Help making the right decision

swanmark

Hi Guys, I need some advice about a future decision, I am disabled and my carer is my sister in law, she has been my carer for a few years now, since my brother passed away. I have to move out of my current home as it’s far too big, so we are downsizing. We are in a position that either myself or my sister in law can buy the new property. I am a little concerned about losing my benefits so we have been thinking of 2 options. Would we be better off if I as the disabled person bought the property and take my chances with my benefits, or would it be better if my sister in law as my carer bought the new home and took me in as a lodger, and charge me rent ?, it sounds out of the ordinary I know, but you know how keen the dwp are at trying to take away your benefits. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

poppy12345

swanmark wrote: »

Hi Guys, I need some advice about a future decision, I am disabled and my carer is my sister in law, she has been my carer for a few years now, since my brother passed away. I have to move out of my current home as it’s far too big, so we are downsizing. We are in a position that either myself or my sister in law can buy the new property. I am a little concerned about losing my benefits so we have been thinking of 2 options. Would we be better off if I as the disabled person bought the property and take my chances with my benefits, or would it be better if my sister in law as my carer bought the new home and took me in as a lodger, and charge me rent ?, it sounds out of the ordinary I know, but you know how keen the dwp are at trying to take away your benefits. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

How will you buy the property, mortgage, cash?



Are you living in your own home with a mortgage and are you selling and down sizing?


If you're not selling an existing property to buy another then how will you be paying for the new property? savings?




If you're downsizing then any money left over after buying the new property will affect any means tested benefits you claim. For every £250 over £6,000 you lose £1. For saving of £16,000 and over and you won't be entitled to any means tested benefits.



It really depends what benefits you claim. PIP/DLA isn't means tested.

Fire_Fox

Some benefits are means-tested, others are needs-tested. There are various benefits calculators online that you or your SIL can plug figures into to get an idea of what the future might hold financially.

The DWP is a million miles from perfect, but the entire staff are not 'out to get' everyone on benefits, any more than everyone on benefits is 'out to fleece' the taxpayer.

You could purchase a property together as tenants-in-common, which means you would each own a specific legally documented percentage of the property. If one passed on they could will their % share to to anyone they wanted. A blood relative, a charity, each other, their hairdresser ....

For reference the most common way for married couples to purchase a property together is as joint tenants, where both parties own the whole house. If one party passes on, the other automatically becomes sole owner. So you can see that this is quite a different financial arrangement.

Not clear why one of you would be a paying lodger to the other? For simple fairness, or so you could claim housing benefit? If the latter, this would potentially be considered a 'contrived tenancy' so not eligible for financial help from the council.