Expert equity release advice – socially distanced!

Getting to know our equity release clients 

We love getting to know our equity release clients and understanding their personal retirement goals and discussing whether equity release might be appropriate to help achieve them. Face-to-face appointments have always been a key part of our service – and we have always travelled to our clients, so they can receive expert advice in the comfort of their own homes.

And then coronavirus struck! We’ve still been getting to know our equity release clients and helping them, by phone and video call. It’s been a great emergency solution, but it’s not quite the same! 

That’s why we’re delighted that the easing of lockdown restrictions means our equity release advisors can travel to meet new clients in the comfort of their gardens and discuss their plans and options with them – from a safe social distance. 

Don’t worry if you don’t have a garden; if there is a convenient local space where we would be able to conduct our meeting with some degree of privacy (such as a relative’s garden), we are happy to meet you there, or we can still have our consultation over the phone or video call. 

Keeping you safe at all times

Your health and wellbeing are our number one concern, so our expert equity release advisers are following the latest health advice and adhering to all the guidelines, for as long as they remain in place: 

• We will conduct our meetings with you no closer than the recommended safe social distance in a well-ventilated space (outside, if necessary)
• We will minimise touch points; we ask you to open doors prior to our visit so we don’t have to touch the handles and to provide your own pen 
• We will follow government guidelines about reducing the spread of infection with the documents we bring (currently, we are preparing client paperwork and then setting it aside untouched for 72 hours prior to our appointments)
• We will call shortly before our scheduled visit to check it is still alright for us to visit 
• If our advisers develop any of the symptoms of Covid-19, they will postpone their appointment with you or conduct it over the phone or via video call. 

We are still offering remote consultations if you would prefer a virtual meeting; if you have underlying health conditions, we will only offer a virtual or phone meeting, until the health guidelines change. We will therefore check this with you when you first contact us. 

Keeping you safe as your equity release application progresses 

If you decide that you would like to proceed with an equity release application, we have to involve other professionals to complete the process, including a lawyer to give you independent legal advice and confirm your identity, and a chartered surveyor to value your property. These professions have also adapted their processes to enable them to operate effectively within the current health restrictions and will take similar precautions to make sure they follow best-practise procedures at all times. 

We’re delighted that the easing of lockdown restrictions mean we can visit our equity release clients in person once more and look forward to getting to know them – from a safe social distance!