When many equity release providers are competing directly in using their lifetime mortgage interest rates, Stonehaven have decided to compete in a different field by taking the bold step of moving away from Gilt-based early repayment charges (ERC's) & introducing a fixed penalty basis covering the first eight years of the equity release loan.
With effect from 16th March 2015, Stonehaven will move its whole lump sum & interest only lifetime mortgage range of plans over to an 8 year fixed early repayment charge of 5% in the first 5 years, 3% in years 6-8 and none in the 9th year & thereafter.
Background to Equity Release Early Repayment Charges
Due to the nature of the product - 'Lifetime' Mortgage, the plans have been designed to run for the rest of the homeowners life. This can create uneasiness for some people taking out equity release schemes in retirement as they cannot always say with certainty what their future plans entail with regards to their property.
Equity release early repayment charges have historically been a mixture of fixed penalty, gilt based, Bank of England base rate related and even long term interest rates called SWAP rates. The majority of equity release schemes across the market today is predominantly linked to government gilts. This can be in the form of an individually selected gilt such as Aviva's, which is based on the age of the youngest homeowner, or follow an index of gilts such as the FTSE UK Gilts 15 Year Yield Index with Just Retirement.
These gilt related penalties on paper can look extreme given that Aviva can charge upto 25% of the amount repaid dependent upon the gilts yield falling from inception. Additionally, companies such as Just Retirement & Pure Retirement can charge a maximum of 20% of the fall in the FTSE UK Gilts 15 Year Yield Index. Therefore, the nature of gilts leads to uncertainty of their future levels & consequently any prediction regards their future level is unknown & cannot therefore be relied upon for early repayment purposes.
Currently, only one equity release company offers the certainty of knowing exactly what the future penalty could potential be; this company is LV= (Liverpool Victoria). Charging 5% for the first 5 years of the amount repaid & then 3% in the next 5 years, they actually have no early repayment charges after 10 years. This have given them a niche position within the equity release marketplace.
Stonehaven's Move to Fixed Equity Release Early Repayment Charges
However, LV= equity release now have fresh competition and this is the beauty of where the equity release industry is right now. Competition is driving this market forward and its with such innovations & product development that is going to extend the volume of lending in 2015, to beyond the £14 billion released in 2014.
Stonehaven have been considering this move previously, however with their takeover by MGM, its plans were put on hold. With a new team behind Stonehaven now, they have obviously decided the time is now right to introduce fixed penalty equity release plan to the market. It will be interesting to see how these new fixed ERC's are perceived. Historically, applying fixed rate early repayment charges can come at a cost and this is usually borne in the equity release interest rate with an extra levy on it.
At present Stonehaven have not indicated any changes to their interest rates with the lowest currently being the Stonehaven Interest Select Lite plan at 5.46% monthly (5.87% representative APR). Therefore, the fixed penalty charges look to have been absorbed into the current equity release deals on record.
So for anyone considering the equity release & uncertain regards whether an equity release scheme will be required over the longer term, the new equity release early repayment charge from Stonehaven could be a viable option to consider. Providing fixed, transparent & easy to understand ERC's with just 5% penalty in the first 5 years, 3% for the next two & zero after the end of the 8th year, Stonehaven have taken over LV='s mantle of potentially the best early repayment charging system available in the equity release market today!
Further Information
To learn more about Stonehaven's range of products attracting the new 8 year fixed penalty, please contact the Equity Release Supermarket team on 0800 678 5159 or email [email protected].
