UK spouse visa: financial requirements

[prada11]

Hello,

My British husband and I are thinking about moving to the UK, and I have a question in relation to meeting the financial requirements for my spouse visa. We have owned a home in Australia for several years. Instead of having the pressure of a job offer, we would like to go down the route where we can show that we have savings in excess of 64k. I have read somewhere that as from 2014, any funds arising from the sale of a property did not have to be put into cash for 6 months in a bank account , as long as we had owned the property, 6 months prior to application, and as long as the 64 k was available , in cash, in a bank account on the day of application of my British visa.
My question is : Given this new law, can we (instead of selling the property to raise the 64k), use equity in the property by re-mortgaging and have the 64k available as cash in a bank account on the day of my application?

I have sent this question to the Home Office's email address and I received a reply saying : "you need to speak to your solicitor about your mortgage' huh??
Can anyone help with this question please?
Second question: does my husband have to go to the UK ahead of me while i wait for my application to be processed?

I would appreciate any light to be shed on this matter.

Thanks in advance.