My grandad completely forgot he took out a lifetime mortgage

[hobbitum]

A few hours ago I didn't even know what a lifetime mortgage was and wish I didn't now!

My grandad is 90 and thought he had paid off his mortgage. He was getting annual statements that he was putting to one side and not looking at properly thinking they were just a formality.

He was informed this week a new provider was taking it over and his friend saw the letter and realised what has happened. He has made no repayments or paid off any interest for who knows how long.

My grandad doesn't remember taking this remortgage out and it now looks as if it will take his home and every penny of his when he's gone.

The more I find out the more I'm worried there is no recourse and his own awful mistake. He's devastated, completely shocked and feels a failure - I think this will seriously affect his health which is my main concern. He is of sound mind.

I don't know why I'm posting here to be honest - surely mortgage lenders should be checking in on customers like this and doing a bit more than just sending standard letters and waiting to take everything when you die? I just don't know how he could have got himself into this situation. What on Earth can I do to help?

He new what he was doing at the time, and received regular letters as updates. There is nothing more to be done.

It's sad for the family, but it doesn't sound as though it was mis sold.

why did he remortgage and what did he do with that money?

Why did he think he was getting annual statements if he thought he'd paid off the mortgage? What did he think they were for? If he was uncertain then he should have asked someone else to cast an eye over them and they would have told him what was happening, so maybe he's not got quite as much competency as you think.

I am so sorry. This is awful for you all.
In store other people will be among with experience of these things, but in the meantime gather all the statements and see if he had a signed agreement somewhere. If you can't find the agreement I'd suggest you help him write a letter asking the lender for a copy. It's important to get this information to establish if the debt can be enforced.
Also, how much did he borrow and where did this money go? You might need to track our through his bank.
But start by finding out about the loan Anna what he actually signed.

Sounds like equity release

You and other family members need to reassure him that this is perfectly ok and you wanted him to be able to enjoy his retirement years without money worries.

No, sadly not. Thanks for the reply. Is it even worth trying to start making repayments of any kind, or is it a drop in the ocean now?

I just don't think he'll get over this. I'm not his carer but am his only relative really and am just thinking about how I can help him manage this.

Was it equity release? If so you could try to get advise from the financial ombudsman and see what they say.

Well he got statements and did nothing about it so either he DID know and was burying his head in the sand OR he didn't have capacity, in which case his family should have been more involved.
And apologies for sounding callous but when he is no longer here he won't actually need his house will he so does it really matter? Only to anyone who was hoping for inheritance

Did he seek advice before signing?
It is a requirement now for sure
Get lpa so you can deal
Get all docs

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/equity-release/

When you say 'take everything when he is gone', he won't be there to worry about that. It will be his estate that has to pay any shortfall etc. Unless that is what you are worried about - there won't be anything left to inherit, or?

As FrenchandSaunders said, where did the money go?

You need to talk to him and ask if he wants your help digging into this. You might not like what you find.

On the plus side, he has a home he can live in until he passes away. I'd focus on that for now with him. That he's safe, his home is still his, nothing will change for him.

However, the legislation around these types of agreement has been tightened up in recent years. There were a lot of unscrupulous providers previously, some of which has been challenged. I'd start by trying to track down paperwork, maybe put an access request in to the mortgage provider if he's able to at least sign or give consent,

Is there no equity at all in the house? How long has he held the mortgage for? If it was a remortgage was it recently?

There's nothing to be done now, other than tell him not to worry about it at all. I wouldn't try to make any payments above the interest payments, unless he has plenty of spare money and if paying a small amount monthly might help him feel better about the whole thing?

Not possible, given the situation!

You can exercise LPA rights if he says so so you can deal with financial matters. If has capacity he can sign lpa docs then when it is in place you or whoever he decides has lpa can do leg work on his behalf to find the docs et c

Thank you all for the replies.

Yes it was an equity release thing Safe, for a relatively small amount that has pretty much quietly quadrupled in the background and now could amount to more than the cost of his home.

I'm trying to help him concentrate on the here and now Red as that's all that matters but I'm afraid the stress will deeply affect him, that's my worry at the moment.

Why? OP said he was of sound mind and knew what he was doing. Doesn’t sound like he has been taken advantage of.

Was he not paying even the interest on the mortgage?

Presumably he's paying something? If it's equity release then he'll have received a lump sum (what happened to it?) and I'm sure he'll have to pay some kind of interest to the lender unless it's all capitalising to the debt. When he's gone the house will be sold and it'll repay the debt. So he doesn't really have to worry about it - that's the purpose of equity release. But of course there won't be a house or money to pass down.

But what is he worried about exactly?
Hopefully he is in no danger of losing the house so he can only be worried about not leaving anything behind for his family.
I appreciate that he might be feeling a bit foolish and upset he can't remember doing this (if indeed he can't) but nothing bad has actually happened, the situation is exactly the same as last week or before whenever it was this came to light

Why not possible? He has a secured home for the rest of his life. He's either spent the money (presumably on things he enjoyed) or he still has some left (that he can still enjoy).

It's only stressful if he thinks that he has let down family members by not leaving them any inheritance. So they need to reassure him that he hasn't.