Equity release calculator — the compounding, shown honestly

Providers' calculators tell you what you can borrow. This one tells you what borrowing costs: the compound roll-up of a lifetime mortgage against your home's projected value, so the question that matters — how much of the house is left? — gets a number. Your figures never leave your browser.

The doubling arithmetic

With no repayments, interest compounds on interest: at 6% the debt doubles roughly every 12 years, so £80,000 released at 70 can be £250,000+ owed at 90. House-price growth offsets some of it, which is why this page projects both sides. Many plans allow voluntary interest payments that stop the compounding entirely — the single most cost-effective feature to use if income allows.

Council-standard plans guarantee no negative equity and lifetime tenure. The costs beyond interest: less for care fees or inheritance later, possible effects on means-tested benefits, and early repayment charges. Downsizing releases equity without a loan at all — the full Hundred Summers plan models both routes inside your whole picture, estate included.