Deprivation of assets - Buy House

Tygermoth

Hi all,

Question on behalf of my mother.

She is divorcing my father after 45 yrs. He cheated, but my mother retaliated violently. so not great on both sides.

She has been offered £70k to be bought out of the house.

The problem my mother has is she has no skills, or worked in her life so is very unlikely to get a job (that and the criminal record for her violent outburst) she is on ESA as the psychiatrist has advised she is not fit to work anyway.

She wants stability and to buy a house with this money. however she is on benefits. I cant see that they will allow this when she has 70K in the bank.

She is convinced as the house is an asset she will still get benefits.

Please could you advise as i don't want her to get in to trouble as she wont cope well and gets confused.

NYM

I'm sure she would be entitled to buy a house.

pmlindyloo

Any capital gained from separation/divorce is disregarded (not counted) for 6 months (or longer if deemed reasonable) if that capital is going to be used to buy a house to live in.

See here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/252063/dmg-vol9-ch52.pdf

Go to 52535.

How old is your mum?

Indie_Kid

NYM wrote: »

I'm sure she would be entitled to buy a house.

I think she would too. It's not as if she's got £70k in the bank and wants to give it away in order to claim benefits.

The house you live in is ignored for benefits. It's only property that you don't live in that's counted.

tomtontom

I agree with the others, buying a property should not be a problem. It reduces her reliance on benefits as she'll no longer need to claim HB. One caveat I would make is to ensure she can afford to maintain the property she buys.

bloolagoon

Will she be able to buy a property and maintain it on £70,000?

Tygermoth

Thank you all for your replies.

My mum is 62. The area (up norf) she can buy outright for £70, admittedly not the nicest house but she could get scrappy a two up two down in a village.

My worry is ongoing expenses, however she would have that with renting (gas electric ect) she will have to be careful for such things as boiler issues, damage or repairs.

But renting will just eat up that money too and she will have no stability. She also admits if she did not sink the money into property she would likely fritter it away. Whereas if its sunk into bricks and mortar she will be better off.

pmlindyloo

Tygermoth wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies.

My mum is 62. The area (up norf) she can buy outright for £70, admittedly not the nicest house but she could get scrappy a two up two down in a village.

My worry is ongoing expenses, however she would have that with renting (gas electric ect) she will have to be careful for such things as boiler issues, damage or repairs.

But renting will just eat up that money too and she will have no stability. She also admits if she did not sink the money into property she would likely fritter it away. Whereas if its sunk into bricks and mortar she will be better off.

Check to see if she is eligible for Pension Credit. You can apply up to 4 months in advance.

Check here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/297670/DWP027.pdf

Lioness_Twinkletoes

Tygermoth wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies.

My mum is 62. The area (up norf) she can buy outright for £70, admittedly not the nicest house but she could get scrappy a two up two down in a village.

My worry is ongoing expenses, however she would have that with renting (gas electric ect) she will have to be careful for such things as boiler issues, damage or repairs.

But renting will just eat up that money too and she will have no stability. She also admits if she did not sink the money into property she would likely fritter it away. Whereas if its sunk into bricks and mortar she will be better off.

Given the fact that she is unlikely ever to work, her age and the fact that she can only afford to buy a dive, I'd advise her to rent. Secure a nice, long term rental, and live off her savings.

If she spends all her money on a scruffy house and is permanently on ESA (or similar) how will she afford repairs, such as roofing repairs, boiler etc? What will she do if the survey doesn't pick up problems that become hers? Can she afford buildings insurance?

Renting seems like a much better idea and £70k should last a good few years.

duchy

What exactly is "a nice secure long term rental" ? Social housing ? Probably but with the means to buy she'd be lucky to be offered anything Certainly the private sector offers no long term security.

(I love some of these daft assumptions)

Another option that would give her the permanence would be to look at shared ownership. She'd probably get something nicer (and newer so less maintenance worries) and once any capital left fell below a certain level she'd qualify for HB on the rental portion .

Lioness_Twinkletoes

duchy wrote: »

What exactly is "a nice secure long term rental" ?

I actually said "Secure a nice, long term rental". Secure, meaning get. Learn to read, my friend.

She could apply for social housing. However, I was thinking more private rental, but one where the landlord is looking for a long term tenant. No, they are not entirely secure but then nor is buying a shabby house with every single penny, leaving nothing for repairs and maintenance.

Oh and the only daft assumptions are entirely yours.