To ask whether being a homeowner is worth this?

[Peppermintpatty56]

We have quite a weird financial situation.

We rent, and are now in our 40s. Husband is a decent earner and as I'm disabled with 3 children classed as disabled also so we get disability benefits and UC.

We have to move house, and for the first time, we're in a position where we could potentially buy. But we will lose income if we do- 1) because the mortgage payments are currently substantially more than our rent 2) we'd lose the housing element of UC.

The deposit is gifted and obviously we wouldn't qualify for UC whilst it's in our possession.

So, given our age and the fact we'd lose a substantial chunk of monthly income... how important is it to buy in your opinions?

And move to…rented.

Are people really deciding whether to move house or not based on whether they or the state should pay care fees?

Not me, hate to be morbid but I'm not even sure I'll live that long

Shared ownership, half and half?

Sorry just seen you've considered that and it's a no go.

Just to answer the question-
There's no such thing as a life tenancy round here anymore either. my mum has one so it used to be a thing.

Our deposit at the moment is very minimal (the minimum you can use) hence the payments being so much more than our rent. That's why I'm considering saving a bit and hoping we can get a better deal in a year or two.

The more we look into it we'd just have no wiggle room, and we need it with owning- what if something broke? I think we'd just be spreading ourselves too thin :-(

I found this on the gov website which may be useful for you.

"If you and/or your partner own the home you live in, your Universal Credit payment may include Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI). The amount you receive will be based on a set rate of interest applied to your outstanding mortgage. It will be paid direct to your mortgage lender"

Thank you so much!! That's so helpful, doing some research now

If the children are disabled and living at home, the LA have to disregard the house in the financial assessment. I think the key here is financial planning. While there is no prospect of the OP or her partner needing care in the near future, they can plan. They could put the house in trust for the children so that it provides security and can’t be used for care fees. Would need to be done through an expert financial adviser though, so it’s watertight.

Just one thing - you need to be aware that SMI isn’t a grant, it’s a loan which has to be paid back at some point.

No. OP is deciding what will give the most long term benefit to her disabled children. If neither she nor her partner have any reasonable expectation of needing care themselves in the near future there’s nothing stopping them from planning a trust fund or similar for the children, so that the family home can’t be used for their care. Rich people do it. Why shouldn’t the parents of three disabled children be afforded the same facility ?

They wouldn't need a house at the end of it as they would be dead

Depending on the OPs children's disabilities though they may not be able to work and reliant on benefits. So a 1/3rd share of a house they could inherit could disqualify then from means tested benefits but not be enough to buy something themselves

Another important point, regarding stability, is that when you're renting you a) don't necessarily get a choice as to when you move out and it can come out of the blue, and b) at that point you're at the mercy of rental pricing, and that only ever goes in one direction.

By contrast, with a mortgage you set the term over which your mortgage payments are fixed (eg 2 year/3 year/5 year etc). Sure, you're at the mercy of interest rates when the time comes to renew, but at least you have some control over it...and we're unlikely to see a massive interest rate spike like the one we've just had in the next 10 years or so.

I hated renting, so would do everything I could to buy. You don’t really want to be renting when you’re older. Having to keep moving is tough when you’re in your 70’s/80’s.

My comment was to the PP, not OP.

This will not apply to op.