thinking owning a house is a waste of time, as it just gets takenoff you when you get old/put in ahome

[ohnanaWHATSMYNAMEohnana]

one of my aunts has had to go into a care home, serious dementia needs fulltime help

but everything shes worked for and saved for looks liek it will be taken from her.

curly your post doesn't make sense we pay taxes for lots of reasons one of which is to fund things we don't personally need.

Are you suggesting those without a house be left to die on the street it's not a question of deserving or not
ccp makes a lot of sense

had we wanted to set up the NHS to provide free personal care than our tax rates would need to be a lot higher

Of course I'm not suggesting that.

But I can understand why alot of people feel it is unfair to have to pay for a service that other people get for free. Especially when they have to sell something important to them that they have worked hard for.

cantspel I applaud you, I hope to do the same in the future should it be necessary.

I bought a house because buying is cheaper than renting. Couple that with having paid the mortgage off at 40 and hopefully having 30 odd rent free years before needing to go into care, then what happens to the house is immaterial.

curlymama - are you suggesting that people who buy a house work harder than those who choose to rent?

I don't see why the taxpayer should foot the bill for anyone so their relatives can profit after they die.

If she has severe dementia, all she is is already taken from her.

Having money means better provision of care.

That's what it's for, for her care, not for you to get after she dies.

What rinabean said.

Because their health issues have been redefined as social issues and everyone else gets that care for free.

How hard is that to understand?

I don't see why the state should profit from refusing to admit this. My house goes to my children.

curlymama - are you suggesting that people who buy a house work harder than those who choose to rent?

FFS, what is it about this thread that seems to have made people read things that aren't there?

Bluenordic, no, I am not suggesting that people who buy a house work harder than those who chose to rent.

Would you like to tell me how you came to the conclusion that I am?

I intend to sell my house and downsize to a a samll flat. Spend some of the equity and live mortgage free until I get old and frail. I will get advice about putting the flat into trust rather than let the state take it to fund any care I may need. I hope I don't need it but who knows what will happen.

The very wealthy can pass on wealth so why not ordinary people who have most likely worked all their lives as you have to to keep with the mortgage than some people who have rented and get their care free. I say some people not all.

'a small'

I believe that the private residents subsidise the ones the local authority pay for and the former's fees would be higher in a care home.

I use to work in this field and it was never the people who actually needed the care themselves that questioned their house having to be put up for sale it was always the family members who may inherit the money. And I have never ever come across people thinking they should "piss it up the wall so they could receive free care". I think someone has to be quite dependable for the council to agree for a person to go into care. People are now more inventive with the budget they can receive from the council. I worked with clients who moved from residential care back home within their 12 week property disregard period and had direct payments. As someone else said you could go on and on about what the tax payer contributes to but doesn't get anything back on, one being a taxpayer without children having to pay for schools, its just the way it is.

Can I also say that if the authority did sell the home of your relatives, that relative should now have more than the threshold, therefore why not move them to a home of your preferred choice.

I hope very much we don't need use our house to help pay for our care (mine and DH's) if and when the time comes. But I am quite prepared to as I don't see why the state should pay for my care when I get old if I can afford to pay myself.

I use to work in this field and it was never the people who actually needed the care themselves that questioned their house having to be put up for sale it was always the family members who may inherit the money.

Well you wouldn't hear the person that needed the care complaining would you?? Presumably they would have more pressing things on their minds like the reasons they are having to move into a care home in the first place.

And of course if anyone does complain it's likely to be the people that could inherit! They are going to be the people closest to the patient surely?

Well it will be me curly. Not my children.

Older, you'd expect the NHS to pay if you suddenly now lost the ability to walk, talk, feed yourself, toilet yourself, wouldn't you? It's just discrimination against geriatrics. Largely from the people who are such vigourous defenders of the welfare state when they want their own money.

Quite frankly I don't see why I should pay for people who eat themselves stupid to have cosmetic surgery for their "psychological health", when my MIL who's never claimed a damn thing has to pay for carers for her husband.

Old = weak.

Total hypocrisy.

yes well said appletrees. there seems to be selective spending on the NHS at times.

alot of people have scrimped and saved to buy their homes and live frugally. It does annoy me. maybe insurance would be a good thing for old age.

'He spent his last days in a beautiful environment, surrounded by good people focused on making his life as happy and constructive as possible. They were a source of great strength and comfort to the rest of his family too.

These sort of care homes are few and far between.I used to visit care homes in Harrogate and I don't think I went to one that matched your description.

Appletrees "you'd expect the NHS to pay if you suddenly now lost the ability to walk, talk, feed yourself, toilet yourself, wouldn't you?"

I know very little about this topic, but from the various SN/carers' threads on here, seems that's not the best-funded of areas. To say the least.

And I don't think it would be improved any if the money had to stretch to funding care for old folks with, essentially, £200,000+ in the bank...

In fact, in all honesty Appletrees, assuming you're around the same age as me (30's - 40's?) you'll be lucky if you don't have to sell your house and live off the capital well before you're at the needing care stage.
God knows what pittance the state pension will be by the time we're retiring. And paying 10% of my salary into a private pension for 10 years seems to have left me with the square root of fuck all, so that's no help...!

Heathen I am very sorry about your pension. That's just filthy.

No, actually I know that there is underfundng of carers. It makes me sick. Im saying there should be a level playing field -- treat the disability not the age.

And may I just say -- I remain violently opposed to NHS tummy tucks for overeaters.

What the? Ignore the strikes..

just testing

hmm, somethign has changed

are you suggesting that there should be two different standards of care home. One sort for people who sold their home to pay for it and another sort for people with no money?

My husband's grandmother and great aunt both went into care homes on the same street.

His grandmother was able to pay for her care. She had her own comfortable en suite room, lovely staff, large, well furnished communal sitting room and the food was excellent.

His great aunt had no money and had to go in the council-run home, which was adequate, but not nearly so nice. They shared bathrooms and the communal sitting room was little more than a crowded corridor.

There are already different standards of care home according to what you can afford.

curlymama - the way it works is this: there are good care homes and shit care homes. There may be some people paying to be in the shit ones because they can't afford a decent one/don't know what they're doing and their family are trying to scrimp so they inherit.

Having the cash (and a family who loves you if you have dementia) gives you choice.

And I'd love to know how we're going to pay for all these wonderful care homes out of the State, given the parlous condition the UK economy is in. We don't want benefits cut, we don't want taxes raised or inflation so how the fuck do we find the money to find excellent care for everyone?