1.1 The Bridgewater Equity Release Flexible Release Plan is offered by the following companies controlled by Grainger plc:

Transcription

1 Bridgewater Equity Release Limited Flexible Release Plan Terms and Conditions 4 th Edition 1 Introduction 1.1 The Bridgewater Equity Release Flexible Release Plan is offered by the following companies controlled by Grainger plc: Bridgewater Equity Release Limited; Bridgewater Equity Release Nominees (No 1) Limited and Bridgewater Equity Release Nominees (No 2) Limited (the Landlords named in the Lease and the Trustees named in the Declaration of Trust) 1.2 These terms and conditions apply to your plan and should be read together with the following Documents: the Lease, the Conditions, the Declaration of Trust, the Home Reversion Plan Offer and any other documents appropriate to the plan. 1.3 Throughout these Conditions we use a number of technical words and other expressions which we have highlighted in italics. We have explained the meaning of these words and expressions in section 17 at the end of these Conditions. 2 The basis of the plan 2.1 How the plan works can be summarised as follows: i. We will buy a share of your property. ii. iii. iv. You will transfer your legal ownership of the property to us. In exchange, we will make the cash payment to you and we will grant to you a Lease of the property. As long as you follow the terms of the Lease, you will have the right to live in the property, rent-free, for the rest of your life. You and we will sign the Declaration of Trust to describe the terms on which we will own the property and to protect both your share of the net sale proceeds and our share of the net sale proceeds. The percentage share which we will each own or hold will be stated in the Declaration of Trust. v. When you die, or if you leave the property permanently, we will sell the property. We will pay your share of the net sale proceeds to you or your estate and we will be entitled to our share of the net sale proceeds. 2.2 Shortly after you apply for the plan we will arrange for an independent valuation to be carried out on your property and a report will be produced. A copy of the report will be made available to you. A valuation fee will be payable by you to us, details of this are available upon request. 2.3 We may hold a retention until we receive satisfactory confirmation that any remedial works identified in the valuation report have been carried out. This, together with the works required to be carried out on your property will be stipulated in writing in any subsequent Home Reversion Plan Offer we make to you. 1

2 2.4 Where asbestos is identified we will hold a retention until this has been removed by you and we are in receipt of a Consignment Note to that effect. 2.5 Where we have held a retention, we will give a period of up to 3 months from the completion date (or such longer period as we, acting reasonably agree), for any stipulated remedial works to be carried out. You should advise us if you require longer. If you do not carry out the work required we will be entitled to do so and will apply the retention to the cost of the works. If the cost of the works are less than the retention the difference will be refunded to you. If the cost of the works are more than the retention we shall be entitled to recover the cost of this from you on demand together with any associated costs of recovery action in connection with this. Or we shall deduct such costs from your share of the net sale proceeds together with a rate of interest equal to the prevailing Bank of England base rate plus 3% per year before releasing any sum to you or your estate. We emphasise that this is only a summary of how the plan works. You must not read it in isolation, but must see it as only a part of the Documents. 3 Our promise to you 3.1 For as long as you keep to your obligations set out in the Documents we will not seek to interfere with or disturb your use and enjoyment of the property. 3.2 We will endeavour to act fairly and in a reasonable manner towards you. We encourage you to tell us whenever you feel we have not done so. 3.3 In respect of your obligations to repair and maintain the property set out in these Conditions, we do not expect you or your Personal Representatives to maintain the property to a state which exceeds the state the property is in when the plan commences. 4 Things you must do during the plan term 4.1 You must use the property as your only or main residence. We will decide whether the property is your main residence based on factors including where you live for the majority of the time, where you are registered to vote and where the majority of your belongings are kept. 4.2 You must pay punctually any rent, service charges, utilities, outgoings and taxes payable for the property until we have vacant possession and the Lease is surrendered. 4.3 Subject to section 3.3, you must maintain the property in good repair and condition. 4.4 You must maintain the interior decor and exterior of the property to a clean and tidy standard, including its redecoration as often as reasonably necessary. 4.5 You must keep the property insured in the joint names of you and Bridgewater Equity Release Limited against loss or damage by fire and such other risks as is usual for residential property. The sum insured must be sufficient to restore the property to its present condition and it must be index-linked. 4.6 We reserve the right to refuse your choice of insurance provider where we have legitimate concerns such as, but not limited to, the provider s financial capability. Where we have such concerns we will inform you. 2

3 4.7 You must not do anything to invalidate the insurance. If you receive any payment from the insurance company as a result of a claim being made under the terms of the insurance policy, you must apply that money to repair the damage for which the claim was made. 4.8 Where you do not maintain adequate insurance of the property, we may make our own arrangements to do so. We shall be entitled to recover the cost of this insurance, together with an annual administration charge, from you or your estate on demand or from the share of the net sale proceeds due to you or your estate. Please see our latest Tariff of Charges for details of these costs. 4.9 You must send us a completed Certificate of Occupation and a copy of your home insurance schedule following request by us. We will write to you each year about this You must comply with all Town and Country Planning requirements and other legislation affecting the property You must tell us if you receive any notice relating to Town and Country Planning matters. If the notice reasonably requires you to do anything you must do it. If we, acting reasonably, require you to join with us in objecting to or contesting the notice, you should do so You must observe and perform all (if any) matters mentioned and referred to in any of the following: i. the Lease; ii. iii. the Register relating to the property kept at the Land Registry ( the Register ); any other document referred to in the Register If you wish to do anything which needs our consent, you must pay our reasonable costs for considering and administering your request, even if we refuse to give consent. We will always give our reasons for any refusal. Please see our latest Tariff of Charges which lists the costs and fees that may be payable by you to us during the lifetime of the plan Where a Personal Representative is appointed to handle your affairs, we must be notified of this in writing, and supplied with appropriate documentation confirming this. 5 Things you must not do during the plan term 5.1 You must not allow anyone else to move into the property without our written consent, as described in section You must not charge, assign, underlet, part with possession of the whole or any part of the property, hold the property on trust for any other person or enter into any agreement to do so without our written consent. We will give our consent only in the circumstances described in sections 8, 9 or You must not alter the property in any way without our consent. 3

4 5.4. You must not abandon the property as we would regard this as a default. If you intend to leave the property for a continuous period of 6 calendar months or more you or your Personal Representatives must notify us. Where we are in agreement to this, you must provide us with a forwarding address. If you or your Personal Representatives do leave the property for a period of time in excess of this without seeking our consent, we may regard you as having abandoned the property. 6 Selling the property 6.1 We will not sell the property before a trigger event or default happens unless you ask us in writing to do so. 6.2 We will be entitled to sell the property when either a trigger event, or default occurs. Where a trigger event occurs we will give a period of 8 weeks from the date of the trigger event for the property to be cleared. You or your Personal Representatives must notify us if you require longer. Any extension to this will be at our discretion acting reasonably. 6.3 Where a default occurs, you will be served with a formal written request from us to you giving you notice to leave the property, during which time the property must be cleared. Where you do not leave, we will seek a court order to take possession of the property. 6.4 Once the property has been cleared you or your Personal Representatives must forward the keys to us at the following address: Bridgewater Equity Release Limited, Retirement Solutions Dep t, Citygate, St. James Boulevard, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JE. 6.5 We will commence the sale of the property once we receive the keys. 6.6 When selling the property as described in this section we will do the following: i. We will establish the open market value. ii. Subject to section 3.3, if we, acting reasonably, believe it is necessary to carry out repairs or other works to the property before it is sold, we shall arrange for those repairs or other works to be carried out. We shall be entitled to reclaim the costs of those repairs, together with an administration fee, from you or your estate on demand. Please see our latest Tariff of Charges for details of these costs. Alternatively we may deduct the cost of those repairs from the share of the net sale proceeds due to you or your estate. iii. We will appoint a selling agent to advertise the property for sale with a view to finding a purchaser willing to purchase the property for the open market value or such lesser sum as would be reasonable for us to accept. Should you or your Personal Representatives wish to appoint a particular selling agent, we will consider such a request. Where we refuse such a request, we will tell you why. iv. When we have received an offer to purchase the property for a price which we, acting reasonably, believe to be the best price obtainable, we will instruct solicitors to deal with the sale. v. We will notify you or your Personal Representatives when a sale is agreed. vi. On or immediately after the sale date we will arrange for your share of the net proceeds (after deducting any amounts to which we are entitled under this agreement), to be paid to you or to your estate or to any solicitor nominated by you or your estate. 4

5 6.7 Where we are required to remove any remaining contents from the property because you or your estate have not cleared the property, we may make a charge for this. Please see our latest Tariff of Charges for further details. 6.8 We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the property is sold within a reasonable period of time. In doing this we may delay the sale for any legitimate reason where we reasonably consider the selling price can be optimised by such a delay. Such legitimate reasons include but are not limited to market conditions, remedy of any title defects or defects in the condition of the property. 7 Long term care 7.1 If you intend to move out of the property because you need long term care you or your Personal Representatives must notify us in writing. 7.2 Where your plan is held in joint names and one of you moves into long term care, the plan will continue as normal for the remaining party named on it. 7.3 Where the remaining or sole occupier leaves the property to move permanently into long term care, we must be sent the keys as stated in section Transfer of the plan to a new home 8.1 If you wish to move to a new home and transfer the plan, you must tell us in writing. A fee would be payable by you to us to make this change. Please see our latest Tariff of Charges for details of these costs. You will need to complete an application form to transfer the plan to a new home. We recommend you take financial advice as to the effects of doing this. 8.2 Any new home must meet the property suitability criteria applicable at that time. 8.3 The purchase of any new home and sale of your current property must take place at the same time. 8.4 We will appoint an independent valuer to give his opinion of the open market value of your potential new home and to tell us whether it is suitable for the plan. A valuation fee will be payable by you to us, details of this are available upon request. 8.5 If the purchase price of the new home is greater than the gross sale proceeds of the original property, you must provide the difference between these two prices from your own resources. The percentage ownership may need to be adjusted accordingly. 8.6 If the purchase price of the new home is lower than the gross sale proceeds of the original property, the difference, subject to sections 8.7(i) and 8.11, shall be divided between you and us in the agreed proportions. 8.7 We will sell the original property as follows: i. Subject to section 3.3, if we, acting reasonably, believe it is necessary to carry out repairs or other works to the original property before it is sold, we shall be entitled to arrange for those repairs or other works to be carried out. You must meet the costs of such repairs or other works. We shall be entitled to reclaim the costs of those repairs, together with an administration fee, from you on demand. Please see our latest Tariff of Charges for details of these costs. 5

6 Alternatively we may deduct the cost of those repairs from any share of the net sale proceeds due to you. ii. We will appoint a selling agent (whom you may nominate acting reasonably) to advertise the original property for sale with a view to finding a purchaser willing to purchase the original property for the open market value or such lesser sum as would be reasonable for us to accept. iii. When we have received an offer to purchase the original property for a price which we, acting reasonably, believe to be the best price obtainable, we will instruct solicitors to deal with the sale. 8.8 You must appoint solicitors to act for you. 8.9 You will surrender the Lease of the original property We will buy the new home and we will give to you a Lease of the new home in substantially the same form as the Lease of the original property You must pay all costs and disbursements relating to the sale of the original property and the purchase of the new home from your own resources, including our solicitor s costs, your own solicitor s costs, any costs resulting from you taking financial advice, any selling agent s fees and the stamp duty land tax (if any) both in relation to the purchase of the new home by us and in relation to the Lease of the new home You and we must sign a new Declaration of Trust. 9 If someone moves out of the property 9.1 If there are two of you named on the plan and you wish to change the Lease and transfer your share to only one of you, because the other no longer lives at the property, you must ask for our consent. A fee would be payable by you to us to make this change. Please see our latest Tariff of Charges for details of these costs. All parties will need to complete and sign an application form for this. We recommend you both take financial advice as to the effects of doing this. 9.2 Provided you are not in default, we may, acting reasonably, consent to the transfer and we may release whichever of you is leaving from your obligations to us. Once we receive your application we will give full consideration to the transfer. We may need to satisfy ourselves that the party to remain on the plan can maintain the property financially on their own. 9.3 On completion of the transfer, the Documents will remain in force for the remaining life tenant. 9.4 The remaining life tenant will be required to sign the new Documents necessary to put this arrangement in place. You will both require separate independent legal representation in the process of transferring your interest in the property from joint names to a sole name. You will be responsible for paying your and our solicitors costs and disbursements and any costs resulting from you taking financial advice. 9.5 The remaining life tenant may be eligible to apply for a further cash payment and section 12 will apply. 9.6 If you have someone living with you who is not a life tenant, you must tell us if they move out permanently. 6

7 10 If someone moves into the property 10.1 If you are the only life tenant of the property but would like another person to become a joint life tenant, you must ask for our consent. A fee would be payable by you to us to make this change. Please see our latest Tariff of Charges for details of these costs. We recommend you both take financial advice as to the effects of doing this Provided you are not in default, we will consent to the transfer providing: i. We are satisfied you have taken legal advice as to the effects of making the transfer ii. You were both aged 65 or over at the date the original Home Reversion Plan Offer signed by us. iii. You will both live at the property 10.3 If we consent to the transfer you will have to repay to us part of the cash payment and/or we may modify the agreed proportions to reflect the amount that would have been paid for a joint life tenancy. You and we must sign a new Declaration of Trust to reflect the changes made to the plan You will both be required to complete and sign an application form for this and sign the necessary Documents to put this arrangement in place You will require independent legal representation and will be responsible for any legal costs incurred by you and us and any costs resulting from you taking financial advice If you would like someone to move into the property but not become a joint life tenant, you must ask for our consent. A fee would be payable by you to us for this. Please see our latest Tariff of Charges for details of these costs. Where you are not in default we will consent to this provided: i. You do not create a Lease or tenancy with the new occupant; and ii. The new occupant must sign a deed to acknowledge the priority of our interest in the property. 11 Our Inspections of the property 11.1 We or our nominated representatives may carry out an inspection of the property (including the interior) once every 3 years following the initial completion date. We will produce a report for our purposes and offer to provide you with a copy We will contact you to arrange to visit you to carry out the inspection at a mutually convenient time You must permit us or our nominated representatives to inspect the property If the inspection identifies that the property requires essential work, we will send you a copy of the report. You must ensure that this work is carried out within 3 months from the date of the report (or such longer period as we, acting reasonably, agree) and is completed to our satisfaction. 7

8 11.5 Subject to section 3.3, if you do not carry out the work and we pay for the work to be completed before we sell the property, we will be entitled to recover the cost of repairs, together with an administration fee, from you on demand or shall deduct such cost from your share of the net sale proceeds before releasing any sum to you or your estate. Please see our latest Tariff of Charges for details of these costs We or our nominated representatives may from time to time carry out a sample review of all the properties we own or own a share of. This is done for our accounting and auditing purposes. Your property may be selected in this sample. Typically this involves an external only viewing and possible photographing of the property by our nominated representative who should act responsibly so that your privacy and enjoyment of the property is not affected. 12 Further cash payments 12.1 If you wish to sell a further share of your interest in the property to us during the plan term, we will guarantee to buy such a further share from you provided you are not in default. You must complete an application form and must also pay for a revaluation of the property, details of these fees are available upon request We will issue a new Home Reversion Plan Offer and you and we will need to sign a new Declaration of Trust to reflect this. We recommend you take financial and legal advice as to the effects of doing this. You will be responsible for any costs you incur from taking such advice When we agree to make further cash payments, we will apply the rules applicable to a new plan at that time. These will cover such things as the minimum and maximum amounts we are willing to release. These may be different from the rules which applied to previous cash payments. 13 Standard terms 13.1 Information supplied by you: i. We will prepare the Home Reversion Plan Offer on the basis of the information you give to us on the application form. ii. iii. Any mortgage and/or secured loan on the property must be repaid on or before the completion date. If we discover that you have given fraudulent or deliberately misleading information, we will regard this as a default, which will entitle us to require you to buy back the property for the open market value at that time. We will do this if the correct information would have led us to refuse your application for the plan Joint Life Tenants If there are two of you, your obligations to us are joint and several. Joint and several is a legal term. It means two things: first it means that both of you are responsible for all those obligations; secondly it means that each of you separately is responsible for all those obligations. 8

9 14 Ending the plan early 14.1 Where you wish to end the plan early by selling the property, you must notify us. Please see section 6 for details of how we will sell the property. Alternatively you may wish to end the plan early and buy the property back from us. Again you must notify us. To buy the property back you and we together must agree the open market value of the property at that time. This is how we will reach agreement: i ii. You will appoint one valuer to value the property (at your expense) and we will appoint another (at our expense). The average of those two valuations will be the open market value of the property. If you or we do not agree with this open market value or we cannot reach agreement with you, either you or we will instruct the President for the time being of RICS to appoint a valuer to act as an arbitrator to decide the open market value of the property. The decision of that arbitrator shall be final and the payment of costs shall be determined by the award made If you choose to buy back, you must pay to us an amount equal to our share of the open market value of the property (determined as outlined in section14.1) and we will transfer our legal ownership of the property to you You cannot buy back only part of our share of the open market value of the property Where you are in default, for example where you abandon the property, we will also be entitled to commence sale proceedings You will be responsible for the payment of our reasonable costs and expenses if you end the plan early as described in sections 14.1 and 14.2, including our solicitors costs and disbursements together with any payments to which we are entitled under sections 2.5, 4.8, 6.6(ii) or Our Rights We or any of us may sell or transfer our rights and interest under the Home Reversion Plan Offer and these Conditions to another company. If we do so your rights and obligations will be unaffected. That company will have the same rights and obligations as we have. 16 Governing law The Documents shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales. 9

10 17 Meanings of Expressions used in these Conditions agreed proportions Bridgewater Equity Release Limited cash payment Certificate of Occupation cleared completion date Conditions Consignment Note Declaration of Trust default The proportions in which the net sale proceeds will be divided between you and us, when we sell the property as described in section 6. The amounts of the agreed proportions are set out in the Declaration of Trust. Bridgewater Equity Release Limited (Company Registration No ) whose Registered Office is at Citygate, St. James Boulevard, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JE. Registered in England. The amount shown in the Home Reversion Plan Offer, which we agree to release to you on the completion date. The form we will send to you every year to ask you to confirm that you are still living at the property and that you are continuing to observe and perform all your obligations under the terms of these Conditions and the Lease. The removal of all your possessions from the property and any outbuildings. The keys to the property must be sent to the address set out in section 6.4. The date we release a cash payment to you. The terms and conditions relating to your plan and contained in this document. A document used to track the movements of, and ensure safe disposal of hazardous wastes such as but not limited to asbestos. The most recently completed document which sets out the terms upon which we shall hold the net sale proceeds in the agreed proportions. i. If you do not do anything which you have agreed to do under the Home Reversion Plan Offer, these Conditions or in the Lease; ii. If you do anything which you have agreed not to do under the Home Reversion Plan Offer, these Conditions or in the Lease. 10

11 Documents gross sale proceeds Home Reversion Plan Offer inspection landlords Lease life tenant long term care "net sale proceeds new home nominated representatives open market value The Lease, the Conditions, the Declaration of Trust and the Home Reversion Plan Offer. The price for which the property is sold on the open market under the provisions of any of sections 6 or 8, prior to deducting solicitors costs and disbursements, selling agent s fees (including fees charged for the management of the property pending sale) and any other expense reasonably incurred in the sale of the property. The letter given to you on behalf of us offering to buy a share of the property for the cash payment and the grant of the Lease and incorporating these Conditions. An inspection carried out on the property generally every 3 years to ensure the property is being adequately looked after internally and externally. The Landlords named in the Lease. It also includes their successors and any other company as stated in 15. The Lease is the agreement between you and us giving you the right to live in the property. The expression also means any subsequent replacement Lease we may give you, as described in section 8. Any person or persons named in the Lease as life tenants. Where you move out of your property permanently because you have become ill and/or suffer a disability, and require permanent care from another person or persons. The price for which the property is sold on the open market under the provisions of any of sections 6 or 8, after deducting solicitors costs and disbursements, selling agent s fees (including fees charged for the management of the property pending sale) and any other expense reasonably incurred in the sale of the property. The home you may move to subject to the provisions of section 8. A third party firm or organisation we ask to carry out the inspection on our behalf. The value of the property if it were to be offered for sale on the open market with vacant possession. 11

12 our share Personal Representatives plan plan term property property suitability criteria retention RICS sale date selling agent Tariff of Charges The share of the property which you have sold to us. This is expressed as a percentage and is set out in the Home Reversion Plan Offer and Declaration of Trust. Those whom are appointed to handle your affairs. The Bridgewater Equity Release Flexible Release Plan, the terms of which are contained in the Documents. The period of time between the completion date and the date on which the last of the payments due to you or your estate is made. Your home including any outbuildings described in the Home Reversion Plan Offer or, if you move (subject to section 8), your new home. The features of the property which enables us to decide at any time whether that property is suitable for a plan. We will provide a copy of the current property suitability criteria to you at any time you ask. A sum of money retained by us from the cash payment due to you on or shortly after the completion date. It is in respect of works we require to be undertaken on your property. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a professional body that is able to adjudicate on valuation disputes. The date on which completion of the sale of the property takes place. The agent we instruct to co-ordinate the sale of the property. The leaflet we publish from time to time which sets out the costs and fees that may be payable during the lifetime of your plan. A copy is also available on our website: transfer The transfer of rights and obligations under these Conditions to or from a party or to another property. 12

13 trigger event a. If you are the only life tenant: i. when you die or (if earlier); ii. when you leave the property permanently because you need long term care; b. If you are joint life tenants: i. when you both have died; or ii. iii. when both of you leave (or the survivor of you leaves) the property permanently because you need long term care; or when one of you has left the property permanently because you need long term care and the other dies; whichever event occurs first. vacant possession valuer we, us and our you your estate your share of the net sale proceeds When we are in possession of the keys, the property is empty and no person is occupying the property. Any person who is a Fellow or a Member of RICS and who provides (or has provided) you or us with an independent opinion of the open market value of the property. The Landlords and/or Bridgewater Equity Release Limited as appropriate. It also includes our successors and any other company as stated in section 15. The customer or customers named in the Home Reversion Plan Offer, and described as the life tenant(s) in the Lease and the Declaration of Trust. The legal personal representatives appointed to administer your assets and liabilities after you have died. The share of the net sale proceeds to which you are entitled when the property is sold. This is expressed as a percentage and is set out in the Declaration of Trust. Flexible Release Plan Terms & Conditions 4 th Edition Printed December