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

lisyloo

I admire your optimism.

you’ll be very lucky if all your curtains fit your new windows and all your furniture fits.
it’s normal for there to be house expenses now and again and they can be several ks.
having friend is great but that doesn’t pay for fencing, boilers, roofs, new windows etc.
a car that never breaks or driver that ever speeds or get parking tickets is equally great.
removal costs, legal fees? Hopefully all factored in.

buying a house takes min 4 months if nothing goes wrong.

overall I think it’s a good idea, I just don’t share your optimism for a perfect life, because things go break and need fixing or replacing all the time.

disableddad

thankyou all for your answers so far
yes i have a motability car because of my spinal injury 

i am not after a perfect life but would like having a home my wife can make our own

i am pretty good at saving and my father said he will help with some moving costs  and  i have really great boys
both our sons have a great work ethic because before my accident i did two jobs all the time until the day of the accident. 
 

poppy12345

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 

That's not correct for your case. Savings can be disregarded for 6 months, sometimes longer when you sell your existing home and buy another. For you, it will be inheritance so there won't be any disregarded time given to buy a house. As soon as that money goes into your bank you need to report the changes and all your means tested benefits will end, as advised.

poppy12345

Torry_Quine said:

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

ESA Contributions based/New style WRAG is only paid for 1 year. Support Group is paid for as long as you remin in that group.

There's no timelimit for ESA WRAG for those on Income Related.

poppy12345

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.

If someone receives either Enhanced mobility PIP or DLA high rate mobility they can exchange it for a car from motability. I've done this for the past 5 years and all you pay for is fuel. Of course the car isn't free because we give all out motability money back to pay for it.

Cyclamen

Disabled Dad
 PIP / ESA support group for me and PIP / Carers allowance for my husband

We own our bungalow.. and the security of knowing it is ours far outweighs for us running costs. Yep we've had roof fix, fences down. 

I can hem a curtain and two good used furniture shops nearby plus marketplace etc.
The government scheme insulated roof for us years ago.. i had enough saved for new boiler (needed space from water tank) and would now qualify for help but we have it serviced. We saved for new windows and did them in two sittings (4 windows and a door)

We arent rolling in money here but we manage nicely .. there is security knowing the house is ours no matter what, we cant be made to move, any adaptations we do are ours.. eg my cousin has taken out a few door frames to make gaps wider for wheelchair, we already have wetroom.  

If you want to look at the financial picture for the country.. they wont be paying housing benefit support (forgot new name) and you have a home that in theory will help with care costs in adult life. 

I would say think about practicalities of properties you view.. transport links (i know you have a car but future proof), footpaths/droppped curbs around, how big you need, smaller goes without saying is more affordable so do you need a spare bedroom etc.  

It isnt the easiest route as repairs fall to us but it works well for us.  There are lots of people who own homes when 'bread winners' are retired due to disability, carers etc.. just work within your budget and if you can save a bit from inheritance for new carpets and 'surprises' thats great 

good luck in what ever you choose

Icequeen1

calcotti said:

Contribution based ESA and UC unaffected by capital. 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).

UC is affected by capital? Do you mean tax credits?  The OP said his wife claims tax credits, so I assume CTC so they should get advice before claiming UC to work out if they would be better off

calcotti

Icequeen1 said:

calcotti said:

Contribution based ESA and UC unaffected by capital. 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).

UC is affected by capital? Do you mean tax credits?  The OP said his wife claims tax credits, so I assume CTC so they should get advice before claiming UC to work out if they would be better off

Don’t know how I managed to type that. I meant contribution based ESA and PIP. Thanks for flagging. I will correct.

whizzywoo

I think you can manage to run and pay for your own home on benefits as long as you are careful and you don't have a mortgage.

I have personal experience of this being the case.  My husband became disabled many years ago and I worked part-time.  We claimed working tax credits and we had already paid off our mortgage.

Yes you have to be careful with your money but isn't that the case for everyone on benefits or being low paid?  There are plenty of second hand furniture shops out there.  Buildings insurance is not so expensive, it's the contents insurance that bumps the cost up.  You don't need to have the latest fashion, phones or laptops or subscribe to lots of TV channels.

The security of owning your own property brings many benefits and if necessary you can sell up to move to a more suitable property as you get older.  Moving to a different and suitable property is not always easy with rented accommodation.

There are pros and cons for both ways and everyone has different priorities.

If your wife is claiming tax credits then there is no limit for the amount of savings you can have for that particular benefit.  But you must declare any interest you receive on the money saved.  

In my opinion you should go for it.

calcotti

whizzywoo said:

If your wife is claiming tax credits then there is no limit for the amount of savings you can have for that particular benefit.  But you must declare any interest you receive on the money saved.  

Worth bearing in mind however that all Tax Credits claims will end as claimants are migrated to UC. There will be those with savings over £16,000 receiving Tax Credits who will be allowed to claim UC but for 12 months only. State did intention is to complete all migration by the end of 2024. Whether that is realistic is an open question (an influx of refugees claiming benefits will presumably divert DWP resources).