Can we take out a mortgage on cared for parents house?

robphoenix

My partner and I currently live in her mother's house. My partners mother has dementia and is in a care home, my partner has lasting power of attorney, and the will states all assets will be shared between her and her sibling. A retaining wall has collapsed and the cost of repair is in the region of £30,000.

Are we able to take out a mortgage on this property?

Alter_ego

As POA you must act in best interest of mother. Wills are irrelevant till someone dies.

robphoenix

Yes, we understand that. I'm more interested to know if we would be able to take out a mortgage on a property when the deeds are not in our name but my partner has power of attorney for the person who owns the house.

MovingForwards

You could always buy the property for the market value with a mortgage, subject to meeting the mortgage company lending requirements.

The capital could then be put into an account for paying the mother's care fees etc.

If the above is not viable then the mother has to fund the repairs out of her assets. As your partner has a POA she will know how much money is around.

AnotherJoe

I would say no. PoA allows you to act on their behalf rather than act as if you were them. So it would let Mother take out a mortgage with you signing the paper (if you could find someone who would lend to her).. You cannot get a mortgage on it since how woudl the lender repossess if you ran into arrears?
I presume the issue is that mother doesn't have £30k cash knocking around ? And not enough income / too old to get a mortgage ?
In which case what would mother do if she had all her marbles ?
She could borrow from you (you could get a mortgage on your property if you have one?)
She could sell up and move into rented or downsize
She could do equity release.

So you could do one of those on her behalf. Presumably you aren't keen on the middle one since you are living in her house. Are you paying rent to her to offset the care home fees and the fact you aren't needing to pay a landlord?

getmore4less

Why does the mother need a home if they are in care?

How much rent are you paying?