Gran in carehome, solution rent her house out to pay towards fees

claire21

Jimmy

The care home fees have to be paid monthly, They cant be paid at the end.

LEJC

She lives alone
She currently has a rental income from a property she owns
She also has an income from the business both her and I are partners in
Plus her old age pension, i havent looked up yet if this stops when in a card home plus lower rate attendance allowance.
This is not enough to cover the fees alone , the house is very 1970s decor so the agent said I would have to do some work but it would fetch about £1500 a month. Bearing in mind she will be paying tax on that figure.

As you said up keep costs of it empty, she has a gardener 1 day a week for £95 to keep on top of it, oil heating is ticking over to keep in warm.

LEJC

She will be able to keep any attendance allowance and pension whilst she is self funded....that counts as income and she can use that towards the care home fees...it is only once you fall below £23000 in savings/assets that pension etc will be figuring in the calculations and once the assets fall below £13000 then pension/allowances are withdrawn.

It really is a juggling game and will depend on the care home costsand the level of savings/other income that she can use to support the care home fees ...
You also need to look at insurance of the empty property and council tax payments too as well as the fact that an empty property deterioates quicker if not lived in than one that is...hence my comment that its not always a cheaper option to leave it empty.
other factors to consider include what will happen to her furniture/possessions,currently we pay £120 per month for the storage of these because the tennants in the house didnt appreciate her choice of furnishings and I just cant get rid of them.

JimmyTheWig

claire21 wrote: »

The care home fees have to be paid monthly, They cant be paid at the end.

In which case letting the house out seems like the ideal solution all round. Because it means that her house will still be hers if, say, in a year she is looking at coming out of the care home (as unlikely as this seems now).

My only concern would be if the fees are to be paid using this rental money plus other income plus savings, then what happens if the savings run out?
Obviously the house will have to be sold to pay for the fees, but what will happen about the fees in the meantime while it is on the market and while the sale is going through?
There would be no funding from the council due to the home ownership issue but also no cash.
I guess what I'm saying is that you need to keep on top of the figures (I'm sure you will, from what's been said) and get the house on the market while there is still the money in savings to cover the fees until it sells.

LEJC

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

My only concern would be if the fees are to be paid using this rental money plus other income plus savings, then what happens if the savings run out?
Obviously the house will have to be sold to pay for the fees, but what will happen about the fees in the meantime while it is on the market and while the sale is going through?

At this point you really have to hope that the care home will appreciate the situation you are in and perhaps grant youa little grace......it is a 2 way thing and a sensitive issue because whilst you are waiting for the funds to come through you and they also have the welfare and security of the relative to consider..
Social services or a private care home probably wont want the situation to be prolonged but if they can see that they will get the money within a reasonable time frame then that should suffice...

Trust me it really is a juggling act to ensure everyone is happy where they are and the funds are released to the appropriate place on a monthly basis,and at times it does become flustrating but for us to keep the house was such an important thing,but I know that not everyone is in the position of being able to give it a go that we are and it can be heartbreaking to have to sell a property that someone has lived in for many years...in our case the property had been in the family nearly 100 years.

claire21

Jimmy

The savings wont run out with other income streams.

LEJC

Is a family member going to live in the house you are trying to keep when the final time comes? My grandfather was a builder and built this house for them both, however I wont be going to ever live in it.

LEJC

Claire...ours has been a family house since my grandfather bought it new almost 100 years ago....my mother and father lived there as did we as children...I left when I married 20 years ago and now have a family and home,but my childhood home means such a lot to me....
its undergone a renovation in the last 6 months and hopefully will be rented soon in order to fund care and hopefully remain in the family for another generation....like you I wouldnt return to live in it but it holds so many memories

JimmyTheWig

claire21 wrote: »

The savings wont run out with other income streams.

Then this seems like the ideal solution.
Looks like you've done your grandmother proud.