Don't know how to advise them on the work needed to their house

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Mum and dad are both 90, one with dementia and both living independently. They are managing but their house is in serious need of major work (thankfully not the part of the house they inhabit much).

They are resolute they are not moving until they absolutely have to (believe me I have tried!). They don't want to pay for, or have the disruption of the work needed done, but I'm worried as I'm not sure how the decrease in value of the house will affect them if they don't get the work done. Maybe it won't?

I'm not a house owner so am fairly ignorant on these things, but this worries me. I have POA lined up but that will only kick in when neither of them have capacity, so not sure I can do much really. Any thoughts?

What is the work needed?

Roof repair (possibly new roof) and electrics.

I'm not sure how the decrease in value of the house will affect them if they don't get the work done

I"m not sure it will? How do you mean?

Honestly, if they want to stay (understandable) and don't want disruption of works (understandable), I would leave it. (Unless very dangerous).

I would worry less about value and more about the disruption v major catastrophe issue.

My DP's house is metaphorically creaking but should outlive them. Redoing electrics or central heating would be too disrupting.

But if it needs doing for safety ...

If it’s not an urgent safety issue, why can’t it be done when they leave the house - If the cost of doing it is less than the impact it may have on sale price?

Thank you, yes, its the disruption vs catastrophe issue I'm having more difficulty with. And perhaps ease of sale if they needed to in a hurry, as not sure either would cope on their own.
Who do I need to assess safety? A structural surveyor? Reluctant just to get quotes as obviously roofers will want the work!

If the roof is just old, leave it alone. If it is leaking it needs to be fixed. It should not be particularly disruptive, the builders do it all from the outside via scaffolding. It is just noisy. And expensive.

Renewing the electrics would be disruptive, noisy, and filthy (brick/plaster dust). Get an electrician to give an opinion, unless he thinks the current set up is dangerous I would leave as is.

If you are really just thinking about the value of the house depreciating, and there is nothing leaking/dangerous, forget about it.

It's leaking badly.

Is there water coming in? Are there damp/mould patches on ceilings, corners of ceilings?

I would speak to a local roofer or two -can they put a temporary cover on, can they do a short term fix , how much disruption is ther? A friend recently had house reslated - didn’t affect her except scaffolding poles

Depending on where it is leaking a new roof is unlikely to be needed.

many small leaks are due to missing tiles (from storms) or from lead plashibg (sp?) around windows moving from original position.

get a roofer in to look at it.

not necessarily a big job and they may be able to do it from outside only.

Sorry - typed too slow.

It Certainly will be causing cold spots and damp then - not good for their health.

Leaking badly - that needs sorting or the damage will get worse and worse and you will get mold and it will affect speed of sale

electrics - if it’s a risk it should be sorted but if it shuts old and not current standards leave it

OK, so it will be making the house damp and could be risky for them. My elderly father has just had half of his roof done for about £3-4000, which seemed surprisingly good value. But that was a single storey so didn't need scaffolding and had easy access for skips and materials.

A temporary cover might be sensible. It's not a part of the house they need to inhabit, so it could just be closed off I guess, but it's attached and I'm concerned it will affect the wall it's attached to. Plus worried about dad wandering around.

I'd like to get someone independent to look at it to assess safety that's not going to want the work - is that what a structural surveyor would do?

However, water and bad electrics don’t mix well and they, and their neighbours, are at risk of a house fire. I’d be tempted to say (or even create) ‘a letter from the council’ about it.

Roof work isn’t very disruptive if caught before it causes internal damage. When we moved into our last house a leaking roof had been neglected and we needed timbers replacing which did involve internal work. It was very expensive and if we had known the extent of what was needed we probably wouldn’t have bought it. I would definitely recommend having a roofer look at it asap. It it’s leaking it’s causing damp which is making the house cold. Minor leaks from missing tiles of damaged flashing can be fixed very quickly from the outside.

I would be getting it patched repaired, but not totally replaced. Less disruption and really does need doing.

I'm not sure how the decrease in value of the house will affect them if they don't get the work done. Maybe it won't?

do you mean that the reduction in value might give them less money to spend on care in the future? If they are determined to stay at home, then they may not go into residential care until they absolutely have to - and assuming that they are assessed by a social worker / care assessment as needing residential care then the local authority will pay after their own funds have run out. It gets more tricky if their care needs diverge. It also depends how much money they have, property / savings etc.

its very difficult to predict what’s going to happen with older people in your parents situation, especially if they are determined not to make any changes in advance. They will continue as they are until there is a crisis of some sort - then everything will change 🤷‍♀️.

We had our roof replaced recently. It’s not that intrusive tbh as they do it all from outside.

Have you emptied their loft?

I’d be more worried about the electrics especially if future plans include carers coming in. Get 2 or 3 reputable local electricians to come in and quote.

I'd find a local roofer and a sparky (ask the neighbours if they can recommend anyone), and ask each for an assessment of condition of roof and wiring.

Most decent tradesmen will advise you honestly.

I've got some experience of this. A patch repair may be sufficient. I think getting a surveyor in is a very reasonable thing to do; if they won't pay for that, I'd ask them to let one or more reputable roofers come in to quote. Don't worry about asking someone to quote and then not getting the work done straight away - roofers are very used to this.
Are there any grants that could be got for these repairs? In Ireland this is very possible, even for people on relatively comfortable incomes. Could you get something done as part of getting the roof insulated? There may be grants for this too.

Agree with this - if the electrics aren't safe, then they are really at risk and it's a battle worth fighting with whichever of them still has capacity.
If they won't listen to you, are there other friends or family members you could 'brief' to support you and drip feed advice to them discreetly...?

POA for finances usually kicks in straight away. You don't have to wait until they're incapacitated unless you set it up that way....there are both options.