Sad for my friends £125k lottery win.

[Sogfree]

£125k win on the postcode lottery.

Single mum to 3 children (all primary age). Works as a TA, so receiving benefits to top up her income.

She would like to use her winnings for a deposit on a house. But due to the benefits rules not being allowed to pay a mortgage, she can't buy a property.

So she's going to spaff the entire lot as quick as she can, and the government will continue to pay rent to a multi property owner and make them richer.

The only asset she'll get to keep is a newer car - not anything fancy as she knows she won't be able to afford the insurance/fuel once the winnings run out.

Her one chance of breaking free of a life on benefits and she's got to throw it away. It feels wrong.

Unless it's your only option, in which case do it.

....just not to support herself, or not effectively anyway.

If she's a teaching assistant she's in a paid role yes?

It is part time. She is a TA which is 32 hours over 38 weeks per year so is not considered full time. You will notice a TA job if advertised has a FTE equivalent salary and part time salary for the 32 hours over 38 weeks

Maybe she needs to claim UC as a top up as TA roles are poorly paid and sometimes term time only?

There are millions of people on UC who work. I'm not sure this needs to turn into a thread of criticising someone who actually has a job. You can criticise her for wanting to blow the cash but many people -single women in particular with kids work part time hours because of childcare issues. She also has caring responsibilities - she looks after her elderly mother - and that will also affect the hours she can work

Or to put it another way, she's chosen a hobby job with short hours and long holidays.

A teaching assistant job is a hobby job?

Really. My mum was a teacher all her working life and found the support of the classroom assistants she had invaluable.

Did you miss the bit where the OP said that her friend has caring responsibilities too? Or are you going to bash this woman because she claims benefits?

A TA is not a job that can support a household solely, no.

Unless the DC's other parent contributes enough that the TA wage is sufficient, it would make sense for anyone who is the sole earner in a household to seek a job that covered the costs of the household.

Well, that is how things used to be anyway.

Have I missed something then? As from what I can see OP and friend feels you are "not allowed" to have a mortgage whilst on UC, which isn't true as I also get a UC top up and have a mortgage. Yes of course you don't get the housing element when you own property but I haven't seen where the OP says her friend is not willing to pay a mortgage, not being able to because of rules and not wanting to because of loss of housing element is two very different things. She can still buy a house and pay a mortgage and claim UC, she just doesn't get the housing element but there's no rules that you can't buy a property to live in or pay a mortgage that's all I was saying.

If someone is in the all work group on UC they have to look for 35 hours a week full time work - or risk being sanctioned (it also depends on what someone earns per hour, so if they meet the AET, they won't be).

Pretty sure the OP said that their friend didn't want to pay a mortgage as the dwp don't cover it

She doesn’t want to pay the mortgage. She wants the tax payers to continue to pay her rent. Or ideally… she wants to buy a house and for us to pay her mortgage 😂😂

Really depends - I had no problem selling at all, in fact I had 4 people after my place - this was London though in a good area.

i mentioned Heylo below That’s shared ownership but open market, the gains are split according to share and you can only buy freehold - and have to pay 25% or more down which would be an issue in London as value you can go to is relative to share you buy and income , but if in cheaper areas would work really well

If she's in a low cost of living area, which it sounds like she is if she's able to support herself and three children at least somewhat on a TA salary, she should be able to buy a house under 200k and then just pay the remaining mortgage herself on her salary quite easily.

She gets top ups from the dwp on her wages and presumably for the kids. That will be the reason she can manage on her salary. She doesn't want to pay a mortgage. I assume it's because she gets her rent paid just now and doesn't want other outgoings

I assume she pays tax too?

Not everyone has the option to get a job that pays high enough to support yourself and kids and be an unpaid carer, all without benefits. Your fantasy world where this is possible for everyone sounds wonderful though

"hobby job" was the phrase that stood out. Little women and their "hobby jobs".

I really don't understand the notion that unless you make enough money to be completely self sufficient and don't take a penny in benefits that you should be sneered at and looked down upon

on a TA salary would be probably 1k a year. Which is likely around the same as what she is getting a month… which is what she is entitled to of course. But she now has a frickin fortune (which she doesn’t pay tax on by the way!) and we are supposed to think ‘poor her’

True, lots of people can't afford kids. In which case don't have them.The people around us don't owe us the funding for a family life.

unless you live in the south most places in the UK 125k would buy most of if not all of a reasonable property to live in mortgage free. Here in the northwest could get a 2-3 bed semi with garden for that kind of money. Having a house with no cost is a pretty good feeling tbh.

I actually don't think poor her - and I'm on benefits myself. I think the notion of simone winning 125k and then wanting to blow it just so they can continue to get top ups is ridiculous and really unfair on people who are in hardship and living on 400 pounds a month UC.

You do realise that peoples circumstances can change? Are you just on here to bash women who work part time and have children and claim UC?

Oh so your fantisy world also allows people to see into the future and know exactly how relationships and financial future will pan out? Use some common sense, or any sense.