Grandmother left me her house...£240,000 inheritance

Itismehonest

I think the best advice I can give is to not think of £240K as a lot of money.
I'm not sure what the average wage is now but, if around £24,000 then you've got 10 years of pay.
That would make you 36 when it ran out if spent at a fairly average rate. Your children may still be in education & at home then.

Don't rush into anything. Think carefully before you invest or spend.

antrobus

aliasojo wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but what is the logic behind this?

Seems strange that in a hypothetical situation, my daughter could technically leave home at 16 but if we wanted to freely 'give' her a house (fat chance but never mind) she would not be allowed to own it until she was 18.

S1(6) Law of Property Act 1925 "A legal estate is not capable of subsisting or of being created in an undivided share in land or of being held by an infant."

It just means to say that no one under the age of 18 can be the legal owner of a property. They can however, be the beneficial owner; some one else who is an adult has to hold the legal title for them as trustee.

Rob_192

Forgive me making an observation here, which I'm sure will put the cat among the pigions, but if somebody inherits £240k, isn't there a general principle that they shouldn't then be entitled to benefits?

Benifits shouldn't be regarded as a right, they should be a safety net and if through extreme good fortune somebody finds themselves outside that net then surely those benifits should cease.

Debate....

aliasojo

antrobus wrote: »

S1(6) Law of Property Act 1925 "A legal estate is not capable of subsisting or of being created in an undivided share in land or of being held by an infant."

It just means to say that no one under the age of 18 can be the legal owner of a property. They can however, be the beneficial owner; some one else who is an adult has to hold the legal title for them as trustee.

Thanks for the reply.

Yet another instance of our country's crazy (imo) legalities.

Our country will accept a 16 year old into the Army yet not allow him to own a property.

He can be viewed as adult enough to make a decision that may ultimately result in his life being given in service but not adult enough to legally own a house.

aliasojo

Rob_192 wrote: »

Forgive me making an observation here, which I'm sure will put the cat among the pigions, but if somebody inherits £240k, isn't there a general principle that they shouldn't then be entitled to benefits?

Benifits shouldn't be regarded as a right, they should be a safety net and if through extreme good fortune somebody finds themselves outside that net then surely those benifits should cease.

Debate....

Perhaps you would be better starting your own thread if you want a discussion about the rights and wrongs?

Foxdime

the house in question was unhabitual for me and my children so therefore could not live in it. Squatters managed to take over the property and rent it out. Finally got them out. There is No central heating, old septic tank, lead piping to name but a few.

I got all the windows new double glazed, new bathroom suite (basic) and a new kitchen fitted (basic) to add to value of sale.

I no longer lived in London. And have ther children and could not manage it. It is a three bedroom and is in London.

There is a whole new regeneration with loads of new builds happening also.
Thank you everyone that has commented so far.

xylophone

In your position, I wouldn't listen to any advice (!) to cheat the system.
It seems to me that you need to tell the benefits people about your change of circumstances and take it from there - the CAB might provide you with some initial assistance?

tommo121_2

General principles here is 1. If you are worth £240,000 then should you really be claiming benefits 2. As pervious poster says, why not just move in ... if you have no income, but release a council house to another, you will still receive many benefits and the main home will not be means tested for income support. 3. You could consider varying the Will so that your children inherit some or all of the home and not you - called a deed of variation, so that you children inherit part of the home when they are older i.e. their share would be held in a trust until they reach 18.

needanadviser.com/html/article.php/zcid/602/type/article/finance/IHT_Expert_Inheritance_Tax_Advice_Will_Deed_Of_Variation

Hooloovoo

Rob_192 wrote: »

Forgive me making an observation here, which I'm sure will put the cat among the pigions, but if somebody inherits £240k, isn't there a general principle that they shouldn't then be entitled to benefits?

I quite agree. Someone who suddenly finds themselves with the best part of a quarter of a million pounds should not be receiving benefits any more! But as others have said, that debate is for another thread.

Foxdime wrote: »

I got all the windows new double glazed, new bathroom suite (basic) and a new kitchen fitted (basic) to add to value of sale.

I'm no property developer but I would think that was a false economy. Did you actually manage to add more value than it cost? I would have thought most people interested in buying the house would have preferred to buy it without a basic bathroom and a basic kitchen. It's generally recommended to either renovate to a high standard or don't bother. The new owners will more than likely be ripping out that basic stuff and installing something more appropriate. But anyway ...

And you didn't install central heating? Surely that would have been first priority and added greater value than a basic kitchen and bathroom. Not to mention the increased difficulty of installing central heating now you've already done the place up a bit! The time to install central heating was when the kitchen and bathroom were ripped out.

cashbackproblems

Ok i did not realise children cannot own property, so how about putting it in someone elses name who you trust e.g. parents? ALso if they can be the beneficial owner maybe it can still be in your name as the trustee?

The reason you dont want to lose you benefits is as soon as you sell you will simply be using that money to live and quicker than you think you will be back in the same position minus a property and it sounds like you have no job to get a mortgage.

Or you can just live there yourselves..