Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who can have a Reap (Real Estate Annuity Plan)
2. What income will I receive?
3. How secure is my money?
4. Can I leave Reap early?
5. Am I able to choose where my money is applied?
6. Can I place my Real Estate Annuity Plan in trust?
7. Is my health or age taken into account?
8. What happens if I die during the term?
9. Can I invest in more than one Reap?
10. Who is Equfund (IPS) Ltd?

Who can have a Reap (Real Estate Annuity Plan)?

Anyone who is attracted to a fixed income and has a minimum of £15,000 available is eligible to set up a Reap account with us, subject to terms and conditions and anti-money laundering checks.

What income will I receive?

You will receive a gross fixed income of up to 5% per annum on the balance of your Reap loan account; this is fixed for the initial five year period.

How secure is my money?

A Security Trustee will register a first charge against an individual residential property on your behalf as security for all monies advanced by you under the loan. Your capital is protected in that there is a maximum loan percentage of 85% of a property’s value. Each let property is professionally managed by Equfund, with a rent guarantee policy or a tenancy guarantor supporting each tenancy, plus all renovation works that are undertaken on a property are fully warranted.

Can I leave Reap early?

Though the Reap contract is for a minimum of five years, providing all parties with the certainty of a fixed contract, there is an allowance in the contract for your Reap to be transferred by you, with our consent.

Am I able to choose where my money is applied?

Yes, we can advise which properties are currently available to be lent against; if you are able to visit whilst the property is vacant, we will even personally show you around your selected properties to assist with your choice.

Can I place my Real Estate Annuity Plan in trust?

We understand that wealth succession is a topic of high importance. Reap is designed to be placed in trust and we can direct you to specialist barrister or law firms who will establish the trust to your requirements; e.g. you might wish to receive the income and leave the capital to your beneficiaries on your passing.

Is my health or age taken into account?

No, everybody can receive the same 3% to 5% rate. Other than your contact and payment details and our requirement to comply with anti-money laundering regulations, we respect your privacy and have no requirement to know anything about you or your health.

What happens if I die during the term?

For loans held in a sole name: You can control what happens to your loan by choosing your Beneficiaries before you die. You can create a Will and leave your loan to family members or friends. The loan will then be included in your estate and transferred to the Beneficiaries. If you don’t identify any Beneficiaries, the law will decide for you who receives the loan. The loan may be transferred to a surviving spouse, children or nearest blood relative. We therefore advise you to seek professional legal advice in this regard.

If you die while the loan is still within the fixed 5 year period, the agreement will simply continue and interest payments will be made to the Beneficiaries until the 5 year loan period expires.

For loans held in joint names: If you own the loan with another person, you are both considered joint owners. Therefore, if you die during the 5 year loan period, the loan will simply transfer to the surviving joint owner.

Can I invest in more than one Reap?

Yes, of course.

Who is Equfund (IPS) Ltd?

Equfund was established in June 1997, it’s core business is to bring empty properties back into habitable use in order to provide affordable rental homes for people in housing need; as there are currently over 635,000 long-term empty properties in the UK, and a similar number of people on the housing waiting list, this is an ongoing challenge. For the last 15 years we have been sourcing, acquiring and refurbishing empty properties up to Decent Homes Standard; our purchase criteria is that a property must be structurally sound, in need of minor upgrading works, and located within well-established neighbourhoods.