O/T: Need urgent advice on where to buy a home for elderly relative

[Kristen]

I'm sorry about the O/T post but I can't find any other directly relevant newsgroups and urgently need advice.

The family homes are no longer suitable for a very close relative of mine to live in. This relative has very little assets until legal matters are concluded, which may take years. I will have to chip in but the immediacy of the matter means that I can't muster more than

50k in savings and borrowings. I know the budget is very small but she won't be able to take a mortgage given her age and I have found small homes in rural areas costing that much so I know it is not impossible.

I am looking to buy a new home for her in the UK. I'm looking for:

- A home, preferably with a good sized piece of land to keep her active in the garden

- Within my budget of 50k

- In a quiet, peaceful and safe rural area (the sort of place where people leave front doors unlocked)

- Has a low cost of living

- Has good healthcare (where she won't have to drive for miles to the nearest clinic)

- Has a friendly, large Anglican/CoE community who will take care of her

[Clive George]

- The moon on a stick.

Put another zero on the price and you'll do rather better. Otherwise you're basing your pricing on the early 90s.

Budget aside, many rural areas will do what you want. You don't want out-in-the-wilds rural, you want to be near a town of a few thousand so it'll have a decent clinic. And there's a _lot_ of choice out there. Choose an area, look at the prices.

If money is tight, remember lower prices will be for reasons including : no land, house needs renovation, nasty area, lack of services.

[Kristen]

Thanks for your advice. I am speaking to other relatives at the moment to see if they are willing to provide financial support for the one that is separating from the family, but at the moment I am conservatively assuming I'll be the only one willing to help her out.

Even something simple like this will do for an elderly woman with no family:

in Region of =A349,950

2 bedroom chalet for sale 22 Panteidal, Aberdovey, LL35 0RG

I'm currently self-employed so I'm holding a reserve as I expect additional costs above just buying the house, such as relocation expenses. My own living expenses off my savings must also be factored in.

Unfortunately I'm not a native Brit so I wouldn't know where to look.

Probably in decreasing order of what I am willing to trade off would be: Land size Lack of services Renovation work on house Nasty area

Thanks again for your advice.

Kristen

[Clive George]

That's not a house, it's a posh equivalent to a caravan. 50 K for 20 years lease plus 1.2k/year service charges - not cheap either. And "OCCUPANCY The chalet may be occupied for holiday use only".

There are places which do caravans for people to retire to. There are mixed opinions of them - some of the parks are really dodgy, and all are expensive for what they are.

In the UK, what people think of a house to buy is typically a brick/stone/block built thing with the freehold (ie not lease). There are exceptions to this, but that's the norm, especially in a rural area. And they cost a lot more than that shed.

For 50K, you're stuffed, unless you do want to go for the genteel equivalent of a trailer park (some people do like them and are happy in theirs). However if you can persuade others to help, and/or take on a mortgage, pick a place. I reckon somewhere like Settle fits all your criteria bar price, but you'll be looking for 200K or 150K for a place in town.

[Kristen]

This relative is about 70 years old. I presume "ground rent" is the Welsh term for Council Tax as it's dictionary meaning sounds about right. For future reference, what do "maintenance charges" buy you? A handyman around if something leaks or utility bills as well?

Yes, I noticed that but this relative can always leave for January when she's not supposed to be living there. But of course, I will take your advice not to go for such a place.

No, I don't think a caravan is suitable for this relative.

If I dispose of all my assets, sell shares at a loss, withdraw from bonds and give myself one year's living expenses on savings, I can probably muster up 200k in a few months. A freehold brick/stone/block built house is ideal as I intend to hold on to it as an asset.

It would be so much better for everyone if they all enjoyed their retirement together and in peace but I think this has been simmering for some time and this close relative has decided that it is time for her to leave now that all her children have grown up.

Thanks for your advice and staying awake at this really unsocial hour in the UK at the moment!

Kristen

[Kurt Ayrez]

Well Kristen, I am just up to start a new day and doing my usual NG checks and came across your post and immediate requirement...and I had to smile.

Now you must please tell us, this is a spoof post of which you have already hooked one other fishy. Or could it be an email from the late 80's/early

90's that has somehow been lost in the ether and just appeared.

If not you/she had better get into the LOOOONNNNGGGG queue of people wanting such a piece of wonderland.

That aside and I have just thought, we had a garage (one car shed) that sold in the middle of our city for £50K a couple of years back...but it did not have a garden, was not rural, was within 1/2 mile of the hospital and I am sure MUST have been near a church.

Safe hunting...

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Kristen saying something like:

If you find more than one place like that, let me know first. Everybody and his dog will want one. Trouble is, one or two of your requirements are contradictory -Rural and low COL don't equate very often, unless you're growing your own fuel;

[Imbecile]

This relative is about 70 years old. I presume "ground rent" is the Welsh term for Council Tax as it's dictionary meaning sounds about right.

-------------- No, they are different, ground rent is what it says, payment to the person who owns the land for the use of the land. This has to be paid when the property is leasehold - the owner of the building doesn't own the land on which the building stands and therefore has to rent/lease the land from the person who owns it.

Council tax (properly called community charge) is payment to the district council to partly pay for local government services. These services include police, fire, recycling, refuse collection and removal, schools, leisure centres, park and ride schemes, parks and open spaces, street cleaning, subsidising of public transport, tourism, museums, social housing grants, housing and council tax benefits, environmental health and food safety in pubs, restaurants and shops, planning services, support for voluntary groups, meals on wheels, facilities for young people, adapting homes for disabled people, play centres for children, CCTV installation, sports facilities, issuing taxi licences, flood defences, and many others. The tax bears no resemblance to the degree of use of these services, it relates to the value of the property.

I wonder if it is wise for a 70 year-old to take on a large garden, unless of course she is very fit and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future and there is financial capacity to buy-in help with gardening as and when it is required.

Good luck, this sounds like a nightmare to me.

[Adrian]

Kristen gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

You're funny. We like you.

[nightjar]

No. Ground rent means you don't own the land the building is standing on, but rent it from the peson who does. You will pay ground rent on any propety that is described as leasehold. Freehold property includes ownership of the land.

It can vary, but normally it only covers the cost of maintaining the common services. In the case of a residential park, that would be things like the roads. In a multiple occupancy building, it would probably cover the outer fabric of the building.

...

Don't be mislead by the rather disparaging description of mobile homes as caravans. This is what some of them look like.

>> Budget aside, many rural areas will do what you want. You don't want

If you can, avoid South East England, which means anywhere south and east of a line from the Wash to the Severn estuary. That area is now considered to be the domitory area for London, which pushes up prices.

Given the relative's age, have you considered assisted housing - houses or flats with a resident warden, who looks after the residents?

There are also assisted purchase schemes, which allow people who qualify to buy a property in part ownership with a Local Authority or a charity. They can sometimes be combined with assisted housing.

Colin Bignell

[Kevin Poole]

Not too helpful to the OP.

There are various schemes, some run by housing associations or charities, whereby older people can buy a share, or stake, in a property. These are often associated with sheltered or warden-assisted schemes. They have drawbacks, of course, but offer an alternative to full ownership or plain rental.

[Norman Wells]

A cell in a nunnery sounds about right.

[Cicero]

=================================================

I would suggest that you look at Housing Association properties. These are usually sold on the basis of a percentage purchase (often from 25%) and the balance is paid as rent. There is then an option to 'staircase' the percentage owned which reduces the amount of rent paid. This arrangement can eventually lead to outright ownership when or if it can be afforded.

A simple example: You buy a house (must be a housing association property) at £100,000 but use your £50,000 to buy 50% of the equity. You then pay rent on the balance for as long as you want.

Try googling for 'Housing Association' for a more complete explanation.

Cic.

[auctions]

With that kind of budget, buying is almost certainly not an option. Things that might help - she could get a mortgage. Lifetime mortgages are available for up to 30% of the price at age 70. They have no repayments - the interest is rolled up and payable on the sale of the property. Not right for everyone, but could be in this situation.

If she has a low income, she could be entitled to housing benefit to pay rent, but not to pay a mortgage, so she might be better in a rented house. This could be a house that you buy with a buy to let mortgage and then rent to her. With a =A350000 deposit, that would stretch your budget to at least =A3125,000, possibly =A3160000 or more. There are places in the north that would meet most of your requirements within that kind of budget, although it will still take a bit of searching.

Other option is shared ownership - buy 25% of the property and rent the rest.

A

[Rob]

Yes, there's quite a few that specialise. You really have to watch the 'rent' component - it can include some hefty service charges, and often repairs and maintenance aren't included. This scheme is more about access to ownership than affordability. Do you have to buy?

How old is the relative? Perhaps rented/sheltered - the field opens up an awful lot for the over 60s (over 55s round here, even for bungalows). 'Sheltered' is not a 'home' - it's usually (cat1) just a home with some alarm wiring plumbed in. And housing benefit is a lot more straightforward on the rent component.

Rob

[Tim S]

nightjar coughed up some electrons that declared:

one above. The trailers are "built in" (with a brick dwarf wall) and a little garden and a parking space arranged around it - might as well be a little wooden house, you can barely tell the difference.

They are close, but no worse than many modern bricks and mortar developments.

And the inside - does not look like a caravan - it's fitted out pretty much like a flat.

It's finding one near amenities that's harder.

Cheers

Tim

[Andrew Gabriel]

Beware that moving an elderly person away from the people they know and familiar surroundings can often have a most devistating effect on them.

What is the current home situation? Isn't there anyway this can be adapted if necessary?

[Imbecile]

Resident wardens are being phased out, see

[dennis]

I sold a house with a 70x35 foot garden for about that three months ago.

Not exactly rural as it was in Tipton but there is a few tens of acres of grass land on the other side of the road. The big problem was it being a Smiths house so you can't get a mortgage and needing about £10k spending on new kitchen, bathroom, etc. and the fact that it was a four way split between the surviving kids so not worth the hassle of trying to do it up and rent it out. If the OP is serious about the price then he needs to look for ex council defective properties like Smiths and buy one that will last another twenty years or so or until he has the ~£45k to rebuild it to a modern standard.

[Bob Mannix]

I would recommend a mobile home park (given the budget). Some are quite pleasant but you would need to do a lot of work to check on this as some aren't. Some have quite nice little gardens and are quiet (I was mowing the grass for one such like your relative the other day). One in a nice village near me in Oxfordshire went for £65k recently. There *is* a stigma attached to them but the right ones can be restful and pleasant to live in (if not profit bearing or visually stunning). Somewhere near where her friends are would be better! Why not suggest an area - people here might know of such places.