Christine Brownfield is a big fan of home equity release, so much so she’s become an expert in it. Though Australia-based, Christine has played a valuable role in Lifetime Home’s passage from prototype to product – first as a sounding board and now as a director on Lifetime Home’s actual board.

A wealth of experience

With a background in actuarial, strategy and finance roles, including a five-year stint as chief actuary at ING Australia, Christine joined Homesafe Solutions (Australia’s sole debt-free equity release provider) around 13 years ago after moving to Melbourne from Sydney. She’s been there ever since.

“I quickly developed an interest in home equity release because it’s something that can be life changing for senior homeowners. We have a high rate of homeownership [in Australia], but a lot of the classic ‘asset rich, cash poor’ situations and this can make a big difference,” Christine says.

Once in a Lifetime

Lifetime’s relationship with Christine came about thanks to a combination of networks and a few stars aligning.

“A few years ago, someone I used to work with met Ralph [Lifetime’s founder and managing director] and he mentioned he was researching a home equity release product for Lifetime’s customers. My ex-colleague put us in touch and that kicked off a long-running conversation with Ralph and eventually the wider team as Lifetime Home geared up to launch.

“Then Ralph asked me if I’d like to be on the board. My initial reaction was to say absolutely as I’m a keen advocate for home equity release and I think it’s a great thing for the NZ market. It’s nice to come and talk to another bunch of people who are as passionate about home equity release as I am!” Christine says.

New Zealand's First Debt-Free Home Equity Release

Same, same but different.

Australia’s equity release market is similar to NZ’s – there are a few key players offering reverse mortgages, including Heartland, while Homesafe offers the only debt-free alternative, similar to Lifetime Home (although Homesafe advances a lump sum, rather than regular income payments).

Retired homeowners in Australia have an alternative to commercial products, too, in the form of a government-run reverse mortgage scheme that pays them an income in addition to their age pension and which they pay back with interest when they sell their home. It’s available also to those who are not eligible for the age pension (which is means tested in Australia).

Change nothing. Change everything.

Homesafe’s motto is: ‘Change nothing. Change everything.’ and Christine thinks this perfectly sums up the spirit of equity release solutions.

“One of the most important aspects of equity release offerings like Homesafe and Lifetime Home, as well as reverse mortgages, is the security of tenure for the homeowner – that’s so important. You might sell a portion of the future sale proceeds of your home, but you can continue to live in 100% of it for as long as you want,” she says.

“People often say why don’t they just downsize. And that can work really well for a subset of people, particularly in high value properties where you can sell the home, release equity and buy something else that suits for less. But for many others they’re often living in an older home and if they wanted to sell that and buy a newer unit it could use up all their money – particularly when you consider the additional costs of buying, selling and moving house,” she adds.