Selling up to become debt free?

dancingfairy

How much money do you think you should be entitled to from the benefits people? Will this allow you to afford your current bills as at the moment you are short by around 180 a month before repaying debt. Your debt is not huge by any means but I can understand why you would want to get it sorted.
Do you want to sell up and rent? Bearing in mind that you will probably still have the benefit issue to sort out. I can understand thinking selling up and renting might be an option but is it the tax credits issue that is clouding your judgement?
Can you write a complaint to the chief executive of the benefits agency? It's not fair that you have been left in this situation for 18 months now and are acruing mortgage arrears. Get back on at your MP. Is there any way you can push this forward at all? Have you though about the newspapers at all publicising your case? It sounds completely loopy to me.
df

undaunted

Looking at your income & outgoings & the fact you only work 16 hours

Are you really not able to claim mortgage interest & more than £4 in Council Tax benefit?

Can you get any, help from the water co. due to your condition ? http://www.disabilityalliance.org/f58.htm

Can you not get help with prescription costs too? (either Medex or Low income scheme) http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/Healthcosts/pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx

Would you get these things if you didn't work at all, if so how symapthetic is your Dr ?

I'm not sure how old you are, whether your condition may reduce your life expectancy etc but could equity release be an option for you? http://www.whatisequityrelease.com/

brownedoff_2

O0hh.. sorry for the late reply, I’ve been babysitting my granddaughter, but she’s gone now, so I can devote a bit more time to this thread.. thanks for all your replies, I’ll try and respond as well as I can.

If i rented 2 rooms @ £350 per month each that would take me over the tax limit surely? Also currently i dont have a spare bed or the money to buy one, but i suppose i could keep an eye out on the freecycle site for one. (Next obstacle would be a man with a van lol.. )

Up until 6 months ago i'd been managing to keep afloat by using my savings so I've only been on agreed reduced payments of £10 a month for the last 6 months, which ended on 31st March. I've since had a letter saying they expect full payment plus something off the arrears from 25th April. When i last spoke to them in January, they suggested that i either sell or take in a lodger. The fact that i have a lot of equity didn't seem to count for much, they are only interested in getting their money back.
It’s a repayment mortgage, if I remember correctly the CAB said that going on an interest only plan means that I would never own the property outright? Plus I think the mortgage company said something about not being able to change whilst I’m in arrears, although I could be wrong, I’ve made so many phonecalls, written and received so many letters that I do get confused. Also wouldnt i then be stuck where i am with no option of moving? Unless i sold and rented of course, which brings us back to square one.

With regard to renting to friends etc.. I don’t know anyone who needs a room and I’d worry that if things didn’t work out it would cause friction. At least with a stranger I’d have no qualms if I had to ask them to leave.

The thought of relocating and starting afresh somewhere is quite appealing, but in reality where I am is where my job is which I love! (It keeps me sane and helps me forget my situation for a few hours) Plus I am near my family, especially my mum who is disabled herself and I wouldn’t want to leave her.

The tax credit issue is definitely clouding my judgment, but trying to put that aside, I would like to move to somewhere more practical in regard to the Scoliosis which in time will more than likely get worse. There is talk of surgery in the future maybe.. and I wont be able to manage living 2 floors up!

Currently i only get £4 a week council tax benefit, so having capital from selling is not really an issue.

The water issue, I’m not sure about, I’ll look at my bills and checkout the usage... How do I do a leak test?

I cant remember the exact figures off the top of my head but I think I was receiving around £300 a month WTC before it stopped. The CAB did tell me once that if I’d been receiving the Disability Element as I should have been, then in all probability the figure would have been more!
My hope is that when it is sorted, they will back pay any money I should have been getting. I do think that I should also be entitled to compensation for all this… but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

[FONT=&quot]The frustrating thing is that eventually this should all sort itself out, if only the working tax credit powers that be would be more proactive. I seem to recall a letter from the CEO saying that it has to go through the proper channels before he can consider it. I'm guessing I'm just one of many and they don't seem to realise how serious my situation is! And yes I’ve been in constant touch with my MP but he says that he is bound by their policies and cant make things happen any faster. A while ago I emailed Watchdog and Dom Littlewood.. I didn’t even get a reply. I’ve thought of going to the papers, but I am a very private person and really don’t cherish the idea of everyone knowing my business. So far only my family are aware of this. Its taken a lot of courage for me to come on here for help and I do appreciate it. It helps just to get it off my chest.


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brownedoff_2

undaunted wrote: »

Looking at your income & outgoings & the fact you only work 16 hours

Are you really not able to claim mortgage interest & more than £4 in Council Tax benefit?

Can you get any, help from the water co. due to your condition ? http://www.disabilityalliance.org/f58.htm

Can you not get help with prescription costs too? (either Medex or Low income scheme) http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/Healthcosts/pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx

Would you get these things if you didn't work at all, if so how symapthetic is your Dr ?

I'm not sure how old you are, whether your condition may reduce your life expectancy etc but could equity release be an option for you? http://www.whatisequityrelease.com/

I've done the benefits check and i'm not entitled to anything else. It seems i have to work more hours, which i cant.. I job share, which means that occasionally I have to cover for annual leave. But I just go in for a couple of hours because I can’t sustain a full working day due to ongoing pain.

I could go sick and claim sickness benefit.. which would put me in the same situation i was in before i started back to work over 2 years ago. I would then have to be off long term etc... i'd just be going around in circles and it wouldnt help the immediate situation.

As I don’t get DLA I cant get any help with the water bills.

I’ve not been to my GP for years as I get repeat prescriptions and don’t actually need to see him.
Regarding paying for prescriptions.. I have to admit to ticking the box that says I get benefits otherwise I wouldn’t be able to get my medication at all. I know its not right, but I honestly cant afford to pay.. and so far they’ve not caught up with me.. I’m planning on pleading ignorance if and when they do… (I’m ashamed to admit that, but what choice do I have??)

It so annoying, because i really do want to work! i'd go stir crazy if i had to give it up but sometimes it feels like i'm almost being forced to do so.

Regarding releasing equity.. i queried that with the mortgage company and they wont consider it because of the arrears plus it doesnt address the issue of maintaining the monthly payments.

I’m 55 soon to be 56.

de1amo

if you earn above the rate for renting the room it is just worth taking the hit for the tax --you will be earning enough to pay tax which is better than nowt---i have always had foreign students as lodgers they tend to be more respectful--the working type not the type from language schools!
maybe if you dont want to lose your privacy-rent to 1 person and the other room be their living room!--have you thought of renting your 3 bedroomed place out and then renting a smaller more economical flat out(and more suitable to you physical limitations?)

jude47

Hi BrownedOff.
I'm gobsmacked that you can't get DLA - I work with two people who both work full time and neither need help with personal care, but both get DLA, including the mobility component. I'd really recommend you re-apply. One of the people I've referred to was also refused at first, but she got help from her local Welfare Rights team and her second application was granted, so although I know it's a long, difficult process, I really urge you to try aagain. It could potentially make all the difference to you.
I understand why renting a room to a stranger is worrying (I'm about the same age as you and I like my privacy!) but often local colleges have exchange students needing a room for a few weeks, so that might be a way to earn a little extra without getting stuck with someone you don't like?
Keep posting, 'cos everyone on here is on your side!

jayphe

£80,000 of equity you could release from your house is worth about £330 per month at 5% interest, it will not cover the difference you need to rent somewhere, so you will be eating into your capital and slowing making your financial position worse.

Your outgoings are so low that you won't be able to make any meaningful savings there, so you're only left with increasing your income.

You will eventually increase your income when your tax credit issue is sorted, but it's difficult to have to rely on Government people getting things correct in a timely manner.

You can't work more hours to increase your income, so you have to make your assets work for you and that means renting a room out. If you're in an area where rents would be £700-£800 for a similar place there must be plenty of rental demand, so you can afford to be picky with your choice of lodger.

The only other alternative I can think of is trying to find someone with a smaller cheaper flat who is willing to part exchange with you with money coming your way to clear down some or all of the mortgage.

de1amo

i can see benefits like DLA becoming very difficult to claim under the current toughning up of claims-Atos are an unfair bunch on ESA and the plans are to make DLA as hard to get or to hang on to.-i can see lots of people being put in the same position as the OP-really unfit to hold down a job sufficient to meet the bills but unable to get state assistance!

brownedoff_2

Wow… thank you all so much for your advice, there is such a lot to consider, so I’m going to try and summarise and weigh up the options.

Firstly although I don’t want to, I’ll make an appointment with my GP and sign off as sick, this will enable me to devote the time needed to sort this out and it may help me claim other benefits too such as mortgage interest relief and full council tax benefit. I know I won’t get them straight away but at least it will be something to plan for.

I am going to reapply for DLA.

I’ll take in a lodger.. I do have an old single bed, will that be sufficient I wonder?

I will then contact the mortgage company in the hope that they will extend the reduced payments. Surely they can’t refuse?

I’ll be more proactive in my pursuit of the WTC dispute. I’ve not done anything about it for a couple of weeks, kind of been burying my head in the sand a bit which is not a good thing.

I’ll see how that pans out in the foreseeable future and then re-think the moving situation…

Does this seem feasible?

jayphe

brownedoff wrote: »

Wow… thank you all so much for your advice, there is such a lot to consider, so I’m going to try and summarise and weigh up the options.

Firstly although I don’t want to, I’ll make an appointment with my GP and sign off as sick, this will enable me to devote the time needed to sort this out and it may help me claim other benefits too such as mortgage interest relief and full council tax benefit. I know I won’t get them straight away but at least it will be something to plan for.
...

For what it's worth, please don't sign off as sick, I'm not sure it will definitely help your finances, particularly in the short-term while paperwork is sorted out, the Government has already proved to you with your current problem that it doesn't always process things efficiently and correctly. A delay in processing benefits could give you a very serious cash flow problem and make it worse.

There could also be changes to benefits coming which negatively impact your position and I think it might be wiser to keep on good terms with your current employer and keep your foot in the door. Relying on the Government at the moment is very risky when they specifically state that they will be attempting to reduce benefits. As I understand it, SMI will be paid at a lower rate than your current mortgage interest as well.

As you work part-time, there should be enough time during the week for you to get on top of things, particularly if you're able to find a local organisation who can help you, Citizens Advice Bureau would be a great start.

If things are coming to a head right now, then consider taking a few days holiday instead.