Lenders Active in the Over-80 Market
Together Money is one of the few mainstream specialist lenders with a stated maximum age at end of term of 85. This means a borrower aged 80 could potentially take a five-year secured loan with Together Money, subject to meeting their other criteria including equity, income, and exit strategy. Together's underwriting is case-by-case rather than automated, which means complex or older-age applications receive genuine manual assessment rather than an automated decline.
Spring Finance is another specialist active in lending to older borrowers. They are particularly focused on interest only lending and retirement borrowing scenarios, and they take a flexible view of age and exit strategy. Spring Finance lends where property sale — including the borrower's eventual move into care or death — is the acknowledged repayment vehicle, provided this is appropriately documented and the borrower (or their legal representative) understands the implications fully.
Beyond these two, options are limited. Most second charge lenders will decline applications where the borrower is over 80 at any point during the proposed term. A whole-of-market broker with specific experience in older borrower lending is essential to identify which lenders are active for your specific age and circumstances at the time you apply, as lender policies in this niche area can change.
Exit Strategy: The Critical Assessment for Older Borrowers
For any lender considering a secured loan to a borrower in their 80s, the exit strategy is the most important underwriting consideration. The question is simple: how will this loan be repaid? For a 65-year-old taking a 15-year loan, the exit strategy might be downsizing from a family home to a smaller property at 80. For an 82-year-old, the realistic exit strategy is often the sale of the property on death or on a move into long-term care.
Lenders are permitted to use sale of the property on death as an exit strategy, but they must satisfy themselves that this is properly understood and planned for by the borrower and, ideally, their family or legal representatives. This means the borrower must genuinely understand that the loan will be repaid from their estate, and that this may reduce the inheritance available to beneficiaries. Some lenders will want evidence that the borrower has taken independent legal and financial advice.
Executors and family members are often not aware that a secured loan exists until the death of the borrower triggers the redemption requirement. Ensuring that family members, lasting power of attorney holders, or executors are aware of the loan's existence and the repayment obligation is not just good planning — some lenders actively require it as a condition of the loan.
