“More and more” homeowners using drawdown lifetime mortgages

Increasing numbers of homeowners are taking advantage of drawdown lifetime mortgages according to industry experts.

Intune group ltd, the subsidiary of Help the Aged which provides financial products to those aged over 50 years old, said drawdown mortgages allow the consumer to release money from property over stages.

Mark Gettinby, director of financial services of the Intune group, said: “This gives clients the peace of mind of knowing that they have funds available to them as and when they need them.”

Drawdown mortgages, among other equity release plans, are commonly used to supplement income, fund one off purchases or to pay off debts such as credit cards and mortgages to increase disposable income.

Mr Gettingby added that they especially benefit the homeowners over the age of 55.

According to research from the Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP), drawdown mortgages account for 51 per cent of all new equity release plans sold.

Further findings from SHIP found that the sale of equity release plans had increased by 15 per cent in the third quarter of 2007.

Tags: Aged, equity release, debts, ltd, economics, Help the Aged, director of financial services of the Intune group, safe

Brits losing a fortune by failing to put their cash in savings accounts

In the olden days stashing your money in various cunning locations around the house seemed to be the norm, as many people did not have access to savings accounts as they do today.

However, according to a recent survey there are still an alarming number of Brits that insist on keeping their cash in the house, which not only raises security issues but also means that collectively Brits could be losing out on millions of pounds worth of interest from banks and building societies each and every year.

A recent survey was carried out by Virgin Money, and according to the result of the survey around one in every six adults in Britain are still keeping cash in the home rather than opting to place it in a savings account. The results indicate that if these people were to put the cash that they have kept in the house into an average Internet savings account they could be accruing around £174 million each year in interest collectively. Instead, this money simply sits around earning nothing for them, and increased the risk of financial losses through theft in the event that the cash is stolen by a visitor or the house is burgled.

The survey showed that one percent of Brits that were surveyed admitted to having up to one thousand pounds in the home, whereas two percent of Brits stated that they had up to five thousand stashed in the home. Experts warn that since inflation has been on the rise, and the money is simply lying around failing to accrue any interest, it is in danger of losing its purchasing power, so consumers are doing nothing to help themselves by leaving it in the home.

Industry professional add that there is around three and a half billion pounds in total that is lying around the homes of Brits rather than being placed into savings account, and that this amount could depreciate by two hundred million pounds within the next three years.

Tom Smith
10th June 2007

Tags: inflation, savings, lose, bank, earn, safe, cash, value, spend, interest