RTB confusion; advice needed

moses97

Hi Everybody,

Hope everybody is well. I am new to the forum but have had a little read of it here and there over the years.

Needed a bit of guidance for the following situation:

My father has been a tenant with the Local Council for approx. 34 years and thus has the RTB.

I was just think of my father aging and the state and cost of elderly care and about his future really as I am quite close with him and decided that if I could purchase the property for him, I could prevent him from being in less than ideal circumstances down the road.

He is a heart patient and has undergone a triple heart bypass following 3 heart attacks a few years ago, and frankly the level of care and support available in the hospital and in the community is of an appalling level and of very low standard.

I also witnessed similar things last year, with one of my brothers who was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer or multiple myeloma and he could not even get someone to listen to what was bothering him when he was having panic attacks/episodes in hospital and I felt as if I had to present in the hospital so he got the right care and attention; so I took 4 months unpaid leave from work to help support him so his wife could ensure minimal disruption to the lives and educations of his children.

Dad is for the most part independent but sometimes need help. He is 65 years old. Retired. Receives his pension.

Due to my age, personal circumstances and from worrying about my father not becoming any younger, I decided to fill out the RTB forms and get the ball rolling.

Initially from the research I had done I assumed that only my income/age etc would be asked for on a RTB mortgage as I am the only one financing it and no one else would have any financial interest in the home and he was happy with it all as he felt all these years of paying rent etc would go to waste.

However today, I spoke to somebody at Santander who said he would have to take my father's details too and his pension into account as his name is on the RTB form as he is using his RTB and I am sharing it. I asked for a mortgage of 117200 over 25years on a salary of 26000.

Santander chap returned after placing me on hold with a reduced borrowing amount of 88000 and over an 8 year period.

I asked why and he said this was due to my father being on the RTB (why wouldn't he be, its his RTB being exercised?!)

My question is have I done the initial RTB forms incorrectly or something? I stated on the initial RTB form that I would be sharing the RTB but was not a named tenant but have been living in the property since birth which is the reality of the situation.

Just looking at the RTB1 form (available on the GOV website) now I can see I may have overlooked the section which says tenant not wishing to buy.

Im just a bit confused really and very tired at the moment as you may be able to tell.

Could I go through the RTB process again, and say he does not wish to buy but is giving me permission to buy?

Any advice/signposting would be appreciated, and any nonsensical/frivolous prattle will just be ignored as I know RTB is a bit of a controversial topic but that is no excuse for some of the abuse that is projected at RTB posts.

I will also call the RTB department at the local council and update the thread with whatever advice they give.

Note:

House has been valued

Discount has been applied

EPC certificate etc granted and done.



Many thanks in advance

Moses

G_M

Firstly, what makes you think you are eligible for RTB? Are you on the tenancy agreement?

If you are not eligible, the only way to progress would be for you to gift your father the money and for him to buy in his name. You would not get a mortgage for a property in his name. He might, though his age may severely restrict this option.

Have you/he consulted an indepedant mortgage broker?

According to the gov website here he could buy jointly with you if:

You can make a joint application with:

• someone who shares your tenancy
• up to 3 family members who’ve lived with you for the past 12 months (even if they do not share your tenancy)

Have you lived with him for 12 months? If so, you would still probably need a joint mortgage which again might be difficult for him.

Could I go through the RTB process again, and say....

I don't really see how you have even started the first time. Your father is the tenant. Your father has the RTB. Your father should be applying - not you.

Moving on, is this even a wise course of action?

I was just think of my father aging and the state and cost of elderly care and about his future really as I am quite close with him and decided that if I could purchase the property for him, I could prevent him from being in less than ideal circumstances down the road.

Seems to me that unless he has considerable other assets (ie savings /investments of at least £60,000+) with which he could privately fund his future care, this is a counter-productive plan.

At present
* he is a council tenant
* all his repairs and maintenance is paid for and his home is secure for life
* he has (I'm guessing/assuming) limited financial assets. Correct me if wrong
* if he needs residential care, he is likely to get this provided by the local authority (admitedly not necessarily the ideal care though...)

If he excercises RTB
* he'll be responsible for all repairs/maintenance
* if his home is a flat (or some houses) he'll own a lease, with annual fees and the risk of he council doing major 'improvements' (think new roof) and charging him
* as a home owner, the value of his property will be included in his assets when assessing him for LA funding for Care. He is likly to have to sell the property to pay for the Care (unless as I said he can afford private care from other sources)
* Assuming you and he are joint owners with a joint mortgage, and you are paying the mortgage, what woul happen if you were unable to pay? You lost your income? Your spouse diorced you and claimed half your property? Whatever? The mortgage lender would repossess and dad would be homeless.

On a cheerier note:

one of my brothers who was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer or multiple myeloma.....

If he had developed MM 15 years ago he'd have been dead in 3 years or so. However at least 8 new treatments have become available in the last 10 years with more under development. Unless his MM is very far progressed or he falls into an unforunate minority whose desease does not respond, he can look forward to decades more. Yes, life will change, and yes, some treatments can be unpleasant. But for the most part they work.

https://www.myeloma.org.uk/understanding-myeloma/treating-myeloma/

Call us for free on: 0800 980 3332 (UK) or 1800 937 773 (Ireland)
The Myeloma Infoline is available Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm (closed weekends and most public holidays).
We aim to have at least 80 per cent of calls answered first time by a Myeloma Information Specialist.

Lioness_Twinkletoes

I love these threads and this one has the lot:

• Caring son - only doing his bit for his, poor, aging father. Never mind that Dad has the absolute most security in housing he will ever get with no maintenance costs, rent paid for him in the event, a possibility of moving to sheltered accommodation if necessary...
• Elderly father
• Medical issues
• Family home
• An allusion to expensive care (does the OP not realise that in the event of his father needing care, the newly purchased council house will be sold to pay for that care)

Honestly, it warms my heart to see these children doing right by the elderly parents by taking their secure, safe, council tenancy off them and making them a homeowner with all the associated risks and expenses. What wonderful people they really are. Such sacrifices they make for their loved ones.

Norman_Castle

Baited hook dangling in front of you. Will you be caught?

AdrianC

moses97 wrote: »

...and any nonsensical/frivolous prattle will just be ignored as I know RTB is a bit of a controversial topic but that is no excuse for some of the abuse that is projected at RTB posts.

"I don't want to listen to any reality that goes against my preconceptions"

Caz3121

moses97 wrote: »

I was just think of my father aging and the state and cost of elderly care and about his future really as I am quite close with him and decided that if I could purchase the property for him, I could prevent him from being in less than ideal circumstances down the road.

do you mean that you are wanting him to have an asset that can be sold to fund the cost of his care?

burtbot1

I'm also really confused by this - genuinely - why do you think you owning the flat will be better for him if he needs care? Surely the complete opposite is true? Unless i'm missing something...

AnotherJoe

I can only presume, like Caz3121 that OP means that father would sell the house and use the money to pay for private medical care. Very generous of the OP to pay for that by buying the house by proxy in dads name. Nothing else he says makes sense otherwise.
However, unless five years have elapsed between buying and diagnosis and unless this is a very expensive council house, all we are talking about is the uplift in value, which perhaps be say £30k-£60k, which might buy a years worth of cancer drugs and then there's the ward in which dad would live (unless he's going to live with son?), since he'd have sold the house.
Unless you have a LOT of money or VERY expensive medical insurance, for cancer, private wont really do any better a job than the NHS and will suck your wallet dry in a very short time.
The OP will need to explain his plans better but on the face of it it makes no sense in either the "uplift in value to pay for private care" scenario, or the "lets make a bundle out of the house" scenario, assuming that in either case dad gets a cancer that requires intensive care and drugs,