not recognise a bad answer, so each question carries a line about what you are listening for.

Do I have to ask all of them?

No. They are numbered so you can take the page with you and work through the ones that matter to you. A good adviser will expect questions and will not rush you through them.

Worth knowing

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.

Talk it through with an adviser

Takes about two minutesFree, no obligation, and nothing committed

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.

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.

We pass your details to one adviser and nobody else.