Lifestyle and Home Plans for Over 55s
At Rockhopper Later Life Finance we help customers aged 55 and over whose mortgage enquiry is driven by a positive lifestyle decision rather than a problem. A retirement trip you have been planning for years, a new business venture, a granny annexe to bring family closer, a holiday home for the grandchildren to visit. These are considered choices, and the mortgage advice should match them.
We work with customers whose property:
- Funding a long-planned retirement trip or bucket-list travel
- Starting a new business venture in retirement
- Building a granny annexe to support multi-generational living
- Extending their home or making other significant improvements
- Buying a holiday home in the UK or (with appropriate advice) abroad
- Bridging between the sale of an existing home and the purchase of a new one
- Simply enjoying their home’s value during their lifetime rather than leaving it in the estate
There is nothing wrong with using some of your home’s value to enjoy retirement. Many customers arrive slightly guilty about the idea, particularly where family opinions are mixed. We are happy to talk this through with you and, where appropriate, with your family.
Lifestyle-driven capital raising can be funded through equity release (lifetime mortgage or drawdown plan), a capital raising remortgage on an existing mortgage, or an unencumbered remortgage if you own your home outright. Which is right depends on the size of the amount required, your age, your income, and your preferences.
A granny annexe build is a specific lifestyle project that has grown considerably in popularity. It allows adult children to live nearby, offers grandparent child-care support, and creates future flexibility if care needs change. The planning, construction, and mortgage arrangement are separate conversations, and we handle the mortgage element.
Holiday home purchases in the UK are straightforward in mortgage terms, though some lenders treat second homes as higher risk than main residences. Overseas holiday homes (France, Spain, Portugal, Italy) are specialist territory and we will usually refer to a specialist overseas mortgage broker for those cases.
Downsizers who have bought a new home before selling their current one sometimes need bridging finance to cover the gap. This can be arranged against either the new property or the old one, and the decision depends on the specific timing and valuations.
The Process
Your first conversation is a relaxed discussion about your plans and how the mortgage element fits. There is no cost or obligation.
We complete a full fact-find and research the market. For lifestyle-driven equity release cases we recommend you involve family members in the decision, though we respect your choice not to if you prefer.
Every lifestyle case is different. A granny annexe build is a different conversation from a year-long retirement trip, and our advice is specific to what you are planning.
Speak to a Later Life Adviser
Call 0203 621 5696
Lines open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively, complete the enquiry form and we will call you back at a time that suits you.