Buying a house for parents to live in ..

CarolynSinclair

MaryNB said:

CarolynSinclair said:

As the official owner has died, the family want to sell it. I hadn’t thought of it being sold ‘with tenants’ that gives a bit of hope. The agent has just informed me of the situation, and said there’s no initial rush, 3 months flexible. I asked for no letter of intent until next week as we only broke the news to them yesterday, and didn’t want them alerted without being told in person. 

What do they mean by three months flexible? If it's in England, Wales or Scotland it's a 6 month notice to end the tenancy. I think Northern Ireland is 12 weeks. 

I had no idea, I just said how long will we have and they said around 3 months but the family will be flexible!

MovingForwards

Depending on your age, you may not be able to 'cash in' your pensions, even if you can you'll pay loads of tax.

If you can raise the £100k, lend that to them by way of an official mortgage on the property. Acts like a normal mortgage, you set the terms eg repayable on death of the second, move into a carehome or move home etc. No second home tax payable as you're not the owner. Downside is if you die / divorce / go bankrupt their home is at risk. 

Due to their ages, have you contacted the council / housing associations as there may be property available suitable for them. It's a different timescale as an older person compared to singles / families on the waiting list as the properties are for a specific age group.

CarolynSinclair

MovingForwards said:

Depending on your age, you may not be able to 'cash in' your pensions, even if you can you'll pay loads of tax.

If you can raise the £100k, lend that to them by way of an official mortgage on the property. Acts like a normal mortgage, you set the terms eg repayable on death of the second, move into a carehome or move home etc. No second home tax payable as you're not the owner. Downside is if you die / divorce / go bankrupt their home is at risk. 

Due to their ages, have you contacted the council / housing associations as there may be property available suitable for them. It's a different timescale as an older person compared to singles / families on the waiting list as the properties are for a specific age group.

Thank you, I will contact the Council/housing associations Monday, that’s a great idea. 

GDB2222

I really think that raising the funds and lending to in-laws is the way to go. Or act as guarantors so that they can raise the funds themselves.

Keep_pedalling

What ever you do think very carefully about cashing in pensions to fund this it is nearly always a very bad idea. The other issue I would be concerned about is that this is going to make your in-laws very cash poor.

Have they / you looked at housing association accommodation aimed at older tennants?

CarolynSinclair

Keep_pedalling said:

What ever you do think very carefully about cashing in pensions to fund this it is nearly always a very bad idea. The other issue I would be concerned about is that this is going to make your in-laws very cash poor.

Have they / you looked at housing association accommodation aimed at older tennants?

Yes, the more I think about cashing in pensions the more I think it’s a bad idea. It was just a panic reaction I think to try and resolve the situation.  Will look at housing associations today. Thank you for replying. 

MaryNB

CarolynSinclair said:

MaryNB said:

CarolynSinclair said:

As the official owner has died, the family want to sell it. I hadn’t thought of it being sold ‘with tenants’ that gives a bit of hope. The agent has just informed me of the situation, and said there’s no initial rush, 3 months flexible. I asked for no letter of intent until next week as we only broke the news to them yesterday, and didn’t want them alerted without being told in person. 

What do they mean by three months flexible? If it's in England, Wales or Scotland it's a 6 month notice to end the tenancy. I think Northern Ireland is 12 weeks. 

I had no idea, I just said how long will we have and they said around 3 months but the family will be flexible!

I guess they're chancing their arm in the hope your parents won't be aware of the Covid related changes to notice periods (pre covid notice was 2 months in England) and will find somewhere asap and give notice themselves. Obviously the 6 months is irrelevant if your parents give notice.

The agency or family will need to issue a proper notice and meet certain requirements. If it is England and Wales look online for an S21 Notice checklist to see all the things they need to do to ensure the notice is valid. 

Give you and you parents some breathing space, don't rush out in 3 months, you've got lots more time. After the 6 months the agency/family then have to apply to the court for an eviction - it's not a notice to evict it's a notice to end the tenancy.

Tiglet2

Could your parents buy the bungalow from the landlord?  Would that be an option?

Would they consider a ground floor flat?

steampowered

You could gift the £100k to your parents. That way it will be only their name on the deeds so there will be no stamp duty problem.

At the same time, your parents can write a will saying that 2/3 of the property gets left to you when they die, and 1/3 gets split with your brother. So you will ultimately get your £100k back.

Grumpelstiltskin

What I would do is firstly don't panic and then ask the landlord to issue them with notice to quit in writing and see what they come up with.

I guess they live in either England or Wales as the law does vary in other parts of the UK.

When you have the notice in your possession come back on here and the good posters will advise you if it has been issued correctly and what the next step is.

By doing this you are buying time, time in which you can decide the best way forward.