we are on benefits please dont judge i broke my back and my wife is our daughters and my carer

disableddad

Any help would be appreciated as we want to do things the right way.
my mother recently passed away and left us enough money to buy a house as she wanted us to have security,
we currently live in a private rented accommodation which is £1200 pcm so here is the question the money left
to us is just enough to buy a house but would leave us with nothing to live on,
i have read some peoples opinions online have been use the money to pay your rent until its gone
 (i sort of agree however would be back in the same position after a few years )
what we would like to do is be able to buy somewhere then we do not require housing benefit however
this route would mean still claiming esa as i cannot work.
i read somewhere that using the money to buy a house would be classed as a sensible investment and would then not cut the esa off
any advice on this please as the worry is causing stress and anxiousness.
 thanks in advance 

marcia_

disableddad said:

Any help would be appreciated as we want to do things the right way.
my mother recently passed away and left us enough money to buy a house as she wanted us to have security,
we currently live in a private rented accommodation which is £1200 pcm so here is the question the money left
to us is just enough to buy a house but would leave us with nothing to live on,
i have read some peoples opinions online have been use the money to pay your rent until its gone
 (i sort of agree however would be back in the same position after a few years )
what we would like to do is be able to buy somewhere then we do not require housing benefit however
this route would mean still claiming esa as i cannot work.
i read somewhere that using the money to buy a house would be classed as a sensible investment and would then not cut the esa off
any advice on this please as the worry is causing stress and anxiousness.
 thanks in advance 

 If you already have the money you heed to report a change of circumstances to the DWP and housing benefit. 

 But if you buy a house and continue on benefits what would you do if for instance you needed a new boiler or roof repair etc?!

 Sometimes renting is beneficial you don't need to fork out for repairs! 

calcotti

marcia_ said: If you already have the money you heed to report a change of circumstances to the DWP and housing benefit. 

That depends on exactly what is being claimed which isn't clear from the opening post.

OP, what type of ESA are you claiming? Are you claiming any other benefits?

disableddad

i am on contribution based esa and pip /hb/ ctb my wife gets tax credits
the money is with probate and will be declared either way i am not looking to hide it i am simply 
looking at the security of a roof over our heads im not worried about boiler and roofs i have friends and my son works as a plumber i have a good credit score so if things get bad i can loan and still not be back on housing benefit  

lisyloo

My main concern would be the repairs and buildings insurance 
I.e. the elements currently covered by your rent,
I don’t think it’s practical to put these items on A loan.
are you planning to do that indefinitely?

have you factored in all your moving and transactional costs?
what about fixtures such as furniture and curtains?

calcotti

Contribution based ESA and PIP unaffected by capital (Tax Credits too). Possibly when capital below £16,000 you will qualify for some Universal Credit which would be based on standard allowance, LCWRA element and carer element (if your PIP includes the Daily Living component). However claiming Uc would end the Tax Credits.

Note - exited 22/03/2022 to correct original post (thanks to icequeen for highlighting error).

disableddad

we have lots of furniture curtains everything in the house we rent is ours and i pay the insurance on all appliances and contents i know i will also have buildings insurance and i have calculated all of those factors,

at the end of the day things go wrong in life things break and you replace as you can afford 
 i have a car i only have to put fuel in so thats a saving 

i will have to seek advice about the esa i heard as long as you tell them they let you have 6 weeks to buy and get into a property before they would start deducting but apparently extensions can be applied for 

Carrot007

disableddad said:

 i have a car i only have to put fuel in so thats a saving 

?????

Much like a house a car needs looking after.

Annual servive/mot. drive belt chanegd at 5/8/10 years. Rtandom fixes here and there.

Owning a house can mean having to find 4k here and there to fix things or end up living badly.

Only you can make the choice.

calcotti

disableddad said:

i will have to seek advice about the esa i heard as long as you tell them they let you have 6 weeks to buy and get into a property before they would start deducting but apparently extensions can be applied for 

You said your ESA was contribution based in which case it is not affected by capital. Any income based ESA will stop if you have capital over £16,000. Your award may be a mixed award.
I don’t know where you got the six weeks from. There is a six month disregard for money obtained from the sale of a property you previously lived in if being used to buy a new property, that doesn't apply to inherited money.

Spoonie_Turtle

Carrot007 said:

disableddad said:

 i have a car i only have to put fuel in so thats a saving 

?????

Much like a house a car needs looking after.

Annual servive/mot. drive belt chanegd at 5/8/10 years. Rtandom fixes here and there.

Quite possibly a Motability car where the driver's only expense really is fuel.

Torry_Quine

Is the ESA Support group which lasts as long as you remain in the group or WRAG which only lasts one year?