How can equity in a house be classed as savings by the DWP?

wildscotswoman

I have recently become unemployed for the 1st time in 30 years so now sign on. After 8 weeks of waiting I have been refused Jobseekers allowance due to not enough Class 1 NI contributions and have over 16k in savings. The NI issue I feel I can clear with a recent P60 but the 16k issue has been explained as I have a second house with mortgage with equity. However the DWP know that my tenants are over 4k behind in the rent. I have served a Section 21 on them and I am 3k behind on the mortgage. Whilst I will be selling the house as soon as my tenants are evicted I do not have any access to the equity until it is sold. How can this money be classed as savings? I would love to be debt free and am trying my best but the DWP attitude is not helping. What can I do now? Should I just let the house be repossessed? and give the headache of the tenants to someone else?

Uncertain

I understand your frustration but let me play devils advocate.

A second house is an investment. The value of investments can (as we are so often told) go up or down.

You could presumably sell the house, even with the sitting problen tenants, for some knock down figure? Obviously you would not WANT to.

So, if by the worst estimate you would be left with more than 16K after selling and paying off the mortgage then you do have this value of savings.

You could no doubt get a loan secured by a second mortgage on the property if you choose not to sell.

Sorry, I know this is not what you want to hear

seven-day-weekend

wildscotswoman wrote: »

I have recently become unemployed for the 1st time in 30 years so now sign on. After 8 weeks of waiting I have been refused Jobseekers allowance due to not enough Class 1 NI contributions and have over 16k in savings. The NI issue I feel I can clear with a recent P60 but the 16k issue has been explained as I have a second house with mortgage with equity. However the DWP know that my tenants are over 4k behind in the rent. I have served a Section 21 on them and I am 3k behind on the mortgage. Whilst I will be selling the house as soon as my tenants are evicted I do not have any access to the equity until it is sold. How can this money be classed as savings? I would love to be debt free and am trying my best but the DWP attitude is not helping. What can I do now? Should I just let the house be repossessed? and give the headache of the tenants to someone else?

Just sell the house for whatever you can get for it is an option to repossession.

You do not have to keep the house and therefore if it has equity in it that will be counted in the means-test. It's not the DWP's fault you are in debt.

wildscotswoman

Thankyou for both replies. I will sell the house but with the tenants I have and the state they now have the house in it will be interesting if it does in fact have the expected equity which I have to say is only £1100 pounds over the DWP threshhold of 16k. Also who will purchase a house with tenants that need evicting? All of which I am doing through the proper channels laid down for landlords....not a process that has any fast results.
And in the meantime I look for a job with now no money coming in whatsoever and 'savings' that I did have immediate access to have dried up. But hey ho the fact I am jobless, didn't plan well enough and keep enough ready cash for this eventuality is all my fault. Shame I wasn't a bank I would just get bailed out and get a fat bonus.