Parents house to be sold to pay for care home

NickR85

Hi


Basically my mum owns her own house. She has got Alzheimers and unfortunately has got to the stage where she has had to move into a care home.


My sister is currently going for controllership (I don't know if that is the right term) as my mothers illness has progressed to quickly for power of attorney to be sorted out.


We have been told we need to put my mums house up for sale in order to pay for her care. I am intending to purchase the house when it goes up for sale but just have some questions about the process (I'm in Northern Ireland if that makes a difference?). I am aware that I will have to pay market value but who accepts any offer made on the property, is it the health trust? Also how long in peoples experience does this process take (ie is it longer than a conventional house purchase, acceptance of offers etc).

Sorry for the lengthy post.


Nick

Old_Git

you dont need to put the house on the open market but you do need to pay the market value .Thats not the same as the market price and in Northern Ireland the value will be less .Your sister needs to apply for court off protection .
There are fees involved for this I was quoted £1000 for court off protection and solicitor ,in my case I didnt need it as things came to a natural end at home. I an in Northern Ireland .You can do it yourself but you need lots off info .
http://www.courtsni.gov.uk/en-GB/Services/OCP/Pages/default.aspx

You should speak to a solicitor first .With court off protection there are ongoing charges so its not as useful as power off attorney

.Does your mother need nursing care or residential care .With nursing the health board can pay around £100 per week, £5000 per year so its worth pursuing,
with residential they wont .

There isnt an urgency in selling the home as the health board will wait and if need be just put a charge on the house and they will get that when its sold .

If you decide not to buy the house you dont pay rates on it while its up for sale if the owner is in a home .Dont forget to inform the pension dept .

NickR85

Thanks for the quick reply.

My mother is in a nursing home, of the top of my head the care costs £450 per week. How would I find out the market value of the house? Is that just the same as an estate agents valuation?

Old_Git

NickR85 wrote: »

Thanks for the quick reply.

My mother is in a nursing home, of the top of my head the care costs £450 per week. How would I find out the market value of the house? Is that just the same as an estate agents valuation?

You say your mother is in a nursing home but is she getting nursing care ,you may need to ask this as it makes a difference .£450 dosent sound like nursing care .
As for valuation you probably need to get an estate agent to give you a quote and you will probably need it in writing and they will charge for that .Thats what they do for probate so I assume they do the same for court off protection .Ask the solicitor for advice .It may be worth a chat with the Alzheimer society

pmlindyloo

This is a useful fact sheet from ageuk:

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS38_Treatment_of_property_in_the_means-test_for_permanent_care_home_provision_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

GDB2222

NickR85 wrote: »

Thanks for the quick reply.

My mother is in a nursing home, of the top of my head the care costs £450 per week. How would I find out the market value of the house? Is that just the same as an estate agents valuation?

No, estate agents tend to quote asking prices. The value is normally less than that. Once your sister has sorted things out with the court of protection, the COP will almost certainly insist on seeing a surveyor's valuation before agreeing the sale. It is up to you whether you get your own surveyor's report, but your lender will need a surveyor's valuation.

Mardle

As I understand it you'll be buying the house from your sister.

Once she has been granted deputyship by the Court of Protection she will be responsible for handling all your Mums financial affairs so she will be the one selling the house. The Court of Protection should be able to advise her what she needs to do in order to get the correct valuation of the house.