Key Takeaways
- Getting face-to-face advice on equity release helps clear things up and gives you a solid understanding.
- It’s important to chat with someone in person about equity release because you get to ask all your questions, clear up any confusion, and really get to grips with what it means for you.
- You could go for online advice, but it doesn’t give you the same chance to get personal and detailed like you can when you’re sitting down with someone.
- There might be a few exceptions where you don’t need to meet with someone face-to-face, depending on your situation or what the service provider says, but that’s not very common.
- Skipping out on that one-on-one advice session could leave you in the dark about what you’re signing up for, and that could end up being a costly mistake down the line.
Have you heard – compulsory in-person legal advice has returned for equity release?
Before taking up an equity release plan, homeowners must now have at least one face-to-face discussion with a solicitor.
The Equity Release Council, which supervises the later-life mortgage sector, enforces new restrictions with immediate effect.
The face-to-face requirement was imposed in 20131 but was briefly suspended during the epidemic due to social alienation.
To be approved, all new cases must have an element of in-person legal guidance.
“Independent legal counsel is one of the distinctive differentiating elements that sets equity release apart from other retail financial services when it comes to client safeguards and protections,”
Said Claire Barker, CEO of Equilaw2 and non-executive director of the Equity Release Council3.
However, she noted that technology would continue to play a part in the equity release process.
“While face-to-face legal counsel remains the gold standard,” Claire added, “many uses of technology during the pandemic can continue to benefit customers in the long run,”
“A good example of this is financial advisers using video conferencing to bring family members into conversations about releasing equity or solicitors using online case trackers to liaise with clients.”
Common Questions
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In Conclusion
Throughout COVID and until now, equity release cases could be completed without an in-person meeting with a solicitor.
That temporary change in the council’s rules and advice has come to an end, and we’re seeing the return to the Council’s pre-covid regulations.
With compulsory in-person legal advice returning for equity release, perhaps the world is finally going back to normal.