Financing Retirement Home Living.

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SandraScarlett

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

I can assure you that I really could not care about the "inheritance". After all, it's my mother-in-law's money and she can do what she pleases with it. I just want her to enjoy her remaining years in safety and comfort. My ill-chosen remark was made in order to make light of a sad situation.

Don't always take remarks too literally!

margaretclare wrote: »

Unfortunately, on a site like this, there is no way of telling which 'remarks' are meant to be taken 'literally' and which are not.

Oh dear OP, you've made the classical mistake of assuming that because you know it's meant to be a joke, that others do too. The entire site is littered with posts such as "I've received an inheritance of £150,000 which was my Nan's, and she worked hard for it, but can I still claim Housing Benefit, cos it's not my money really, it's my Nan's - and I'm entitled". :rotfl:

If several people answer with comments like "it is your money so you definitely won't be getting any Housing Benefit", and one person adds "why should you get taxpayers money, when you've got 150 grand", then the OP will reply "I came on here cos I thought it would be a helpful site, but I've never met such a load of bigots". :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

And the spelling and punctuation leave much to be desired, and they rarely thank anyone. :mad: I know MargaretClare is very helpful, but as she can't see you smiling as you post, it's easy to assume you're not. Taking remarks literally is all you can do with the posts!

xx

Pollycat

Can we get back on topic, please.

This is a great post:

Mojisola wrote: »

AgeUK do a checklist of things to look out for.

Also, visit on spec initially so that you can see the place "as it is". We ruled out several homes after a first, very short look round. Others we would have been quite happy to move into straight away ourselves!

Look at the pictures on the noticeboards - if they're supposed to be displaying all the activities that happen and, in March, the pictures are still of Christmas events, there's probably not very much going on, whatever claims are made.

Look at how open the staff are with you - does everyone greet you - and how much are they interacting with the residents? The places where the residents are all slumped in chairs while the staff walk round on "guard duty" should be avoided.

It's really important to fit the home to the person. We visited some lovely places that my Dad wouldn't have liked because they were too posh for him and the menus very upmarket, cordon bleu style.

For him to feel comfortable, we had to find a home that was "homely" and relaxed and provided simple, home cooking type meals. A friend's mother, who really enjoyed taking holidays in smart hotels, is in one the more upmarket places and thinks she's on a permanent holiday! Horses for courses.:)

My Dad spent a brief but happy time in a home, my sister & I chose it.
We visited and chatted to the residents about the food and other stuff.
We made sure Mum could visit pretty much when she wanted (apart from mealtimes).

I had a leaflet from one of the Age organisations about choosing a care home (can't find it now) and the last point on it was the question:

Would YOU be happy to live there?

Good luck with finding the right home for your M-I-L.

Mojisola

Pollycat wrote: »

I had a leaflet from one of the Age organisations about choosing a care home (can't find it now) and the last point on it was the question:

Would YOU be happy to live there?

Good luck with finding the right home for your M-I-L.

Another question we were told to ask when chatting to staff is how long they have worked there - long serving staff usually means that the place is a good place to work and, if staff are happy, the residents will benefit. It also means that the staff get to know all the little quirks that make individual residents happy.

jacko74

I can't really comment on looking for the right nursing home, but as far as the finances go and the sheltered accommodation property being ''worth about £140k''...

If I were you I'd do a bit of research into the retirement property market and forget about what ever was paid for it and what any EA might tell you, realistically I doubt it's worth even half that in this market.

WoodruffsDad

jacko74 wrote: »

I can't really comment on looking for the right nursing home, but as far as the finances go and the sheltered accommodation property being ''worth about £140k''...

If I were you I'd do a bit of research into the retirement property market and forget about what ever was paid for it and what any EA might tell you, realistically I doubt it's worth even half that in this market.

We've found a good nursing home for ma-in-law for a cost of £850 per week.

As far as the value of her home is concerned she bought it for £160k about 4 years ago and identical properties have been selling very recently for up to £180k.

I think that sheltered housing is not so susceptible to the vagaries of the market as "normal" properties are.

atush

Glad to hear you are working this out, hope she is happy there.

WoodruffsDad

atush wrote: »

Glad to hear you are working this out, hope she is happy there.

We looked at about 6 and the one she's moving in to (tomorrow!) was by far the best.

The finances are still a worry though. The proceeds of the sale of her flat won't last for ever!

jacko74

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

We've found a good nursing home for ma-in-law for a cost of £850 per week.

As far as the value of her home is concerned she bought it for £160k about 4 years ago and identical properties have been selling very recently for up to £180k.

I think that sheltered housing is not so susceptible to the vagaries of the market as "normal" properties are.

I'm amazed to hear those figures and genuinely hope you can achieve a decent price for it.
But from the research I've done over the last 18 months I'd say the retirement property market is in a FAR worse state than the 'normal' market... in my particular case we've got one that cost £125k in 2007, similar ones are not even selling at around £40k now.

Pollycat

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

We looked at about 6 and the one she's moving in to (tomorrow!) was by far the best.

The finances are still a worry though. The proceeds of the sale of her flat won't last for ever!

Glad to hear you've found a good place for your M-I-L.

Re finances, once her capital drops to (I think) £23,250 she will stop being fully self-funding.

And when her capital drops to (again I think) £14,500, the council will fund all her care costs (ETA - to the limit the council have set) - although they will take most of her income (state pension, occupational pensions etc) towards the cost.

She will be allowed around £26 per week for buying small items, having her hair done etc.

NB - please see Mojisola's later post re council limits on what they will pay and what will happen if the resident is in a home that has a weekly rate higher than the council limit.