Will I lose my flat to pay for dads care

[Kayleigh78]

So the situation is that when I got my mortgage in 2006 I was working as a temp so that only way I could get a mortgage was if my dad went on it too. It was purely so I could get a flat and I have always paid 100% of the mortgage.

My dad has Alzheimer’s and when he goes in to a home will I be forced to sell it as I don’t have anywhere else to go.

That was 20 years ago, how on earth have you allowed that still to be ?

Where does your dad live right now ?
rented or bought, if bought is it still mortgaged or owned outright.

You need good legal advice to sort this out and to protect you.

How old is your Dad? Depending how old he was 20 years ago I’m surprised he was allowed on the mortgage. I wanted my Dad to be a guarantor on my mortgage but at age 65 the mortgage lender refused stating his age, regardless of his wealth.

Why can’t you take him off the mortgage now? You’ve obviously renewed it at several points over the last 20 years. Why didn’t you take him off? Obviously you must have paid off a fair old whack of the mortgage in 20 years and the value of the property will have gone up. Can you not remortgage? Ring your lender on Monday and explain the situation.

AI seemed to think they will have to clarify his beneficial share over his legal share. You can prove you have made all the payments so it doesn’t sound like it will be 50%. A solicitor would be your safest bet.

Did you put down a deposit? Is there any written agreement?

Is he on the deeds ?

Assuming that:
they are on the mortgage but NOT the deed
they haven't contributed financialy via help with the deposit or mortgage
And they don't live there

You'll probably be fine

You'll be in an even better situation if they own their own home and/or have any savings or investments

Don't take them off your mortgage now without legal advice

If someone is resident and you jointly own a property you do not need to sell. If only he owns it then you need to speak to a solicitor to see if there’s anything you can do to get it into your name.

No, you are the full owner in equity even if he is on the deed as legal owner (I'm assuming if he's on the mortgage?) - the council may need evidence e.g. a statement from you explaining that he made no financial contribution

I’m really surprised you were allowed to do that. Assume he has his own home and has never lived with you?

Why not? From a bank's perspective, it's perfect. If he's on the mortgage, should the OP not pay, the bank can get all their money from her father.

The bank I worked at insisted the parent on the mortgage also be on the deeds.

I suppose that’s fair enough! I know they do guarantor style mortgages now (I’ve seen them advertised) which seems a more accurate way to represent the situation if the parent isn’t living there.

No you won't lose your flat. Even if your dad is on the deeds the Council won't include the flat when looking at his assets as you will still be living there. They will just take in to account any money he has in savings.

This is entirely incorrect if dad was classed as an owner of the house then OP would have a huge problem if it wasn't his main residence. There are some exemptions but only for people who live in the same house as the person needing care.

However, If he's only on the mortgage and has no financial share of ownership rights of the property then it won't be an issue.

The local authority only check the land registry they have no access to information about mortgages

How soon is your Dad likely to need care? I think you need to seek proper legal advice, rather than ask MN, but you maybe able to get some insight from the Age UK, or Alzheimers Society helpline.

Equally, when are you due to remortgage? Can you take him off now and if necessary pay any penalties?