Your Equity Release questions answered

Pre Sales Enquiry

• Lending Criteria 

• Remote valuation criteria

• Initial borrowing quote template (for advisers who would normally contact Aviva to quote on their behalf)

• Flat Enquiry template 

Application forms 

New business and additional borrowing applications are available on our Adviser website for you to use with new customers

Post-Sale

If you have registered for our Adviser website, you can easily manage your customers’ existing equity release policies in one place to:

• Keep track of your clients’ transactions. See the amounts borrowed and owed, any voluntary payments that have been made, any early repayment charges, and how much is available in their cash reserve, if applicable.

• See all your clients’ policy information in one place, including statements.

Click on the register link located in the top right-hand corner of your screen, give us your details and we’ll arrange access.

If you have forgotten your password, click on the login button at the top of your screen, select the forgotten password option and we will send a temporary password to your email account.

For some time now we have successfully been running our Dual Valuations service with e.surv  (our surveying partner) across the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland).

Our approach gives flexibility by providing both physical valuations where it is safe to do so, as well as remote valuations being available where acceptance and lending criteria allows.

• Physical valuations are based on our full Lending Criteria
• Remote valuations are based on our Remote Valuation Lending Criteria and 10% reduction of the estimated property value for all initial and additional borrowing

For a physical inspection to proceed, all properties must be vacant for the duration of the inspection.  Further details of what to expect from e.surv before and during property inspections can be found here.

Offers on remote valuations may be subject to a full physical valuation of the property at a later date. We will inform you if we are contacting one of your customers. We won't charge the customer for this or change the customer's initial loan amount. However, we do reserve the right to suspend or reduce any cash reserve arrangement. 

Where an application is received on a Remote Valuation basis, we continue to include  a side letter as part of the offer. This is to ensure the customer is aware of our obligation to value the property at a later date and inform them building insurance cover must be in place and maintained.

We regularly review our stance on carrying out Physical Valuations with e.surv (our surveying partner) in line with RICS guidance and any Government lockdowns or restrictions, any updates will be made here.

The cost of all initial loan and additional borrowing valuation fees are included in the interest rate of the quote for estimated property values of up to and including £5 million.  A separate valuation fee will be payable on estimated property valuations from above £5m.

Initial borrowing

We can instruct remote valuations in England, Scotland and Wales

We are unable to instruct remote valuations in Northern Ireland. A link to our full Remote Valuation Lending Criteria can be found here.

Additional borrowing

We can instruct remote valuations in England, Scotland and Wales

We continue to be unable to lend using a remote valuation on policies with prefix CF, CL, CI, CD & LL 

We have some restrictions for when a remote valuation is not suitable for additional borrowing on our Lifestyle Lump Sum Max and Lifestyle Flexible Option products:

• Initial loans that completed on a remote valuation will require additional borrowing to be completed with a physical valuation
• If the previous additional borrowing was taken using a remote valuation, then the next application for additional borrowing must be a physical valuation
• Cases, where the last additional borrowing was taken on a remote valuation basis, can be instructed on a physical revaluation, providing we have a full physical valuation on file

If following the surveyors’ risk assessment, a physical valuation is unsuitable we may consider a remote valuation depending on the circumstances.

Moving property

If a client wishes to port their mortgage, we will request a physical valuation where it is safe to do so in relation to the customer’s circumstances and the duty of care to the surveyor, however where this is not possible a remote valuation will be allowed subject to meeting our remote valuation lending criteria.

The limits of £750,000 outside the M25 and £1m inside have been imposed by our external valuers. They cannot use the remote valuation method beyond these limits as their professional indemnity insurers will not cover valuation reports above this level, where no physical inspection of the property has been carried out.

If the valuers are instructed on a property with a customer estimated value within the limits, but in the valuer’s professional opinion the value is higher, then a valuation report cannot be submitted.

The scope of the valuation is limited without a physical inspection. We will therefore only lend against 90% of the property value provided by the remote valuation when we calculate the maximum loan and any reserve amount we can lend to the customer. For flats, we will apply 90% of the property value before applying our normal 85% flat rate. 

Our quotes have been updated automatically to reduce the full property value to these percentages.

An example based on a male aged 75 with a £500k property living in York:

Pre-property value reduction: maximum loan under LFO: £185k, maximum reserve £92.5k (maximum reserve will reduce if initial loan is more than £92.5k).

Post-property value reduction: maximum loan under LFO: £166.5k, maximum reserve £83.25k (maximum reserve will reduce if initial loan is more than £83.25k).

Whilst we are offering remote valuations, we won’t be able to accept challenges to a valuation figure, re-examine cases which have been declined or reassess a decision which has already been made.

There are no changes to our previous Lending Criteria. A link to our Lending Criteria can be found here. 

Physical valuations will be in line with the latest government and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors advice e.surv will not be able to instruct a physical valuation if any of the following apply:

• The customer or anyone living in the property is self-isolating due to COVID-19.
• If e.surv identify that someone in the property could be or is in the high-risk category or is shielding in accordance with the current guidelines, then they will not be able to continue the inspection and will have to reschedule an appointment.
• If the customer's property is in a location where Physical Valuations are not permitted.
• The customer is uncomfortable for a valuation to be undertaken at this time.

The Surveyor may halt the inspection if they feel there is any risk, on completion of a risk assessment, when they arrive at the property.

Yes, should the customer wish to proceed with a remote valuation please email:

• LPEQREN@aviva.com for initial borrowing
• ERAB@aviva.com for additional borrowing

We will issue a new Personal Quote Summary, cancel the physical valuation inspection and instruct a remote valuation.

Physical valuations are based on our Lending Criteria

If an application has been declined following a physical valuation, it will not be suitable for a remote valuation and will therefore regrettably be declined.

Where health and lifestyle information is given, we no longer need a customer signature on our application forms.

We have made changes to incorporate the consent for Aviva to collect and use a customer’s health information in the borrower’s declaration. This means a customer can give verbal consent to you when you complete a signature-free application.

New business and additional borrowing applications are available on our Adviser website for you to use with new customers.  Advisers are still required to sign to confirm the declaration has been accepted by your client.

With each signature free application, you will need to:

• Read the borrower declaration to the borrower (or to each borrower if it is a joint application).
• Gain verbal consent that the borrower(s) agree to the statements contained within the declaration and to Aviva processing their application.
• Sign the application form (digital signatures are accepted) to confirm you have followed this process and obtained verbal consent from the customer to proceed.
• Provide a copy of the Power of Attorney document (where one exists). 

With a signature-free application, we need to know who has received financial advice and who has given verbal consent to the borrower declaration. The changes we have made to the declaration ask you to confirm who you have read the borrower declaration to the customer/s or a Power of Attorney.

If the applicant is a Power of Attorney, you will need to send a copy of the Power of Attorney document. This helps prevent delays within the legal conveyancing process and means we can notify you of any additional requirements upfront.

We have removed the customer consent to obtain a GP report (AMRA). This is an interim measure to reduce the strain on GP surgeries. We have temporarily removed the requirement for a customer’s signature consent to use their health data during the COVID-19 period. You will be required to explain how the health data will be used by Aviva and sign the declaration to confirm you have done this. We will continue to closely monitor lifetime mortgage applications we receive during this period.

Our application forms include property questions relating to roof, rainwater goods, damp, spray foam, cracking to external and internal walls, ceilings or concrete floors, and structural movement. The answers to these questions will support our underwriting decision and are required on both physical and remote valuations.

Our most up to date version of our application form should be used in all instances and is available on our Adviser website.

Where the valuer identifies essential repairs, these will be reported on the valuation report. We will follow our current process for underwriting essential repairs, which is to contact you to discuss the repairs required and your client’s willingness to have these completed. We do understand that these are uncertain times due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the impact this may have an impact on your client’s current ability to carry out the repairs. We will continue to use our discretion, on a case by case basis, regarding the timescales to complete.

The Equity Release Council has agreed to temporarily revise Rule 8 of the Rules and Guidance (“the Rules”) to enable cases to complete without a physical face-to-face meeting with a solicitor.

This is a short-term amendment to the rules and will only apply during HM Government’s requirement to “Stay at Home”. Once this has been lifted, the Equity Release Council will give a further update.

The Council is has set out remote process telephone or video facilities and additional steps to ensure customers are given the necessary legal advice. The physical witnessing of the mortgage deed being signed remains a requirement under UK law and needs to be carried out by an independent witness arranged by the client, under social distancing rules.

The solicitor will, alongside remote legal advice, conduct additional due diligence to ensure the witness is valid.

This amendment is only applicable during the lockdown restrictions. Rules will be revised once these have been lifted. Further guidance can be found here.

The amendment means Konexo, the solicitor acting on behalf of Aviva, will be able to satisfy Aviva’s legal requirements and complete lifetime mortgages. Once restrictions on movement have been lifted, the aim is to return to the full face-to-face legal process, using the original Solicitor’s Certificate, with immediate effect.