help with council property please!

neas

what is the equity in the house?

When was it purchased? What is the mortgage value and what do you think its valued at?

bettersoon

no she is not intentionally doing anything dodgy? We've been here about 3 months and they know i am living here during this time. the last thing i want is break rules and live worrying about the consequences! As i have said already we cant afford to live there and the house is his.

bettersoon

He bought the house 2 years this december and the mortgage is not fixed. first year 5.75% and second 7%..yes i know ... we can pay off the mortgage after 1st year with no penalty as long as we give them a months notice.

Tried changing lenders in january to try get a lower rate (that was the plan so to avoid the higher rate) found one at 5.75% but the house was undervalued...so yeah thats when we decided to let out the house and put it on the market. Big mistake taking on a house I know and to think house prices can only go up.... yes yes we are stupid and now we are trying to cheat the system... fire away!

Emmy_L

bettersoon wrote: »

no she is not intentionally doing anything dodgy? We've been here about 3 months and they know i am living here during this time. the last thing i want is break rules and live worrying about the consequences! As i have said already we cant afford to live there and the house is his.

but your partner is living there also,and he has not been declared to either council or benefits office.
Also,your mum is not living there,so she is breaking the terms of her agreement.
I'm sorry that things are so hard for you,and this is probably the last thing that you need,but the facts are the facts as you have stated them.
I'm afraid I don't know an awful lot about selling houses,but I seriously suggest you both sit down and review your options asap, because you simply cannot stay where you are.
Perhaps if you approached the council and see if they would be willing to help you with a deposit to secure private rental accommadation,or speak to your health visitor about what resources she has at her fingertips to help you out a bit.
Other than that,the CAB is your best bet

Emmy_L

bettersoon wrote: »

He bought the house 2 years this december and the mortgage is not fixed. first year 5.75% and second 7%..yes i know ... we can pay off the mortgage after 1st year with no penalty as long as we give them a months notice.

Tried changing lenders in january to try get a lower rate (that was the plan so to avoid the higher rate) found one at 5.75% but the house was undervalued...so yeah thats when we decided to let out the house and put it on the market. Big mistake taking on a house I know and to think house prices can only go up.... yes yes we are stupid and now we are trying to cheat the system... fire away!

I don't think you are trying to cheat the system as such,I just think that maybe you have put yourselves in a situation that has bad consequences for all involved in it.

oldMcDonald

bettersoon wrote: »

He bought the house 2 years this december and the mortgage is not fixed. first year 5.75% and second 7%..yes i know ... we can pay off the mortgage after 1st year with no penalty as long as we give them a months notice.

Tried changing lenders in january to try get a lower rate (that was the plan so to avoid the higher rate) found one at 5.75% but the house was undervalued...so yeah thats when we decided to let out the house and put it on the market. Big mistake taking on a house I know and to think house prices can only go up.... yes yes we are stupid and now we are trying to cheat the system... fire away!

For what it is worth, I don't think you are 'trying to cheat the system', but I think that there have been some bad decisions made at some point

I am concerned that you have decided to sell the house and have not looked at dealing with your debts in any other way. If you or your partner have anything adverse on your credit file, such as a late payment for a debt, then this could lead to it being very, very hard for you to rent privately. A large proportion of landlords use lettings agencies and they almost always will require a heafty deposit up front, plus one or two months rent, plus a good credit search. My concern is that you will make yourself intentionally homeless by selling the house, have difficulty in finding a home to rent and in the meantime possibly get into trouble for claiming any benefits as single if your partner is living with you and your mum getting into a horrific amount of trouble / loseing her home if she is claiming benefits she is not entitled to (eg. HB for the flat whilst she is not living there) or breaking the lease agreement.

You really need to be very sure that the course you chose to take is the best possible one for you and your families future. You could end up in a much worse mess than you are in now. I really do urge you to visit the CAB and tell them EVERYTHING you have told us here.

Again, good luck and I hope that you can find the best possible way forward for all of you.

barnaby-bear

Emmy_L wrote: »

I don't think you are trying to cheat the system as such,I just think that maybe you have put yourselves in a situation that has bad consequences for all involved in it.

They know she is living there but do they know the boyfriend is too and that the mum isn't, either of those two facts sound like fraud if the mum is getting her rent paid... they can retrospectively claim the rent back off the mum if they didn't and she'd probably lose her tenancy.

barnaby-bear

bettersoon wrote: »

no she is not intentionally doing anything dodgy? We've been here about 3 months and they know i am living here during this time. the last thing i want is break rules and live worrying about the consequences! As i have said already we cant afford to live there and the house is his.

It doesn't really matter if it was intentional or not though, the council do have a legal obligation to reclaim and prosecute falsely claimed benefits and allocated housing. Do they know she isn't living there and has moved out? You only need a bitter neighbour whose kids haven't been able to get a flat to grass you up to open a big tin of worms.

scooby1001

I personally think that you should move back into your house as soon as the tenents move out as a starting point as (as many people have already pointed out) your current situation is very dodgy. I am in a council property myself and i know that if the tenency is in my name i cant move out and let my son stay there instead(he wishes). I know of people that have done this and been theatened with eviction unless they move back in. I know you say the council knows about you being there but are you sure because they wouldnt allow your situation to happen. Move back into the house, look at your finances again, if it is impossible for you to keep up the payments then go to the council explaining the situation(you can put your name on the housing list even if you own your own home although you wont get many points) take a budget list with you. They will say that they cant help you but at least they will be aware of your situation. If it gets to the point of reposession as long as you are unable to pay(rather than dont want to pay) your morgage the council will put you in temp acc(once house repocessed) and look at your situation. As long as you are genuine they WILL house you. Then you can start a fresh.