Equity Release Supermarket and Shawbrook enhance options for interest-only borrowers

15 August 2017

“With an excess of 160,000 interest-only mortgages maturing over 2017/18 alone, a significantly increased number of borrowers aged over 55 are seeking a wider range of alternatives to selling their home or realising their investments in order to repay their outstanding mortgage" says Mark Gregory, CEO of Equity Release Supermarket.

"With record low interest rates and equity release contracts proving more popular than ever, we continue to research every possible source of lending for customers approaching or already in retirement. Following our recent discussions with Shawbrook Bank we are delighted to announce that their 55 Plus Interest-Only Mortgage will now be included within the options available to customers via our whole of market retirement mortgage comparison service.

The Shawbrook 55 Plus Mortgage, launched earlier this year and currently available via a limited number of intermediaries, is proving attractive to customers who wish to continue paying interest on their mortgage debt in to retirement, something which their own lenders struggle to accommodate, until such times as it better suits them to repay the outstanding balance. This may be the point in the future where they decide to downsize property or alternatively switch to some form of equity release contract.

With both fixed and variable rate options available, the Shawbrook contract enables customers to partially or fully repay the loan without incurring any form of early repayment charge. This degree of flexibility was one of the many features which encouraged Equity Release Supermarket to incorporate the contract within our comparison tables.

Shawbrook consider eligibility on the basis of age, income and property value. The primary earner must be aged over 55 and under 75 at the point of application, and have annual income in excess of £16,500. The property must be located in England, Wales or mainland Scotland with a minimum valuation of £185,000. Customers can borrow an overall maximum of 60% of their property value, subject to a minimum loan of £25,000 and maximum of £1m.

Shawbrook have made the application very straightforward by offering a quick and easy electronic decision in principle facility; delivering prompt processing for our customers. It's evident that Shawbrook take an innovative approach to lending in retirement and the team at Equity Release Supermarket look forward to working with them to continue to enhance the options available to our customers".

Maeve Ward, Managing Director of Residential Mortgages at Shawbrook Bank commented “I am so pleased to be working with Equity Release Supermarket to help them offer more financial options to those reaching the end of their interest-only mortgage, especially those aged 55 or over who have been so poorly served by the high street”.