Specialist

A lot has been written about lifetime mortgages and equity release products - some of it positive, some of it not.

Last week we described the profile of a typical candidate for a lifetime mortgage, based on consumer research conducted by Prudential so this week, we show you how best to target the prospects once you've identified them.

Much press comment around pensions focuses on the negative aspects, such as pensioners who are struggling to make ends meet.

None of us can predict what life will throw at us in the next 25 years.

When it came to designing its lifetime mortgage products, Prudential was determined to give customers what they wanted, so they carried out lots of consumer research.

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has launched a web page for members providing information on equity release products and a "good practice" factsheet.

Almost two million families could benefit from early inheritance as one in five people plan to release equity from their home to help their children during their own lifetime, according to Scottish Widows Bank.

The Association of Independent Financial Advisers (Aifa) has called for specific professional qualifications to become the standard for those wishing to advise in the market.

Equity release lending grew by 3% in the last three months of 2005, according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Fund manager George Luckraft is predicting there could be an imminent rise in the number of unsold or vacant buy-to-let properties, which will in turn make banking stocks less attractive as an investment.