|
|
MARTIN'S QUICK BRIEFING
Should I equity release?
Sitting on a valuable house but not enough income...
Many older people find themselves with low incomes but valuable homes. My mailbag's swamped with "what's the cheapest equity release deal"; it's marketed as a way to spend a home's value while still living in it, either by taking a loan or selling part.
Yet while equity release rates don't sound higher than ordinary mortgages, they often cost much more as no repayments are made until you die, so interest rapidly compounds. E.g. borrow £20,000 aged 65 and live 25 years, and when you die £100,000 needs repaying. Though house price rises can offset this somewhat.
So you won't find 'best deals' on the site, as there's not one I'm happy to suggest. But that doesn't mean don't ever do it. Here are the key points...
- It's less an issue if you've no dependents. As the debt's repaid when you die.
- It can affect your benefits. Having cash rather than property can hit those eligible for benefits such as pension credit.
- Explore downsizing instead. For many, a cheaper alternative is to downsize (move to a smaller home). So explore this, but do it sooner - anecdotally, while many feel up to moving in their sixties, after that a disinclination to move sets in so it's much tougher.
- You typically need to be 60 to do it. Plus the younger you are, the less you can borrow.
- Ensure the company's a member of SHIP. This trade body's members all guarantee your estate will never owe more than your home is worth.
- Wait as long as you can. As a rule of thumb, at 7% the amount owed doubles every ten years. So the longer you wait, the lower the impact on your estate.
- Don't think 'I may as well do it in one go'. E.g. if you need £40,000 to last ten years, see if it's possible to get £20,000 now and the rest in five years. It'll usually work out much cheaper, plus you may need cash later for long term care.
- Speak to an independent mortgage broker. If you're seriously considering this, speak to an independent mortgage broker or financial advisor with an equity release speciality to find the best deal. See the mortgage broker finding guide.
While we're at it, do also read the free printed annuity guide if you're nearing retirement.
|
|
Ever saved money from this weekly email? We need your help.
Please help spread the word. Suggest friends & colleagues get it from moneysavingexpert.com/tips
|
| The Ones Not To Miss |
Cheapest Travel Insurance. £14 a YEAR (£28 for families) New Guide
Inc. super-cheap & new 'top value' picks with good feedback (over 65s deals too)
The volcano put travel insurers under the spotlight, so we've revamped & re-researched our guide adding tools and now including two best-buy categories... 'Cheapest' v 'Top Value': Our 'cheapest' are based on price alone, providing they meet min. cover levels, while 'top value' incorporates past performance from us, Defaqto & Which?, though even then nothing's perfect. Cheapest Annual Policies: Most are exclusive prices via comparison site Moneysupermarket (the links take you there). Single Person: Multitrip* is £14 in Europe and £22 Worldwide, with £150 excesses. Couples/Families: Multitrip* wins again, at £28 in Europe and £37 outside Over 65s: Prices rocket, but options include Flexicover* at £64 for 65-69s (see over 65s section for more). New 'top value' policies: The MSE & Defaqto top pick Direct Travel* is £33 for singles in Europe (£53 Worldwide) and £56 for families (£79 worldwide). These are just the tip of the iceberg. Full info, pros, cons & best buys in the New Guide: Cheap Travel Insurance Related: Package Hols, Travel Money, Cheap Flights
|
 |
Urgent! 900 FREE £400 A++ fridges blagged for MoneySavers
Totally free super-efficient fridge-freezers just for taking part in an energy efficiency trial
Just fill in an eligibility questionnaire to see if you're selected. Full info in the Deals Note: Free Fridge
Totally free £20 online World Cup bet. Bet £20, get it refunded straight back into your account if you lose. See the Deals Note: Free £20 Bet
Cheap MOTs! New map of 100 hidden council test centres
Council centres don't repair, so they've no interest in failing you, many save £100s
It's not the cost of the test most need worry about, it's the potential £100s of repairs. Yet follow these steps to slash the cost. Step 1: Walk round your car. Sounds obvious but a staggering 1 in 5 MOTs fail due to popped light bulbs, and countless more due to windscreen wipers or oil, all easily and cheaply fixable first. Step 2: New Council Run MOTs MAP. Some mechanics can be over-zealous at fault-spotting to gain lucrative repair business. Yet many councils have MOT centres set up for their own vehicles, which by law must open to the public too. As they don't do repairs, they've no incentive to fail you. For the first time we've mapped the 100 centres across the UK. The Proof of the Pudding: We've had lots of strong feedback like this email... "Just had my car MOT'd at one of the council centres and it passed!! The first time without the usual 250 for repairs. Thanks for the tip." FULL info in the Updated Guide & Map: Cheap MOTs Related: Cheap Car Insurance, Cheap Petrol, Breakdown Cover
|
 |
Last Chance? Free Laptop & web access grants worth up to £528
While there are 50,000 left we've had a tip off next Monday MAY be the last day you can get them
Just in case go quick. They're for families on lower incomes with kids in years 3 to 9. Full Guide: Free Laptop Grants
Gillette Fusion Pack £5 (razor, 3 blades, moisturiser etc). The blades alone usually cost over £6. See the Deals Note: Cheap Beauty
Urgent! Free £70 cashback & crate of wine with cheap gas & elec deal
Short term energy company promo (ends Wed/Thur) lets you switch, save & grab freebies
Most UK homes can save £250 a year switching to a cheap energy provider; yet currently you can boost that further. Scottish Power's got a promo on if you switch specifically via certain comparison sites (i.e. not direct) and you get £35 cashback each for gas & electricity on top of the usual extra freebies doled out via the special MSE links below. Is it any good? Most tariffs aren't but its Online Energy Reward is cheap, (not normally the very best-buy) yet incorporate the extra cashback and it's a big winner in many regions - to check do a comparison. As the rate's fixed until 31 July '11, like similar deals there's an up to £50 exit penalty if you leave early, so in the unlikely (but not impossible) event other prices drop substantially, this'd diminish the switching gain. Compare, switch & get extra cashback: You can get the cashback & freebies on two sites. Until Midnight Wed: Via Uswitch* you get the cashback + free 12 bottles of wine Wed am - until c. Thur 7.30pm: Top pick comparison site Energyhelpline* pays £15 cashback per switch on top of the £70. FULL switching info in the Guide: Switch Gas & Electricity Related: Boiler Cover, Grant Grabbing
50% off sales. Inc £120 suitcase for £32 & £45 Nine West sandals £15
Huge 50% off summer sales! Debenhams, French Connection, Kickers, Selfridges, Clarks & more
Join Urban Outfitters 50% off sale, Next 50% off, JJB Sports 50% off and more in the Daily Deals List: High St Sales
[[tip_box_in_tip]]
Totally free Moneywise magazine & 10 weeks Heat £12. Plus limited hot deals at Marie Claire, FHM & Grazia. See the Daily Deals List: Magazine Deals
Top 3% Easy Access Savings & New 3% Cash ISA
A shake up of the savings market means a host of best-buys have launched
A host of new savings deals have launched, boosting the interest you can earn. New Top Easy Access Savings: Two new top deals here, first A&L's* Online Saver Issue 7 pays 2.81% AER inc. 2.31% bonus for a year (min. £1,000). To earn more you need to be prepared to operate by post, and accept a 3 withdrawal/year limit with the new West Bromwich BS Direct Bonus Account 2. It pays 3% inc a 1% bonus until 31 March 2011 (min £1,000). Other options inc. Egg* and The AA which both pay 2.8% AER including a 2.3% bonus for a year (min.£1). New Top 3% Cash ISA: There's a new top deal to put this year's £5,100 tax-free cash ISA savings in - Market Harborough's Brighter ISA issue 8 (min £1) pays 3% AER though 0.75% of this is a year's intro bonus. Alternatively you can get 3.2%, AER but only if you bank with A&L and Santander, on its flexible cash ISA if you open it in branch. All these accounts have the full £50,000 per person UK savings safety guarantee. Full info in the Updated guides: Top cash ISAs, Top savings Related: Safe Savings, Top ISA transfers, Regular savings accounts
|
 |
On Sun 'Dads eat free' at Pizza Express, Frankie & Benny's & ASK
Father's Day restaurant offers: Includes haha, Caffe Uno, il Bertorelli and Brasserie Gerard
Plus normal 2for1s valid on Sun at Prezzo, Strada, Zizzi and 50% off La Tasca. See the Deals Note: Restaurant vouchers
Free Coldplay album download. Get the live album LeftRightLeftRightLeft, with 9 songs including Viva La Vida & Fix You courtesy of Coldplay. Full info on our Mp3 & CD comparison site: TuneChecker.com
Speedy Cheap Car Insurance: Can you beat 96p/year fully comp?
For the 1st time it's possible get over 200 quotes combining comparison services
The key to super-cheap car insurance is correctly combining comparison sites to speedily get the maximum quotes. We do a quarterly survey to calculate the best order, and for the first time using them all you can get over 200 quotes... Max Quotes Min Time: Using BOTH MoneySup* & GoCompare* checks 150+ different providers, to add more follow the full comparison site order. After you've found your cheapest quote, members of cashback websites may be able to get up to £100 on top. Alternative Quick Cashback Route: While they cover fewer providers, both BeatThatQuote* & MoneyExpert* pay £25 cashback if you get a policy through them - useful for a speedy all-in result. Can you beat 96p/year? That's still the all-time record following our full system. One MoneySaver got a £120.96 quote followed by £120 cashback, meaning 96p for a year's fully comp. Such ridiculously cheap results are rare, so we'd love to know if you beat it. FULL step-by-step Updated Guide: Cheap Car Insurance Report your cheapest: Car Insurance Results Related Cheap Insurance Guides: Van, Motorbike, Home
|
 |
£25 of iTunes for £20. Buy a £25 gift card at the Co-op between Mon 7 - Sun 20 June and get an automatic £5 discount. More in the Deals Note: Cheap iTunes
Free £20 Elemis products & 20% off O.P.I code in mags
New beauty deals! Plus 10% off Halfpriceperfumes.co.uk code & reduced Boots Nails Inc treatments
Join free Cowshed shower gel, Benefit make-up & Jemma Kidd lip gloss in the Daily Deals List: Beauty Deals
Reminder! Free 'no cold callers' sign. New rules say they must obey. The big six energy companies have agreed to obey the signs, so print a free one. See the Guide & Free Sign: Stop Cold Callers & Junk Mail
iPhone get paid £1/time survey app – more surveys coming. The Onepoll App mentioned a fortnight ago's been swamped, so there are fewer surveys than expected, but it says more are coming. See the Guide: Get survey cash
|
[[tip_box_in_tip]]
|
| Big & Easy Ways To Save |
| Quick links or click the titles for full pros, cons, alternatives & more savings |
- 0% Balance Transfers: Natwest*, RBS* and Barclaycard*, all 15 mths 0% 2.9% fee (APR 16.9%).
- Top Bank Accounts: A&L* £100 free cash & year's 0% overdraft, Halifax* £50 bonus then £5/mth
- 0% for spending: Virgin* 12 mths 0%, plus same on BTs, Tesco* 12 months 0%
- Cashback Credit Cards: Get 5% for 3 mths, up to 1.5% after on all spending with Amex Platinum*
- Home Insurance: Use as many as you can of GoCompare*, MSP* & Confused*, then get cashback
- Compare Mobile Recycling Sites: Check if you get up to £150 for old mobiles via MSE's mobilevaluer.com
- Cheap Personal Loans: £5k-£7.5k: A&L* 8.8%. £7.5k-15k: A&L* 7.8%. Over £15k: Tesco* 8.4%
- Cheapest Line Rental: Primus* £8.99/mth
- Free Printed 30 page+ MSE Guides: Annuities, Remortgaging, Mortgages
|
|
|
| More MoneySaving |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Archna's Free Game of the Week!
Can you give Rooney et al a run for their money? World Cup Breakout
Are you chaffing or chafing? That's it for this week. Yet before we go, a bit of word training for all of us. Many words look or sound similar, but mean entirely different things, so check out the Commonly confused words list.
We hope you save some money,
Martin & the MSE team
|
|
 |
Q. Can a person hold cash ISAs with more than one provider? Some good deals won't allow transfers in. So, either one can have more than one provider, or such reasonable offers aren't reasonable? Joy, by email
Martin's A: This is a common confusion. The 'you can only have one cash ISA' rule only applies to the current tax year only. So you can have lots of different Cash ISAs for lots of different tax years.
Thus if you want to open a new cash ISA for the 2010-11 year, you needn't do it with the same provider you've opened ISAs with in previous years.
There's also nothing stopping you opening one cash ISA for new money, and a separate one to transfer prior years' cash ISAs (as long as none of this years cash goes in).
|
Discuss: How many ISAs can I have?
Suggest: A question of the week
(big general issues not personal q's pls) |
|
Explanation of * Links
FSA NOTE: Referring people to insurers or insurance intermediaries can in some circumstances require FSA authorisation. For this reason, Martin Lewis of Shepherd's Studios, Charecroft Way, Shepherd's Bush, London W14 0EH is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
How this site is financed. Any links with a * by
them are affiliated. That means go via this link and a contribution may be made
to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay ad-free and free to use. You
shouldn't notice any difference, the links don't impact the product at all and
the editorial line (the things we write) is NEVER impacted by it. If it isn't
possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in
exactly the same way. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the
following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for the same things: moneysupermarket.com, direct-travel.co.uk, uswitch.com, virginmoney.com, alliance-leicester.co.uk, barclaycard.co.uk, energyhelpline.com, gocompare.com, halifax.co.uk, confused.com, tescofinance.com, beatthatquote.com, moneyexpert.com, natwest.com, rbs.co.uk, americanexpress.com, homephonechoices.co.uk. Read more about this in how this site is financed.
MoneySavingExpert.com is the free to use Consumer Revenge website focused on how to save you cash. It's owned, and run by ultra-focused journalist and bestselling author Martin Lewis. On TV amongst other things Martin is GMTV's Money SavingExpert and presents money programmes for ITV1 Tonight. On Radio Martin has regular slots on Radio 2 Vine and Radio 1 Whiley. He's also a columnist for amongst others the News of The World, The Telegraph and the Sunday Post. Find out more: About the site and its funding.
Disclaimer: This e-mail is based on journalistic research. It does not constitute financial advice. Any information should be considered in regard to your
own specific circumstances. All tips are followed at your own risk and should be followed up with your own research Full Terms & Conditions.
To change your E-mail or stop receiving Tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips |
|
Latest weekly email
