Any advice on buying my council house

Mojisola

da_rule wrote: »

3) If you or your husband ever need care then, if you purchase the house, you will be expected to self fund and potentially have to sell the house to pay the bills.

4) Your daughter is unlikely to be made homeless, she is disabled and residing in Council owned property, therefore they have a duty of care towards her.

6) From a purely practical point of view, if you and your husband were to pass away and your daughter inherited the house, could she live there alone? Could she afford the bills/repairs/outstanding mortgage etc? If not she is probably far safer remaining in Council accommodation.

As there would be a disabled person living in the house, its value would not be included in the financial assessment for any care that the parents needed.

It could certainly make the daughter's life more difficult after the parents' deaths, coping with repairs and maintenance.

Red-Squirrel_2

I agree with Elsien, whether this is a good idea depends entirely on the nature of your daughter!!!8217;s disability and her ability to take on responsibility for and cover the costs of the house.

restless6

My council added the value of all my improvements that I had funded like a new bathroom etc to the valuation - meaning I would be paying for them twice
I had to get the district valuer to do an independent valuation and disregard all my improvements . I had to provide reciepts for them.

My rent was over £400 a month , my mortgage is much less.

But you might not be eligible for right to buy if it!!!8217;s been adapted for disabled needs

Hoploz

Why do you want to buy it ... What would be the benefit? I can't see one.

Silversmith67

My daughter has autism mild cerbral palsy so she doesnt cope well with change . I do have an older daughter too. I thought that maybe be good if girls sold it when ready and then resettled Zoe were my daughter lives . Or my daughter's friend also autistic but very practical could move in with her he has is own flat but I am sure they would share as see each other daily . . It's a real worry just think why pay gov full rent when we could own it x I have been here 33 years .
And the council granted a private home owners grant that's why I had to put some too at the time was only way to fund because they had no money in pot for council house adaptions.
Thank you so much lots to think on here x your answers raised awareness and new thoughts .
Probably need a mortgage of 70 000 I don't know were to start would you get a broker ?
Love light Diane

00ec25

Silversmith67 wrote: »

we could own it x I have been here 33 years .
...
Probably need a mortgage of 70 000 I don't know were to start would you get a broker ?
Love light Diane

so unless you inherited it from your own parents you are at least in your mid 50s and so have <20 years remaining to get a typical mortgage as they end at age 75

what income will you have in retirement to fund a mortgage with? Please appreciate you won't get benefits for a mortgage like you to do for council rent

what research have you done of your own over the last month since your first post? It appears to be very little if you have not even tried to see if you can get a mortgage yet. Yes you will need a broker as you have atypical circumstances.

70K over 20 years could cost you more than £400 per month depending on the interest rate you get. Your end objective seems to be to provide a house that you kids can sell and pocket the money for themselves, not because it will improve your housing conditions in your old age. You'll also have to pay every penny of maintenance yourself, something you seem to be glossing over and therefore you could end up in a rotting dump , not maintained social housing.

Pixie5740

da_rule wrote: »

A few things to consider:

1) Have you checked that you can get a mortgage and roughly what the payments would be?
2) Do you have the money for insurance and repairs as and when they are needed?
3) If you or your husband ever need care then, if you purchase the house, you will be expected to self fund and potentially have to sell the house to pay the bills.
4) Your daughter is unlikely to be made homeless, she is disabled and residing in Council owned property, therefore they have a duty of care towards her.
5) The wetroom adaptation may mean that it falls under the adapted for disabled use exemption under right to buy, meaning that they may not have to sell it.
6) From a purely practical point of view, if you and your husband were to pass away and your daughter inherited the house, could she live there alone? Could she afford the bills/repairs/outstanding mortgage etc? If not she is probably far safer remaining in Council accommodation.

That might not necessarily hold true for the OP under the current rules. There are circumstances where the property must be disregarded from the means test and one of those circumstances is if the property is occupied by a relative who is incapacitated. The guidance on what incapacitated means is says:

* They receive any of these benefits: armed forces independence payment, attendance allowance, constant attendance allowance, disability living allowance, incapacity benefit, personal independence payment, severe disablement allowance, or a similar benefit

or

* They do not receive any disability related benefit but their degree of
incapacity is equivalent to that required to qualify for such a benefit.
Medical or other evidence may be needed for a final decision.

Source: Age UK

Owain_Moneysaver

The means test guidelines could change, however.

I would get your disabled daughter named as a tenant, and I would stay renting from the council.

Remember, if for any reason you fail to keep up the payments on a mortgage your home is at risk of being repossessed. Having a disabled daughter won't stop that happening, and you could all end up in totally unsuitable temporary accommodation (and not necessarily together).

And have you actually discussed with both your daughters how they feel about one possibly moving in with the other in future? Suppose that can't happen.

Inheriting a secure council tenancy is probably the best option for your disabled daughter. Even if she doesn't want to stay in that house, there may be options for rehousing or mutual exchange.

Smi1er

33 years in the house? 29 year old daughter?

I'm going to guess that you're 55ish.

When you retire how are you going to fund your mortgage payments? How will you fund maintenance?

pinkshoes

Silversmith67 wrote: »

Probably need a mortgage of 70 000 I don't know were to start would you get a broker ?
Love light Diane

You can start googling online mortgage calculators.

Borrowing £70,000 would be about £470 a month repayment over 15 years. Obviously the term you take it over will depend in your age.

To borrow £70k, you will need to have an income of around £18k between you.

Don't forget house maintenance and insurance can cost a LOT, so although you will own your house after 15 years, you will be responsible for repairs.

£400 a month rent!??!?! In Oxford that wouldn't even rent you a room in a horrible house!

Personally I would carry on renting.