The Co-operative Bank is seeking councils to work on an equity release scheme for older people who need repairs to their homes.
Three South-east councils have already expressed an interest.

Under an equity release scheme, a homeowner can take out a second mortgage on the house and repay it when the house is sold. The schemes are popular with elderly people who need to repair their homes.

The bank, which aims to be an ethical investor, plans to offer the loans at public sector rates (about 4%) rather than the commercial mortgage rates (about 5%) offered on most schemes.

In addition, it will not take a cut of the increased value of the repaired home that some firms take when the home is sold.

The bank hopes to find councils that could act as guarantors on the loans. It plans to bundle the transactions into tranches of £250,000 to £50 0,000 to reduce the costs, said David Dickman, the bank's head of co-operative and sector development.

Source

Housing Today