mother -in-law rent or help buy

andy0073

Hi all
My mrs father died about a month ago. they rented a large house with stables.
they have a small livery yard for horses which nearly pays the rent.
House is owned by a government agency (highways i think) and they inform her that they will be selling in oct.
She has been kind of asking me to invest in a property with her (her investment 50-60k) and me the rest. mainly because she is 69 and does not want to rent again.
i basically have no mortgage and have a house worth approx 150k. i feel im secure financially having worked to over pay and get rid of my mortgage.
my mrs obviously wants to help her mother out but i dont think it is such a good idea.
id like to know what options she has. as being 69 what kind of help to find housing would she get?
the big problem i can see is that she is `use` to a first class country house (or mansion i would call it !) to perhaps a flat or simular. i dont feel it is my problem altho perhaps i will be put under great pressure to help.
also she would not move to where we live (thank-goodness )

Jowo_2

Get the MIL to speak to Shelter about her options when she loses her rental property in October and run her situation through the Entitled to website. Get her to apply to local housing associations.

Local councils do have an obligation to assist the homeless (those with no accommodation past the next 28 days) and the Shelter site explains their obligations and how they assess any application for their help if she has no onward accommodation closer to the time. Having said that, many councils will simply tell the tenant to ignore the notice and force their landlord to take them to court to evict them, before the council will even consider accepting their homelessness application.

A healthy single adult with an income is going to be an extremely low priority and they may only offer advice on how she can find a private rental.

If she has low or no income she will be entitled to Local Housing Allowance but she appears to have extensive savings which will affect her entitlement to means tested benefits. She would be expected to use them on her basic living costs.

Shame you are caught up in all the pressure and sense of obligation - you've obviously taken care of your finances to make yourself secure and now you are required to put your status at risk by supporting someone with a lifestyle aspiration who did not make their own provisions for it.

50-60k doesn't really go far in many areas towards even a 1 bed flat. What's the kind of investment that you will obliged to make up for her shortfall and what does the MIL think you get out of the deal? Does your partner work, can she support a mortgage application with her mother?

You also need to consider what happens if she gets infirm and goes into a care home and do research into what the local council will do with her assets to pay towards her care. In other words, if you are promised her share of the next property as the return on your investment as inheritance, would you ever get to see it or would the local authority expect her to cash it in to pay for her care? Look into the rules around deprivation of capital for means tested benefits.

Other than that, you simply have to resist all the guilt tripping and say you've no plans to invest in anyone else's personal property investment, she needs to live within her means and you've no plans to be someone else's landlord and particularly not a relatives. As she can't afford to buy a retirement flat, she must find rental accommodation when the current property is sold.

andy0073

Jowo
Thankyou very much for taking the time to replie with some sound advice.
i had a chat to the mrs tonight about it,and it was there intention that i/we would be taking out another mortgage to buy her what she wants.
that has made me even more determined now not to help. i feel my priority 100% is my 2 kids both aged 12.
i think there will be some bad times to come here and noe of it my fault, lol

once again i really appreciate the replie,so thankyou