On benefits and big inheritance - advice agencies?

silvercar

Dad is prepared to buy the house for whatever his sells for. He'd take out a slightly higher mortgage. He'd then knock off the cost of new kitchen, boiler, bathroom etc before giving us the money. That'd be about 5k.

How old is he? Only asking because the sorts of mortgages available and certainly the length of them can be limited as you get older. Also the amount loaned goes by affordability and loan-to-value, so the idea of getting a higher mortgage may not be possible, depending on the amount of equity he has in his current home.

Ames

He's 60, he has a mortgage of about 20k and his house value is about 150k (just at a guess without a valuation), he'd only be adding about 2k to it.

They think they are helping me. They just don't understand the benefits system. They're now talking about not giving me the cash and just buying me a house, or even more fraudulent things. I'm not going to let them do that though, there's no way I'm risking a prison sentence! I just can't get the concept of deprivation of capital over to them, they can't get their head around me being treated as having the cash even if I get rid of it.

I have, at least, managed to get them to accept that I'm not mentally capable of having so much money, so they've agreed to be co-signatories or whatever on it, which is a huuuuge step forward from last time I asked them, when I'd got into 20k of debt in two years.

33degrees

Should your circumstances remain the same for X number of years then by your mother not making a will it'll effectively mean that the state will get (or save) £54,000 and you will receive just £6,000 of the £60,000 intended for you. I presume that most of the £54,000 will be eaten away by your non receipt of one of your means tested entitlements, that being Housing Benefit. Wouldn't it be wiser to buy a property to live in and have an asset to your name that might even appreciate in value rather see so much 'dead' money disappear via paying full rent? You'd have to pay Council Tax in a new home so you'd have to make some careful calculations. Other considerations include whether you believe you'll continue to qualify for your non means tested benefits and if they will remain non means tested in future to provide you with an income.

Ames

33degrees wrote: »

Should your circumstances remain the same for X number of years then by your mother not making a will it'll effectively mean that the state will get (or save) £54,000 and you will receive just £6,000 of the £60,000 intended for you. I presume that most of the £54,000 will be eaten away by your non receipt of one of your means tested entitlements, that being Housing Benefit. Wouldn't it be wiser to buy a property to live in and have an asset to your name that might even appreciate in value rather see so much 'dead' money disappear via paying full rent? You'd have to pay Council Tax in a new home so you'd have to make some careful calculations. Other considerations include whether you believe you'll continue to qualify for your non means tested benefits and if they will remain non means tested in future to provide you with an income.

That's exactly my quandary. Unfortunately I'd lose £350 per four weeks in means tested benefits (IS), plus have to pay council tax. My HB is around £250 a month. I just can't afford the huge cut in benefits if I buy a house and get sanctioned, especially as my expenses would go up - like higher fuel bills as I'd want somewhere with central heating, and needing an emergency fund for repairs.

Oldernotwiser

I know you ruled out flats but not all of them have sky high maintenance charges and much of that would actually go on the maintenance you could have to pay on any property.

As you seem to be able to buy a 1 bed flat in Leeds for less than £40,000, could you not buy one of these and come off benefits altogether, making a new claim in a couple of years time when your capital is down to £6,000 and if your situation remains the same?

33degrees

Ames wrote: »

That's exactly my quandary. Unfortunately I'd lose £350 per four weeks in means tested benefits (IS), plus have to pay council tax. My HB is around £250 a month. I just can't afford the huge cut in benefits if I buy a house and get sanctioned, especially as my expenses would go up - like higher fuel bills as I'd want somewhere with central heating, and needing an emergency fund for repairs.

Ah, so we can eliminate that theory. The only route to your preferred solution is becoming homeless through no fault of your own and it being adjudged unintentional by a decision maker.I daresay there's been many people down the years who've had a very similar predicament to yours. I'm stumped as to how they may have solved that problem because being evicted for refusing to pay the rent or persistently playing deafiningly loud music through the night would be non runners.I imagine that many who couldn't did mitigate the loss somewhat during the years it took to erode the capital through indulging in some inventive skullduggery by conspiring with a trusted and sympathetic friend or relative by purchasing perhaps £30 of their provisions each week on their card to be paid in cash by them on collection and likewise with occasional purchases of TVs and other items they would want to buy. All dastardly actions, of course, but ones that amounted to a very tidy sum over an extended period.

Ames

33degrees wrote: »

Ah, so we can eliminate that theory. The only route to your preferred solution is becoming homeless through no fault of your own and it being adjudged unintentional by a decision maker.I daresay there's been many people down the years who've had a very similar predicament to yours. I'm stumped as to how they may have solved that problem because being evicted for refusing to pay the rent or persistently playing deafiningly loud music through the night would be non runners.I imagine that many who couldn't did mitigate the loss somewhat during the years it took to erode the capital through indulging in some inventive skullduggery by conspiring with a trusted and sympathetic friend or relative by purchasing perhaps £30 of their provisions each week on their card to be paid in cash by them on collection and likewise with occasional purchases of TVs and other items they would want to buy. All dastardly actions, of course, but ones that amounted to a very tidy sum over an extended period.

I'm not going to commit fraud, which is what that would be.

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I know you ruled out flats but not all of them have sky high maintenance charges and much of that would actually go on the maintenance you could have to pay on any property.

As you seem to be able to buy a 1 bed flat in Leeds for less than £40,000, could you not buy one of these and come off benefits altogether, making a new claim in a couple of years time when your capital is down to £6,000 and if your situation remains the same?

I have thought about that. But my living standard would still be the same. I really, really want (need?) room for a carer and to be able to have central heating, and to be able to park close to the door (I've got about 100 yards to walk now, so I can't go out apart from on really good days). I have wondered if the fact that where I am now really doesn't meet my needs might go in my favour with a DM, but they'd probably just say that I need to move to another council or rented place.

Another option I've been wondering about is buying a 3 bed house and renting each room out, that would bring in enough to cover my lost benefits, but I don't know if I'd be allowed to move in there at some point in the future. Plus it seems wrong to own a property and live in a council flat, if rules change to apply it to existing tenants then I'm stuffed.

Oldernotwiser

Ames wrote: »

I'm not going to commit fraud, which is what that would be.



I have thought about that. But my living standard would still be the same. I really, really want (need?) room for a carer and to be able to have central heating, and to be able to park close to the door (I've got about 100 yards to walk now, so I can't go out apart from on really good days). I have wondered if the fact that where I am now really doesn't meet my needs might go in my favour with a DM, but they'd probably just say that I need to move to another council or rented place.

Another option I've been wondering about is buying a 3 bed house and renting each room out, that would bring in enough to cover my lost benefits, but I don't know if I'd be allowed to move in there at some point in the future. Plus it seems wrong to own a property and live in a council flat, if rules change to apply it to existing tenants then I'm stuffed.

The room for a carer could be a problem (do you have 2 beds now?) but I don't see why you couldn't find a flat with central heating and parking close to the door.

The second option also seems like a really good idea if you could cope with being a LL or would pay someone else to organise it.

I think that there would have to be a really major shift in the rules for what you're worried about to happen and I really don't think that you can look that far into the future without a crystal ball. From an ethical point of view, think of the money you'd be saving the government in benefits if that makes you feel any better.

Ames

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

The room for a carer could be a problem (do you have 2 beds now?) but I don't see why you couldn't find a flat with central heating and parking close to the door.

I have a one bed now. The cheap flats are in council blocks, where parking is minimal and not near the doors. If the lift broke I'd be housebound. They also don't have gas in multi stories so I'd still only have storage heating, although in a block of flats there'd be heat coming from the flats around me so it might not be as bad as it is here.

The second option also seems like a really good idea if you could cope with being a LL or would pay someone else to organise it.

I think that there would have to be a really major shift in the rules for what you're worried about to happen and I really don't think that you can look that far into the future without a crystal ball. From an ethical point of view, think of the money you'd be saving the government in benefits if that makes you feel any better.

I wouldn't have a problem using it to live off if the ethical aspect you say would be correct, but it's not. Obviously I'd be saving the DWP for my income support, but it would be costing the council much more in the long run. They'd pay more in HB for me when the money runs out than they'd save (assuming I live to 60 or more), they'd be missing out on rent for this place after I'd moved out, and someone somewhere is missing out on an adapted flat when I've got one that I don't need - due to being able to buy and adapt my own place.

Ames

Just a bit of an update.

I'm still waiting for DIAL to get back to me, should be next week.

I've just phoned the jobcentre to ask if I can use the money to make improvements to my council flat - putting in heating and stuff, but they hung up on me halfway through my question.

I emailed MIND, they didn't answer all of my questions (mainly focussing on other fairly irrelevent stuff I mentioned - like how to deal with my debt, which I'm already doing, and telling me to get more MH help, even though I told them I don't qualify for it). They said that if I'm concerned about dealing with the money I could give someone power of attorney. I don't think that's really suitable though, because afaik, that covers all of my financial matters, and there's no-one I trust to look after my interests day to day, and I don't think there's anyone who'd agree to do it anyway.

After getting some info from the D&D board it doesn't look like I'll be able to move into a more suitable flat so my only real option is to try and make this one meet my needs better, although I think the only bit I can change is putting in a heating system.

So I guess that the update is that there is no update lol.