How Long Does Equity Release Take?

Malcolm

So one of the questions that comes up quite a lot, Dan is how long does equity release take?

So obviously, in the world of normal mortgages, it could take a couple of months, I suppose, for a remortgage to go through. How does equity release compare?

Dan

It depends on what you're trying to achieve. Right at the smallest, at the shortest time scale end, we've got a further advance if you already have an equity release plan in place, that can go through incredibly quickly, possibly less than a month. If it's a new equity release case, which is a fairly simple scenario, maybe paying off an existing mortgage, then we'll be looking at six to eight weeks, something like that.

For a more complex case, if there's changes to type or something like that needed, you're looking at two to three months and probably the longest time scale is a purchase. Reasonably that can be three months or maybe more.

Malcolm

And when things do take longer, are there any sort of typical reasons where things drag the heels?

Dan

If we need to do something like an extension of a lease, so that's very much similar to a standard mortgage, if there's someone coming on or off the deed,

Land registry as we all know at the moment, it's still got a big backlog. So if there's anything that to do with a change of type, that kind of effect.

With purchases, it tends to be because you've got at least three sets of solicitors involved. So you've got the vendor's solicitor, you've got the purchaser's solicitor and you've also got the lenders solicitor involved as well. So, you've got a three way thing going between the solicitors, which can cause sometimes frustrating delays.

Malcolm

Yeah. So, I suppose in a nutshell then, a purchase will take just as long if not slightly longer than a traditional transaction, whereas a standard equity release style mortgage, in a lot of cases, will actually go through quicker than a a standard re mortgage, right?

Dan

Yes. Yes. That's true.