Advise for helping elderly mother downsize.

inscrutable79

My mother wants to downsize to a smaller and easier to look after property. Unfortunately, her current home has fallen into a state of disrepair since my father died, and in the condition it is in we are looking to sell it at auction. However, if she only made the reserve price on it, and looking at the price of property she would want to move in to, this leaves us with a worst case scenario shortfall of approximately £15-20k.

How can I make this move happen for my mother? I suppose she is unlikely to get a mortgage at the age of 67 with little credit history (the mortgage on her current home was paid off about 7 years ago). I would be willing to take out a loan or a small mortgage to help her. I am currently debt free, and have savings towards a deposit for a mortgage of my own - I'm hoping to buy for the first time myself in the next year or so.

So what avenues should I be realistically exploring? Me taking out a loan? Mortgage? Any other considerations? Also what implications do any of these actions have on my ability to buy somewhere? Although I've just about managed to get Mum to agree to the idea of me helping her financially, she (and me neither!) doesn't want me to do it at the detriment of my own house-buying...

Better_Days

Would your Mum consider renting using the capital from the sale of the house? She might then be able to live somewhere that meets her needs without a loan.

Or could you purchase somewhere with an annex suitable for Mum? Hard to comment without more info though.

How realistic is Mum being about what she can afford? Would she consider something less expensive either by size or location?

Would it be worth improving the property then selling it? Depends on the price differentials, the state of the local housing market, and if you want the hassle.

Could Mum stay where she is with help from carers, cleaners etc?

clark24

Would she consider renting a warden assisted flat, as from your post it seems she may be unable to maintain a property on her own (as she struggled to with the current one after losing her husband). But she could use her equity to get a nice place that she can have proper assistance with, and wouldn't have the stress of owning it (but would have a landlord that would be responsible for keeping it safe and nice for her structurally etc) and then hire home helps to keep the day to day stuff easier for her. My aunt did that when she found owning a house was too much of a struggle and she found a lovely flat in a retirement complex, that meant she had the security of knowing she just had to pull a bell and someone would quickly be there, also she had many people her own age she could socialise with, but it was a lovely wee flat that she decorated exactly as she wanted and had a cute wee manageable garden so it felt like her own, but there was a management firm dealing with cleaning gutters, and making sure it was safe and secure for her, it was perfect and she stayed there til she sadly passed away, but while she was there she said it was the best decision she made, and she felt as independent as she wanted to be, without feeling alone.

Er sorry I waffled on a bit there

inscrutable79

I think she sees renting as throwing her money away and still wants to keep hold of a property that us kids would inherit. I've said I don't care about an inheritance but she does. In terms of what she can afford, she's already looking at cheaper locations and significantly smaller than where she is. She currently lives in a semi-rural location in a 3 bed bungalow in 0.3 acres of land - she's been looking at moving to the edge of the town nearest to my sister and to a 1 bed bungalow with a v small garden. She could probably afford a flat but says she'd feel claustrophobic downsizing to that extreme, plus she has limited mobility which would rule out anything other than ground floor. The agents we've spoken to estimate the place would need at least £40k spent to completely refurb it as it's in a pretty poor state - I don't think she or us kids can take on such a project for the sake of what's estimated to be an extra £30k. I'm in London so I'll be lucky to get myself anything bigger than a shed let alone anywhere with an annex!

Better_Days wrote: »

Would your Mum consider renting using the capital from the sale of the house? She might then be able to live somewhere that meets her needs without a loan.


Or could you purchase somewhere with an annex suitable for Mum? Hard to comment without more info though.

How realistic is Mum being about what she can afford? Would she consider something less expensive either by size or location?

Would it be worth improving the property then selling it? Depends on the price differentials, the state of the local housing market, and if you want the hassle.

Could Mum stay where she is with help from carers, cleaners etc?

googler

Rent from - private landlord, housing association or council

Refurbish the current house into better condition for sale.

Look at managed retirement properties, either in private sector or council-run

You buy a place with a 'granny flat' with your savings and the proceeds from your mum's sale.

inscrutable79

I have suggested such a flat but I think it's a step too far for her, at least at the moment. She is only 67, (but losing my father has aged her horribly so that at times she seems more like 77 or 87) and so she says that warden assisted flats are for old people not her! I think she still wants to maintain a sense of independence, and although her current house has fallen into disrepair, I think with our help she could manage somewhere smaller. It's just a matter of finding something she can afford...

clark24 wrote: »

Would she consider renting a warden assisted flat, as from your post it seems she may be unable to maintain a property on her own (as she struggled to with the current one after losing her husband). But she could use her equity to get a nice place that she can have proper assistance with, and wouldn't have the stress of owning it (but would have a landlord that would be responsible for keeping it safe and nice for her structurally etc) and then hire home helps to keep the day to day stuff easier for her. My aunt did that when she found owning a house was too much of a struggle and she found a lovely flat in a retirement complex, that meant she had the security of knowing she just had to pull a bell and someone would quickly be there, also she had many people her own age she could socialise with, but it was a lovely wee flat that she decorated exactly as she wanted and had a cute wee manageable garden so it felt like her own, but there was a management firm dealing with cleaning gutters, and making sure it was safe and secure for her, it was perfect and she stayed there til she sadly passed away, but while she was there she said it was the best decision she made, and she felt as independent as she wanted to be, without feeling alone.

Er sorry I waffled on a bit there

bitsandpieces

In some areas, you get developments of flats/bungalows which can only be bought by older people (usually with some kind of warden support, but often pretty unobtrusive). Often these are shared ownership places with some Housing Association link. They can be rubbish but you can get some decent deals - I used to live by some bungalows which were priced about the same as my flat, but nicer If something like this is available, would your mum consider it?

poppysarah

inscrutable79 wrote: »

I think she sees renting as throwing her money away and still wants to keep hold of a property that us kids would inherit.

Point out that however well meaning that is if a property isn't well maintained she is leaving you problems.

Point out the fact she hasn't maintained the one she is currently trying to sell.

BitterAndTwisted

It's in a semi-rural location with a third of an acre. That's ripe for redevelopment that is and some developer will probably pick it up for a song at auction and make a bundle on it. Is there any way that getting it in some sort of fit shape would make it an attractive prospect for a buyer with imagination? You don't have to install a luxury bathroom or some designer, hand-built kitchen to do that. Have you actually sat down with a builder or decorator and had the work sensibly priced up? That would be my inclination as long as the place was weather-proof.

Still, Poppysarah is right: she's neglected this one so will she neglect any other house she may buy?

inscrutable79

We haven't really looked into doing the refurb option ourselves I suppose. The agents we had round to value the place reckoned it would take at least £40k to do up and I don't know where we'd get that sort of money from?!

Dad did absolutely everything round the house and garden, it's a big old period property that needs a lot of looking after. After he died she fell apart and was so depressed that things that should have been sorted out weren't and with us not living close by we didn't really realise until too late. She has got a lot better in the last few years, so I think with a nice modern little place, that we could help her with she'd be able to look after it herself.

Either way it's the finances that have us stumped at the moment.

thistledome

B&T might be onto something there. If there's any chance that the council will give planning permission for a house or houses to be built on your Mum's land, it would be worth getting plans drawn up and permission granted. She'd get much more for a house and a plot than just a house.