Care Advance Loan
A reverse mortgage from Care Advance. Borrow against the value of your home with no repayments while you live in it. The loan is repaid when the home is sold or the last borrower moves out.
How it works
A reverse mortgage is the opposite of a home loan. With a home loan you make repayments every month. With a reverse mortgage you make none while you live in the home. Interest is added to the loan instead, so the amount you owe grows over time, and the loan is repaid when the home is sold or the last borrower moves out. You stay the owner, and the title stays in your name.
Care Advance is the lender. How much you can borrow depends on your age and the value of the property, and you can take the money as a lump sum, a regular amount, a line of credit to draw on when you need it, or a mix. Australian law protects you with a no negative equity guarantee: you can never owe more than your home is worth when it is sold.
What the Care Advance Loan gives you
No regular repayments
Nothing to pay while you live in your home. You can make repayments whenever you like, without penalty.
You keep your home
You stay the owner, the title stays in your name, and any rise in the home's value is yours.
You stay for life
You can live in your home for as long as you choose, provided you keep it insured, maintained and the rates paid.
Paid the way you choose
A lump sum, a regular amount, a line of credit, or a mix. Change it later if your needs change.
Protected by law
Reverse mortgages are regulated credit. You can never owe more than the home is worth, and you get independent legal advice before you sign.
Your money, your choice
Care is the most common reason people borrow. What you use it for is up to you.
How much you could borrow
The amount depends on your age and the value of the home. As a guide, a borrower aged 60 can usually borrow about a fifth of the home's value, and the share rises a little with every year of age. If you borrow with a partner, the younger partner's age is used. Any loan still on the home is paid out first from the new loan.
You do not have to borrow the maximum. The calculator gives you a figure for your age and home in about a minute, and on the first call we set out what the loan would cost over time.
How much could you borrow?
See the range a Care Advance Loan could offer for your age and home, next to what the Government's Scheme could pay. It takes about a minute.
Who can apply
A Care Advance Loan suits most homeowners over 60, including people who do not qualify for the Government's Scheme or need more than it allows.
You need to
- Be aged 60 or over. For couples, the younger borrower must be 60
- Own a home in Australia: a house, unit or townhouse, with your name on the title
- Live in the home as your principal residence
- Keep the home insured and in good repair, and the rates paid
Good to know
- Any existing home loan is paid out from the new loan, so you have one loan and no repayments
- Homes in retirement villages, and relocatable homes in land-lease or manufactured home parks, are not accepted
- Every borrower gets independent legal advice before the loan settles
- A power of attorney can apply on your behalf, with a few extra documents
Three things that cannot change
You own your home
The title stays in your name. You keep every dollar the home gains in value, and you decide if and when it is ever sold.
You stay for life
You cannot be asked to leave or to sell as long as you live in the home and meet the usual obligations: rates, insurance and upkeep.
You never owe more than it's worth
By law, when the home is sold the amount repaid can never be more than the sale price, no matter how long interest has built up.
How interest works
Interest is charged only on the money you have actually drawn, and it is added to the loan rather than paid each month. Because it is added to the balance, it compounds: over the years the amount owing grows faster than a simple sum suggests. That is the trade for having no repayments, and it is why we show you how the balance could grow before you decide.
Your interest rate and any fees are set out in writing in your loan offer. You can make repayments at any time to slow the growth, and there is no penalty for doing so.
What we do
Five steps from the first call to settlement.
Talk it through
For you, and anyone you want involved
We set out what a Care Advance Loan could provide, how the interest builds up, and how it compares with the Scheme.
Your application
Short, and in plain English
Our own application, not a government form. You provide identification, a council rates notice, your insurance details and any loan statement. Our team is a phone call away throughout.
Assessment and valuation
We assess, a valuer visits
We assess your application and arrange an independent valuation of the home.
Your written offer
The figures in black and white
The amount, the rate, any fees and how the money will be paid, set out for you and your family to read in your own time.
Legal advice and settlement
Then the money arrives
You get independent legal advice, sign, and the loan settles. Any existing home loan is paid out, and the rest is paid to you the way you chose.
Independent advice
We give general information, not personal financial advice. Before you commit, get independent financial and legal advice. The legal advice is required before any reverse mortgage settles.
What it costs
The first conversation is free. The interest rate, any fees and how they are charged are set out in your written offer before you decide, and nothing is charged until you accept it.
Talk it through with us.
The first conversation is free, with no obligation.