A home equity loan is when you borrow money against the equity of your home or property. The equity on your home would be the value of your home minus the any outstanding payment remaining e.g. the mortgage remaining left on the property.

Many people were unaware that you can release the equity from your property, but now with the huge amount of advertising more and more people are taking advantage of it, especially the elderly.

The younger market, tend to use the equity loan for home improvements, buying new cars, consolidate debt or even going on holiday.

There are three categories which equity release would come under:

 - Mortgages and loans: this is when you release a percentage of your homes value to use as a loan.

 - Home income plans: This is to generate a monthly income. The loan is invested into an annuity based investment that will provide you with income in the later years.

 - Home revenue schemes: If you are not changing house and want to gain extra income then you may want such a scheme. It allows you to sell all or a part of your home in return for a lump sum or regular payments.