It can be the home you live in or an investment property you or your partner own.
It can also be real estate owned by a company or trust. Either you or your partner must be an attributable stakeholder of the company or trust. The company or trust has to give a guarantee for the loan.
We may consider property in a retirement village as adequate security if all of the following apply:
- you or your partner’s name is on the freehold title for the property
- there isn’t a contract term that prevents or limits your ability to sell the property
- you or your partner’s estate control the distribution of the asset.
You need to tell us if you have any of the following, as this may affect your eligibility:
- a mortgage
- a reverse mortgage
- any other liabilities for the property you use as security.
You’ll need to get consent for the property you use as security if either of these apply:
- you have a partner
- the real estate used as security has any co-owners.
You can choose how much of your real estate value you want to use as security. If you have more than one property, you can choose which ones you want to include as security.
We use the value of your real estate to assess your eligibility and rate for social security payments or benefits. We deduct the amount you owe under the scheme from the value of your real estate used as security. This means the value of your assessable assets may decrease.
Changing the security on the loan
You must tell us if you decide to change the real estate you offered as security for the loan. You’ll need to give us a written and signed declaration. This can be from either you or the person you have legally appointed to manage your real estate affairs.
Call us on the Older Australians line if you want to sell the property you used as security. We can provide the loan payout amount and prepare to remove the charge or caveat on the property. This is a notice with your state or territory’s land titles office. It says that we have an interest in your property.