The best way to get it right in regard to using equity release is by getting help and advice from specialist financial advisers who will help you understand which steps you can take without risking your money or your home. This is especially important because equity release is usually a last resort option and so must be treated with great care. It is however a process that helps to put cash in your hands though depending on the value of your home you will get different amounts of money.

Even though you get cash for your home, it does not mean that you have to give up rights to ownership of the home which still remains with you until you either move out of the home or until the date of your death. One other important benefit that you get from this option is that there will not be any need for you to pay back your debt until after you sell off your home.

This is however a double edged sword because though it is certainly helpful for those borrowers who are not able to pay back their debts; it is also not a good option as it raises the cost of obtaining your cash. However, the positive side to this option is that it does allow you to spend the money obtained on anything that you like and furthermore it also helps you with planning your inheritance taxes.

Even in spite of all the perceived benefits, it is still important to know what you are getting into before going in for equity release and it also will pay if you first find out as to how it works. There are two ways in which this option works and these are lifetime mortgage and reversion.

In case you opt for reversion then you have the option of selling off either the entire home or part of it and this also ensures that you do not have to pay tax on the cash received. But, at the same time, the amount of money realised from the sale of your home may be less than expected, which is a major drawback to using reversion plans.

In the case of lifetime mortgage, you will get a non taxable loan against your home but the home has to be put up as collateral for the loan. Such an option offers the benefit of not having to pay off your debts until after the sale of your home has been completed. The only exception to this rule is if you die or if you move out of your present home and into a care home in which case the home will be taken over by the lender.

A lifetime mortgage however does come with attached interest and so your financial burden increases as you must pay interest along with interest on any interest that has accumulated while repaying the debt.

All this only shows that there are dangers associated with this kind of equity release and so before opting for lifetime mortgage, be sure that you consult a reputable independent financial specialist who will either recommend or dissuade you from proceeding further.