Borrowing options when you're aged 60+
Yes, mortgages are available for customers over the age of 60. There are lots of different options but success will depend on which lenders are willing to lend to you based on your personal circumstances and their criteria. Mortgage experts from Mortgage Advice Bureau will search over 90 lenders to offer the right advice and product for you.
If you want to borrow money to repay in full then you have the option to take out a standard mortgage, with many lenders willing to lend even if you are already retired. Other options that may be open to you include lifetime mortgages which allow you to borrow and add some or all of the interest to the mortgage.
Anyone over the age of 55 can look at equity release or lifetime mortgages.
Lifetime mortgages will reduce the value of your estate and can affect your eligibility for means tested benefits.
Most lenders will have their own age limit for mortgages. A rough guide for taking out a mortgage is a maximum age of 65 - 80 and the age limit for when a mortgage would end would be between 70 and 85.
You could get up to 25 years on a mortgage for over 60s but this will depend on lenders and their specific affordability criteria as well as your credit score. Again, a mortgage adviser will be able to let you know the options that will fit your circumstances.
To improve your chances of getting approved for the mortgage that you would like, bear in mind the following points.
Have a clear plan of how you will pay the loan back including how much you can afford for your monthly payments. You could also think about whether you will be able to overpay at any time or pay off lump sums.
Know how much you can afford – compare your monthly incoming finances to your monthly outgoings. See what your previous mortgage repayments have been and decide whether you would need the new payments to be lower or you could afford to pay more each month.
Work on improving your credit score to the best it can be by making sure that you pay bills on time and demonstrate good use of credit. You can also dispute any inaccuracies on your credit report if you notice that there’s something that you don’t agree with on there.
As we have explained, there are several options for later life mortgages and the experts at Mortgage Advice Bureau could help you find the right mortgage deal for your circumstances. Request a call back by answering a few mortgage related questions or pop into your nearest building society branch.