LiveMore adds lifetime mortgages to complete its product line up

27 July 2023

LiveMore, the lender for people aged 50-90+, has expanded its product offering to include equity release mortgages in order to offer customers the widest range of options possible.

Like all mortgage products, lifetime mortgages may be a suitable solution under certain circumstances for some people but it is not the answer for everyone. This becomes ever more important under the new consumer duty rules, where brokers and lenders must ensure they provide the best outcome for clients so all options should be considered.

This new addition completes LiveMore’s product suite making it the lender with the broadest product offering in the later life lending space. The lifetime mortgage joins LiveMore’s current range of retirement interest-only, interest-only, as well as capital and interest mortgages.

Since inception, LiveMore has aimed to become the home of holistic home loan finance, finding the right product for an individual’s needs. With consumer duty about to arrive, consideration of all potentially suitable products alongside equity release should be a focus point in the later life sector.

It is anticipated that the new lifetime mortgage will only be used by those for whom LiveMore’s other products are not suitable.

Rates start at 7.5% and customers can borrow up to 10% of the value of their home at age 55 and up to 43% for those aged 90+. There are no product or valuation fees, and the product comes with a no negative equity guarantee and is portable if customers wish to move.

Loan sizes range from £10k up to £1million and the property must have a minimum valuation of £100k. To bring the final repayment down there is the option to make voluntary repayments of up to 10% a year.

LiveMore has one of the best early repayment charge (ERC) structures in the lifetime market with fixed ERCs ending after ten years. And, of course, there are no ERCs if the customer passes away or moves into long-term care. For joint borrowers, if one moves into long-term care or passes away the other has a three-year window to redeem the mortgage or sell the property ERC free.

Leon Diamond, CEO and founder of LiveMore, commented: “We’ve been working extremely hard on our lifetime mortgage product, which complements our existing proposition and will only be advised upon if our other options are not suitable for someone.

“Consumer duty is all about finding the right result based on each client’s circumstances. By offering repayment, interest-only and lifetime mortgages, we can truly say that LiveMore is able to find the most suitable product every time.”

Diamond is keen to stress the importance that while equity release is the right solution for some, it shouldn’t be the only option: “Equity release is great in some cases, but not all. That’s why we’re proud that offering the broadest product range in the later life market means, for example, that we can help those over 55 who would benefit from equity release, but also recommend a retirement interest-only mortgage if they would be better off making interest payments.”