Is Equity Release Worth It?

Published on: 13 November 2018 Last Updated on: 08 August 2019
loan equity

You might be having second thoughts on whether or not to get an equity release loan. On the one hand, you want to use the money for a significant transaction. On the other hand, you are afraid that the interest rate will be too high over the years, and it could result in the drastic reduction of your property’s value. If it is your only property, and you have nothing else to leave your children, you want them to enjoy its full value.

How to make a decision

It is understandable if you are having a hard time choosing. To help you decide, think about where you wish to use your money. If you are paying hospital bills and other emergency expenses, and you have no other choice, proceed with your plan. It is reasonable for you to take it. You are also making the right move if you intend to use the money for home improvements. You will be staying in your property until you die, so it does not hurt to invest in home improvements. Besides, it could help boost the value of your property.

On the other hand, if you are thinking of using the money to invest or start a business, it is a bad idea. You are at an age where you can’t wait to see where your money goes, or if it will someday grow. You need to enjoy your money at this point since you worked hard your entire life.

It is also reasonable to use the money if you wish to travel the world. It might not be reasonable if you were young, but at this age, do whatever you want to satisfy your desires. You might not have this opportunity someday, so while you still have it, make the most of it.

Check the details

 Aside from how you want to use the money you borrow, you also need to check if the terms and conditions are fair enough. There are equity release schemes that are reasonable, while others seem to take advantage of your age. You can seek help from a consultant to tell you the details you don’t understand. The information online might not be good enough for you to make a sound decision in the end.

Look at the repayment scheme, and if there is a fee if you complete the payment earlier. You also need to look at the steps involved once you die, and your family needs to pay back the loan. If it is too difficult for them, and you think they will not receive a significant amount, you might as well look for other options.

Should you get one?

After consultation and research, you can decide whether or not you will take the loan. You already have the necessary information at this point to choose. When choosing, think not only of what you need now but in the long run. Think of how it will affect your family, but it does no harm to be selfish and think about its impact on you.

Read Also:

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

Student Loans

There is A Way To Save Yourself From Student Loans in 2021

Student loans can be helpful. You take out a loan to enroll in higher education, which can land you in better job opportunities, increasing your income. But of course, it can be a bit tough to save while you repay your student loans. Regardless, there are ways to save yourself from student loans, especially if you can manage the interest loans and pay more than the minimum. Here are effective ways to save yourself from student loans and pursue your dream job. 1. Pay Off Your Student Debt Faster The easiest way to get rid of your student loans is to pay faster. If you can, send massive payments to your loan servicer every month and do so ahead of schedule. Another method is to make half payments every two weeks instead of the full monthly payment. When that happens, you send the equivalent of an additional payment every year. Of course, you may not have the discretionary income to make the extra payments. However, you can get a side job and earn extra income on the side to increase your income. You have the power to do so. Here’s a little bit of motivation: consider how increasing your monthly or weekly payments can help you become debt-free faster. You can even save interest costs on top of that. You can use a student loan repayment calculator to show you how the smallest payments affect your student loans. 2. Find Out The Type Of Student Loans You Have It's essential to know the type of student loans you have and develop a repayment plan that helps you. If you have federal student loans, visit the National Student Loan Data System. You can check your student loans there. There are four broad categories of student loans: graduated, standard, extended, or income-driven repayment. Let’s go through them. Standard plan: Your loan servicer will divide the total amount of money you owe with the standard plan and spread it over ten years. If you pay the same amount for the next ten years, you'll finish paying your student loans. Graduated plan: Just like the standard plan, this plan lasts for ten years. However, you start your monthly payments by paying less. Your payment for each month increases every two years. This option is ideal for borrowers who are sure that their income will increase in the future. Extended plan: With this plan, you pay a lower amount over a long period. Income-driven repayment (IDR) plan: The IDR plan lets you pay off your student loans for the next 20 or 25 years, depending on your chosen plan. But the payments will always be what you can manage every month. After 20 or 25 years, any amount you haven't paid yet will be forgiven. If you choose this plan, you'll have to certify your income annually. There are limited private student loan forgiveness options available for student loans. You’ll have to call your loan servicer to find out any available options for you. 3. Make Extra Payments, But Do It The Right Way There's no penalty whatsoever when you pay more than the minimum or pay your student loans early. However, the prepayment comes with a caveat: loan lenders may apply the additional amount to the next month's payment. When the student loan servicers do that, it pushes your due date forward, but it won't help pay off your student loans faster. What you need to do is to instruct your lender, either through the mail, phone, or online, to apply any extra payments to your current balance. In addition, remind them to keep next month's due date the same. You can make additional payments any time in the month. Another way is to make a lump-sum loan payment on the due date. Whichever you choose, you can save lots of money. 4. Refinance If You Have Good Credit And A Good Job Refinancing your student loans can help you get rid of your loan debts faster, and you don’t have to make additional payments. When you refinance, it replaces several student loans with one private loan, usually at a lower interest rate. If you want to make faster repayments, choose a new loan term that’s less compared to what you have left in your current student loans. Going in for a shorter loan term may increase your payments each month. However, it’ll help you clear off your student loans faster and save money on interest. Final Thoughts The strategies explained above can help you pay back your student loans and save money. But not all the repayment methods can help you do that. Some repayments are designed to help you manage your debts, such as income-based repayment plans. These plans can help you clear off your debt on time and in full. Now, even though it can help you today, you'll end up paying more money in interest charges over your loan life. It is worth mentioning, some educational institutes like Navient were forced to close due to fraudulent activities. These institutions are to compensate students who are affected. Check to see if you apply to these compensations If you don’t have a clear solution, you may need to talk to a student loan expert. Read Also: Understanding the Steps in Debt Collection How to Reduce the Cost of College Textbooks How To Impress A Recruiter If You Are Still A Student

READ MOREDetails
Which type of portfolio might a young investor who is not afraid of risk choose

Young Investor: Choosing Risky Portfolio Types

Which type of portfolio might a young investor who is not afraid of risk choose? Which investment type typically carries the least risk? A young investor with a great level of risk tolerance will discover his profession in an aggressive financing plan. There might be various investment vehicles available for a young who is ready to risk his total funds for the portfolio.  Besides, the various investment instruments include stocks, annuities, certificates of deposit, exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, and bonds. Young investors can afford to take risks because they have just started their careers and are not close to their retirement. Even if they lose their invested money, they have time to recover the same and gain in the future with better plans. Overall, it is recommended for young investors to gain some useful marketing knowledge and insights that can help them to invest wisely in the long run.  Which Type Of Portfolio Might A Young Investor Who Is Not Afraid Of Risk Choose? An investor who has sufficient time to recover money in case of a loss can pick an unsafe investment portfolio. In order to increase the potential of high rewards, young investors take risks. Moreover, they know that low risks investments are consist of low investment returns and vice versa. To achieve excellent results soon, young investors switch for high risks investments.  At present, there are various investment opportunities for millennials that they can consider to secure their financial future. The majority of young investors opt for a volatile business environment at present as their blood is hot and they don’t have many family responsibilities.  Which Investment Type Typically Carries The Least Risk? For a young investor, the best type of investment that typically carries low risks is a Saving Account because, in this account, your money completely remains safe. However, the interest that you get from a savings account is also low. Now, let’s discuss some of the top low risks investments for young investors that can give them potential rewards for the long term. 1. Savings Bonds Savings bonds are regarded as the best low risks investment vehicles that can consider in 2021. In this investment, your money is tied up to a certain period of time and after the completion of the same time period, you will get your investment returns.  2. Preferred Stocks Another low risks investment in 2021 is preferred stocks. This is much like lower-grade stocks. The best benefit of this investment vehicle is that you can make regular cash payouts at any time you want. So, if you are searching for which type of portfolio might a young investor who is not afraid of risk choose then this investment can be your suitable choice.  3. Real Estate Investments  Real estate investments can be a better choice for young investors who are afraid to take risks. It is highly advised that risks only that you can afford to lose, especially for millennials. This investment offers opportunities to investors to invest and earn high rewards. 4. Certificate Of Deposit (CD) Certificate of deposit (CD) is also regarded as a low-risk investment vehicle in 2021. However, this investment portfolio is similar to a bond. Thus, investing in this asset can be a better option for young investors who don’t want to take a high risk.  Closing Thoughts I have tried my best to make you understand which type of portfolio might a young investor who is not afraid of risk choose? Now, read the above data in detail and then make a decision to invest. You can also take advice from experts who have years of experience in this investing domain.  Now, if you are satisfied with the above information, then don't forget to "Subscribe Our Newsletter" More Resources: Make Your Savings Goals Come True with Gold Why Off-Plan Investment Is Beneficial For Expats Pros and Cons of Oil and Gas Investment

READ MOREDetails
Credit Card Perks

5 Credit Card Perks that are Noteworthy

The use of credit cards has tremendously increased in recent years. Apart from providing credit usage to its customers, a credit card is a must to have possession in the financial market due to the ever-increasing prices. Besides providing creditworthiness to your financial profile, it comes with lots of additional perks. If you already have availed a credit card, or on the verge of getting one, it is important to have an understanding of all the benefits that it offers. A credit card can be considered as the most beneficial tool only when you have the capability to pay off the dues. Now make your every purchase through Standard Chartered credit card types that would provide you with better savings. And as you get aware of the key benefits of using credit cards, just pave your way towards making the best use out of it. Most noteworthy benefits of credit cards: Credit card perks drive the users to make significant use of their credit cards in order to maintain a good credit score that would yield a better credit history of the cardholder thus increasing his creditworthiness in the financial market. Also, a credit card can be great assistance to your overall travelling expenses, including stay, food and luggage management. Credit card perks are the benefits obtained by its users using its key features effectively. In order to procure the credit card perks, one must be confined to its terms of usage. A credit card offers a requisite margin of perks to its users. Some of them are as below: 5 Credit Card Perks that are Noteworthy: 1. Interest-free credit: Generally, a specific rate of interest is involved in the credit value of your card. The more the credit value, the higher, is the rate of interest. Thus the interest rates depend on the price of credit. Certain credit cards offer the benefit of availing interest-free credit on the creditworthiness of the users. This implies that the user can enjoy the use of interest-free credit without paying the extra charge in the form of interest on availing whatsoever credit amount for his use. 2. No-cost EMI: This facility enables the user to purchase goods of his choice without the need for paying interest on EMIs. Thus credit card perk offers an undisputed advantage of availing goods on credit without incurring the extra charges on it. Usually, the rate of interest depends upon the price of the goods procured on credit. Thus credit card perks work well towards removing such inconveniences on the purchase based on price, by enabling the users to buy goods irrespective of the price on no-cost EMI. 3. Reward programs: One of the significant perks of credit cards is the application of reward programs on credit cards. Rewards on credit cards work wonder on building credit scores. Reward programs mainly consist of the facility of cashback and other perks as per the type of credit card. It provides its users with the opportunity to earn in thousands through reward points or to spend lavishly using those points. Amongst which the benefit of cashback on credit card is the key highlight of the reward program, which provides an opportunity to make double purchases of the same amount using a single reward point. 4. Fraud protection: Credit card perks act as a shield against various fraudulent incidents that may come across the way of its holders by providing insurance coverage for the loss or damage of the product purchased by using it. Hence providing a carefree usage of the commodity, the credit card perks work efficiently in covering the various losses incurred by the cardholder on the purchases made by using it. This ensures the user a risk-free usage of the credit card by eliminating the fear of risks that may arise in the near future. 5. Warranty extension: The credit card provides the benefit of extending the warranty period of the respective purchases made through it. You can easily extend your warranty period of the goods by making a purchase by the credit card. This may render a free service of your purchases for an extended period in addition to the existing one, thereby eradicating the future expense that may incur on the grounds of malfunctions. So users are free to make purchases enjoying an extended warranty period, thus removing the extra cost involved in repairing or service of the purchased goods. The above-mentioned credit card perks are most suitable for frequent users and those who maintain a regular balance. In order to avail of the above benefits using the credit card, the cardholder must make sure to make regular payments of his monthly dues effectively. Otherwise, it would negatively affect your credit scores. You can make effective use of the credit cards by renewing the credit rewards based on your purchasing scale. The more you use your credit scores, the better the facility it would provide you with. Read Also: 7 TIPS TO REDUCE CREDIT CARD BILLS Credit Card Fraud The Holiday Season: Things To Consider For Next Year Revolving Debt Vs Installment Debt – Which Impacts Your Credit Score The Most?

READ MOREDetails