I inherited some land last year and it's apparently stopping me from most benefits

Alter_ego

HappyMJ wrote: »

I doubt Olive groves in Greece are in high demand and are hardly going to be worth anything. After a bit of searching there are plenty of properties that are olive groves that are priced at less than £5,000.
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Are you sure the trees are included? Greek culture must have changed a lot in the last 15yrs if they no longer value olive trees.

GirlFromMars_2

TELLIT01 wrote: »

I would assume that the owner of a property has a better idea of it's value than somebody who has Googled "Olive Grove Values". The OP has informed DWP of the value and if he tries to change that valuation now he will need to provide evidence of the 'new' valuation.

The OP valued it at a quarter of a million dollars in their post. Can't think that's right? Not least because in should surely be valued in Euros!

Housing_Benefit_Officer

What happens to the olives in this olive grove - how many trees do you have? Surely they are harvested and not left to rot on the trees?

TELLIT01

GirlFromMars wrote: »

The OP valued it at a quarter of a million dollars in their post. Can't think that's right? Not least because in should surely be valued in Euros!

I worked on the assumption that the OP had put an extra 0 after the ' in his figures. Even at a value of 25k Euro it would put him over the upper limit for Income Related benefits.

konark

Sell it quick and use the money to pay off debts, or buy a house or a car.

hettyGreek

Yes that was indeed an extra 0. The valuation was €25'000.00 - no where near a quarter of a million! This valuation was probably far too high, especially how things are at the moment.

The olives don't rot on the trees, they fall off the trees and there they rot. It's not commercially viable due to its size and location. Would have to be hand picked and unless I could sell the oil for a very very high price it would not make any return.

It would be difficult to sell, and I would rather not as its been in the family for a long time and has been left to me with the intention to pass it on. If I was left a piece of jewelry this would be exempt and I wouldn't need to sell it, so I think the same should happen with this.

Could you give me more information on putting it up for sale and ignoring it for 26 weeks or more? Is that after 26 weeks it would be ignored? I'm currently trying to get an up to date valuation, but it is difficult with its location, would they accept a link to a similar piece of land thats up for sale for evidence of its value?

I'm currently just receiving contributions based job seekers allowance and child benefit. I don't seem to be able to upload images here but I have posted on another forum for views on this my calculations from entitled to. pettygripes.com/discussion/1054/my-olive-groves-stop-me-from-claiming-benefits

Should I be entitled to anything else?

tomtontom

All land has a value, and a purpose, why do you think your land should be disregarded whilst sitting there doing nothing? If it really has no value, why would you want to burden future generations with it?

pmlindyloo

hettyGreek wrote: »

Yes that was indeed an extra 0. The valuation was €25'000.00 - no where near a quarter of a million! This valuation was probably far too high, especially how things are at the moment.

The olives don't rot on the trees, they fall off the trees and there they rot. It's not commercially viable due to its size and location. Would have to be hand picked and unless I could sell the oil for a very very high price it would not make any return.

It would be difficult to sell, and I would rather not as its been in the family for a long time and has been left to me with the intention to pass it on. If I was left a piece of jewelry this would be exempt and I wouldn't need to sell it, so I think the same should happen with this.

Could you give me more information on putting it up for sale and ignoring it for 26 weeks or more? Is that after 26 weeks it would be ignored? I'm currently trying to get an up to date valuation, but it is difficult with its location, would they accept a link to a similar piece of land thats up for sale for evidence of its value?

I'm currently just receiving contributions based job seekers allowance and child benefit. I don't seem to be able to upload images here but I have posted on another forum for views on this my calculations from entitled to. pettygripes.com/discussion/1054/my-olive-groves-stop-me-from-claiming-benefits

Should I be entitled to anything else?

The link you need for putting the land up for sale is here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/470848/dmgch29.pdf

Scroll down to 29579 and read to 29588

You will probably need advice from the DWP as to what evidence you need as it is not in this country.

You should make a claim for child tax credits. What was your salary for 2015/16?

Topcat1982

I have had it confirmed on Money Saving Expert that this is correct. It is due to having assets over £16'000.00. I'm seeking further advice on this as this could be incorrect and will try a few different places before I accept this as a definitive answer.

Not sure why you don't believe the people on here but it's a very easy thing to check on the relevant govt sites, or by phoning up the DWP.

HappyMJ

hettyGreek wrote: »

Yes that was indeed an extra 0. The valuation was €25'000.00 - no where near a quarter of a million! This valuation was probably far too high, especially how things are at the moment.

The olives don't rot on the trees, they fall off the trees and there they rot. It's not commercially viable due to its size and location. Would have to be hand picked and unless I could sell the oil for a very very high price it would not make any return.

It would be difficult to sell, and I would rather not as its been in the family for a long time and has been left to me with the intention to pass it on. If I was left a piece of jewelry this would be exempt and I wouldn't need to sell it, so I think the same should happen with this.

Could you give me more information on putting it up for sale and ignoring it for 26 weeks or more? Is that after 26 weeks it would be ignored? I'm currently trying to get an up to date valuation, but it is difficult with its location, would they accept a link to a similar piece of land thats up for sale for evidence of its value?

I'm currently just receiving contributions based job seekers allowance and child benefit. I don't seem to be able to upload images here but I have posted on another forum for views on this my calculations from entitled to. pettygripes.com/discussion/1054/my-olive-groves-stop-me-from-claiming-benefits

Should I be entitled to anything else?

Then do as I said earlier and sell it to the highest bidder at auction. If only one personm hopefully someone you know maybe a family member turns up at the auction and offers just 1 euro then that's it's value and you can sell it to them and you will get your housing benefit.