Is this a good or bad idea, can I afford it?

BigAunty

I agree that you need your own space but i strongly advise you to check out whether your home ownership, and the equity in it, will affect your eligibility for housing benefit.

I am not knowledgeable about HB but got the impression that it is difficult to gain if a person has more than 16k in capital and wonder if this also applies to you.

I recall posts on the benefit forum from single parents, joint owners, who have left the owner occupied property to move into rental property who hit problems.

hopefully another member can clarify if you are eligible or any conditions to getting HB.

Brb

John I can see why you like the cottage but do need to point out that the heating is by oil and not gas. Oil heating is much much more expensive and usually means paying a few hundred pounds to have the tank filled up.

I find it strange also for a furnished residential property to have a double and a single bed in the master bedroom. To me that screams holiday let and a LL that doesn't know what market they want to run with and a less than secure future (which though to be fair is no more/less secure than the length of any AST fixed period).

HappySaver1968

I just wanted to check back before bed, really overwhelmed at the level of support I've been given, can't thank you all enough. OK, would I be right in saying that I need to find just the £135 per month and that my Council Tax would be paid in full by Council Tax Benefit? I can see myself managing OK and even if this letting lasts for just six months then that's better than nothing because it will give my nurse/doctor/social worker and so on time to get things sorted out and for me to try and sort out myself. I understand I have a very complicated situation and I just hope I haven't overwhelmed everyone by it! Goodnight, hopefully things will work out for me.

John.

rhodesRocks

HappySaver1968 wrote: »

I just wanted to check back before bed, really overwhelmed at the level of support I've been given, can't thank you all enough. OK, would I be right in saying that I need to find just the £135 per month and that my Council Tax would be paid in full by Council Tax Benefit? I can see myself managing OK and even if this letting lasts for just six months then that's better than nothing because it will give my nurse/doctor/social worker and so on time to get things sorted out and for me to try and sort out myself. I understand I have a very complicated situation and I just hope I haven't overwhelmed everyone by it! Goodnight, hopefully things will work out for me.

John.

Sorry, this may not go down well, but if you are getting in EXCESS of ONE THOUSAND POUNDS A MONTH in BENEFIT, you should be paying ALL of your housing costs, not "just" having to find £135 to make up the difference. You are getting more in a month than some people get for working a forty hour week!!!

AND you want the Council Tax paid in full for you? Why not use some of the £800 a month you don't seem to be using to pay for your house and Council tax like us workers have to?

BitterAndTwisted

OP: you MUST treble-check whether you will qualify for LHA (Local Housing Allowance) towards your rent and Council Tax benefit. You DO NOT want to commit yourself to this rental and then find you will have to cover the whole of the rent and CT from your benefits. That'll be £600 a month before you've turned the lights on. And get saving for the oil-delivery. You need to have a ring round suppliers and find out what their minimum quantities are as oil is a lot more expensive than other forms of heating.

And I agree, the double and single bed in the master bedroom look suspiciously like a holiday let. Don't expect to be there after the first six months. Then, it'll be back to the drawing board and finding a month's rent in advance and another deposit.

rhodesRocks: your opinion is all very interesting and that but it really isn't contributing to the thread in the least. I also find it rather unkind.

cr1mson

I am afraid that it is a holiday let

http://www.standrews-cottages.com/cottages/East+o'Eden+and+Middlewell+Cottages/

so it is entirely possible that all you will get is 6 months there. Obviously this is true of any 6 month contract but possible landlord may be looking for you to take it over the quiet period of the year before returning to holiday lets. Or maybe that as they have a large number of holiday lets they are looking to have some as long term lets instead.

And agree with Bitter and Twisted and others get it confirmed that you definitely are entitled to housing benefit etc given you own a home even if you are not able to live in it.

Hope it works out.

C

anjak-j

John...

I'll be honest and say that you should probably wait for the housing to find you a place. You have high priority, a lot of needs and if you rent this you will lose that priority - and from what a lot of people are saying, this property looks like a problem waiting to happen.

Also, you really do need to check where you stand when it comes to housing benefit - the fact that you co-own the family home, even though you're not living there, could cause a problem.

carefullycautious

I though I recognised it as a holiday let as I looked in that area. i would also advise removing the link as it is giving out personal details about where you are planning to live

Also it seems very isolated for someone who has been so ill. Are you from this area?

How are you going to get essential items do you also drive?

Think about your needs as well as the finances.

Well done on your continued recovery