Equity release could be the answer, claims Saga

New research from Saga Personal Finance claims that one-third of homes in the need repairing but that homeowners cannot afford to carry out the necessary work.

According to the study, more than a third (34%) of people aged 50 and above in the UK say their house needs repair work and 15% cannot afford to pay for it. Women, in particular, are suffering financially with 20% seeing their homes deteriorate because they cannot afford to repair them.

When asked how they might pay for housing maintenance, more than one in seven said they could afford it, 50% said they would use savings and 31% said they would turn to their regular income or pension. Fewer than 1% said they would ask family or friends for the financial support.

Andrew Goodsell, executive chairman, Saga Group commented: “People are living longer which means that retirement incomes have to stretch a lot further to keep up with inflation. Many retirees find they need additional cash, whether it is to make every day life easier, fund house repairs, take the trip of a lifetime, or to contribute to care in later life.

“For many equity release is the ideal solution to this, however until now the market has not listened to people’s needs and providers insist on charging hefty fees upfront, which prevent many people from being able to access their money.”

However, Mr Goodsell suggests there may be an answer to this problem. The Saga Equity Release Plan launched earlier this month and could help homeowners who are struggling. Provided by Just Retirement, it is a lifetime mortgage with no upfront fees that allows people to release cash tied up in their homes without having to sell up.