Legal & General Premier Optional Payment Black
Contributors: Nicola Date, Katherine Read. Rachel Wait & Reviewed by Francis Hui
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Legal & General Premier Optional Payment Black Review
Premier Optional Payment Black Key Details
| Type | Rate | APR | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Fixed | 2.97% | 3.10% |
Scheme Incentives
- Cashback
- Free Valuation
- Free Application
Scheme Offers
- Interest-Only Monthly Payments
- 10%pa Optional Partial Repayments
- Inheritance Protection Guarantee
- 3-Year No Early Repayment Charge*
I think you’ll agree with me when I say:
It’s REALLY hard to choose the best equity release scheme with all the choices available.
Or is it?
Is the Legal & General Premier Optional Payment Black, equity release scheme the best?
Don’t let your equity release dream become a nightmare!
Luckily, we’re here to guide you on the ins and outs of equity release, as you deserve only the best.
However, it’s important to remember that not all plans are suited to each individual. You need to look for one that will serve your home, your lifestyle, and the reason why you’re considering equity release in the first place.
As leading experts in the field, we’ve delved into hours of research, unpacked all the equity release plans on the market (we’ve reviewed over 250 schemes!), and discovered the best in the business.
- We'll provide detailed information about the Premier Optional Payment Black scheme.
- We’ll help you assess whether this plan could be right for you and your family.
- We'll explain how low the current interest rates are for the Premier Optional Payment Black product.
What’s Equity Release?
An equity release mortgage is, in a nutshell, a loan plus interest that is paid back to the lender when the homeowner passes away or goes into permanent care. The homeowner’s family usually pays back the cash released, and the interest incurred, from the sale of the home in question.
Learn More: What’s Equity Release?
How Does Equity Release Work?
Equity release is available for individuals or couples over the age of 55, with the youngest homeowner’s age determining the amount of equity that can be released. It is important to note that some equity release schemes may require the homeowner to be 60 or older.
Learn More: How Does Equity Release Work?
We’ve summed up the most important information about the topic in this quick video.
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Most popular reasons for releasing equity
- Boosting retirement income.
- Paying off credit debts or loans.
- Gifting money to family. (E.g. To help children pay a deposit on their first house)
- Taking a trip of a lifetime.
- Replacing your car with the one you've always wanted.
- Making home & garden improvements.
Who Are Legal & General?
Scheme Background
Legal & General (L&G) Home Finance leads the post retirement lending market with a range of equity release schemes. They offer flexible drawdown lifetime mortgage plans & high maximum lump sum plans, all with the control measure of a 10% partial repayment function.
Legal & General entered the equity release market in 2015 after acquiring lifetime mortgage company, New Life Mortgages. This enabled them a quicker route to market with immediate permissions, whilst at the same time obtaining PRA & FCA regulatory approval.
Constantly innovating Legal & General has more equity release plans in store with ambitious targets to grow the market significantly over the forthcoming years.
Eligibility & Requirements
The L&G OPLM Black has the lowest rate of their interest-only mortgage range and offers the discipline of fixed interest monthly repayments. The Premier Black Plan offers a lower cash release than its Pink OPLM counterpart, but accordingly, the Premier Black Plan offers the lowest interest rate.
The L&G OPLM Black has the lowest interest rate in their interest-only mortgage portfolio and provides the discipline of regular monthly installments. The Premier Black Plan has a smaller cash release than its Pink OPLM cousin, but it also has the lowest interest rate. As a result of the Premier Black OPLM plan’s lower interest rate, it offers the lowest comparable monthly mortgage payment.
The Legal & General Premier Optional Payment Black Lifetime Mortgage is especially focused at the bigger loan segment of the equity release loan industry, with a minimum release loan size of £100000 as its major feature.
Minimum Property Valuation
This Premier Optional Payment Black Lifetime Mortgage has no minimum property valuation as long as the loan-to-value guarantees a minimum loan of £10000 is met. However, in most cases, a maximum property valuation of £4m applies.
Property Location Requirements
The property, which must be the primary residence, must be located in England, Wales, or mainland Scotland. Legal and General will only calculate the value of flats and maisonettes based on 85 percent of their current market value. Furthermore, if the property is leased, the minimum number of years remaining must be at least 185.
Single vs Joint
The L&G Premier Optional Payment Black Lifetime Mortgage is offered as a single or joint life mortgage. The youngest homeowner is 55 years old, with an usual maximum age of 90 years old. In some cases, an age of 90 or older may be appropriate; please contact the team if this is the case.
Minimum Release
The lowest loan amount for this plan is £10,000, with a maximum loan amount of £2 million.
Scheme Features
The Premier OPLM Black Plan from Legal and General is essentially an interest-only lifetime mortgage plan that gives an initial tax-free lump sum cash release for immediate usage, with any remaining unused funds held in an unlimited cash reserve facility. This is perfect for people who want to keep the amount under control by making monthly payments while still receiving the lowest interest-only rate available and access to future cash if needed in the future.
The Premier Optional Payment Black Plan also has a drawdown option. If the maximum release is not used right away, drawdown is an option. As a result, any unused cash is kept in an unlimited cash reserve facility. This is great for people who want future access to cash while still being able to make monthly payments. The minimum withdrawal from the cash reserve facility is only £2000, and there are no administrative fees. Any additional cash withdrawals would be subject to the interest rate in effect at the time of withdrawal.
All of Legal & General’s plans offer Downsizing Protection.
Valuation Features
A generous free unlimited valuation is provided, as well as a fixed equity release lifetime interest rate on each tranche of money removed, either initially or at each withdrawal.
Early Repayment Feature
Downsizing Protection in the L&G version implies that anybody moving house after 5 years from the plan start date can return the loan with no early repayment penalty, as long as the property they are moving into does not match L&G’s lending standards.
Equity Release Council Status
Legal & General is a member of the Equity Release Council, thus all of its plans include a no-negative-equity guarantee. As a result, upon ultimate sale of the property, any beneficiaries cannot be left with a debt to the equity release provider in excess of the property value.
Joint Application Features
The L&G Premier Optional Payment Black Lifetime Mortgage is offered as a single or joint life mortgage. The youngest homeowner is 55 years old, with an usual maximum age of 90 years old. In some cases, an age of 90 or older may be appropriate; please contact the team if this is the case.
There is an additional protection provision for the plan’s last survivor for joint applicants. If one of the homeowners dies or moves into care, the remaining spouse has the option of repaying the lifetime mortgage with no penalty within three years after either event.
Scheme Options
This Optional Legal and General Payment The Black Lifetime Mortgage allows homeowners to spend their tax-free money whenever they like, and also gives them the option of paying some or all of their monthly interest back to L&G via direct debit.
Personal circumstances may necessitate the cessation of monthly payments at any moment. In such cases, the plan will revert to a roll-up model, with interest accumulating each year after that. Even if monthly payments are no longer made, the L&G Optional Partial Repayment option becomes accessible, allowing up to 10% of the initial loan amount to be returned each year with no penalty. L&G permits four repayments in each 12-month period, each of which must be a minimum of £500. These payments do not exclude access to any potential drawdown facility.
The plan is appropriate for residential interest-only borrowers who have no repayment strategy and need cash to settle the debt, or for homeowners who want to release equity but are concerned about the interest accumulating throughout their lifespan.
Repayment Options
The monthly repayments might range from a minimum of £25 per month to 100 percent of the interest imposed by the lender each month. This allows managers to keep track of the lifetime mortgage UK scheme’s future balance. Choosing to pay 100 percent of the interest charged can assist keep a level balance, but paying off a smaller amount will slow down any interest roll-up. The Flexible OPLM Black plan has the extra benefit of not requiring evidence of income or affordability checks.
Inheritance Protection
Another possibility for inclusion is the Inheritance Protection function, which allows a homeowner to secure a predetermined proportion of the property’s final sale value. This is critical for individuals who want to ensure a percentage of the property value from their inheritance.
Cashback Options
The OPLM Black Lifetime Mortgage Plan has the option of receiving a 2% payback dependent on the amount borrowed. This results in a 0.2 percent increase in the equity release interest rate.
Footnotes
*The 3-year no-early-repayment-charge period applies to joint life plans when the loan is repaid within 3 years of a partner’s death or long-term care.
** The shown rate includes the usual application charge and there is no rebate.
Legal & General's Other Equity Release Schemes
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Editorial Note: This content has been independently collected by the SovereignBoss advisor team and is offered on a non-advised basis. Sovereignboss may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations. Learn more about our editorial guidelines.
HOW MUCH EQUITY CAN YOU RELEASE?
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