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Original poster

Buying property from family member in care home

15 replies

Rebecca9210 · 18/06/2021 17:32

Hello. I am just wondering if anyone has been in a similar circumstance to me. My grandfather is in a care home with dementia. I have applied for Deputy Court of Protection as he did not have a power of attorney. I would like to buy his house. My solicitor said it is possible but there will be hoops I have to jump through. I am currently waiting for the Deputy to come through (delayed due to Covid) but I wondered if anyone had been successful with this.

OP posts:
drpet49 · 18/06/2021 17:37

Is this serious? Because I can’t believe someone would be so callous to do this.

titchy · 18/06/2021 17:38

@drpet49

Is this serious? Because I can’t believe someone would be so callous to do this.
Why? Confused

As long as there is no chance he would be able to return home and she buys it at market value what's the problem? The LA will almost certainly have earmarked it to pay for his care.

JassyRadlett · 18/06/2021 17:41

Why? Many people’s homes have to be sold to pay for care fees, is it better that they go to a stranger and incur hefty estate agent fees?

OP is talking to a solicitor about doing it properly, partly I imagine so that there is no question she is taking advantage of her grandfather.

If done properly and she pays a market rate, her grandfather may be better off as a result than if it goes to market.

Beamur · 18/06/2021 17:45

Plus everyone saves on estate agent fees and such like. If he's in a care home he's unlikely to need to live there again, it will cost money to maintain and it may need to be sold for funding care. It's hardly callous.

Passthepepper · 18/06/2021 17:50

I should imagine it will be complicated, if you have control of his finances. Does he still have the mental capacity to agree to the sale?

sparemonitor · 18/06/2021 17:55

You'll need to get 3 valuations to show you're paying market value.

Retrievemysanity · 18/06/2021 18:06

I think you will need the Court of Protection to approve the sale because of the potential conflict of interest.

BackforGood · 18/06/2021 18:26

@drpet49

Is this serious? Because I can’t believe someone would be so callous to do this.
eh ?

Can you explain please, as your post makes no sense to me (and clearly other posters)

Original poster
Rebecca9210 · 18/06/2021 19:24

Just to clarify, my grandfather had dementia. He will not be returning home. We have to sell his house to pay for his nursing home and I would much rather the house stayed in the family than go to strangers. I used to live there as a child and it has been the family home since the 60s. It was very important for him to keep the home in the family and I would like to honour this. It is a shame that some people's immediate reaction was that I would be trying to take advantage.

OP posts:
Original poster
Rebecca9210 · 18/06/2021 19:27

Thank you everyone else for your posts. So far all I know is that the court have to agree the price I buy it for. It will be a lot of work as it needs new everything. New roof, new ceilings, garden is like a forest with broken fences, new bathroom, new kitchen but I am hoping they will take this all into consideration. Fingers crossed we can keep the home in the family 🤞

OP posts:
FloraPostIt · 24/06/2021 23:46

Deputyship orders often require you to make an application to court to sell a property - even the 'normal way via an estate agent so check the wording of the order when you get it. Even if the order is silent, you should make an application to court for consent for your own protection - not least from the local authority arguing any gift element if he should be assessed to pay his own care home fees in the future. Provided you are paying market value then the court may well agree. I wouldn't do it without the court's permission though, regardless of how fair the price is, as it could come back to bite you badly

CrotchetyQuaver · 25/06/2021 00:13

I guess you're going to have to prove that the price you pay for it is a fair market value to the court of protection. So I suppose you need to bear that in mind and take legal advice at every stage so there no comeback further down the line.

Hellokitty105 · 12/05/2022 20:47

@Rebecca9210 how did you get on with this. Found myself in a very similar situation and just wondered did you manage to buy the house?
was it easy to do?

Rebecca92100 · 12/05/2022 21:32

Unfortunately I am no closer to when I originally posted. We have had to wait for deputy court of protection to come through as he doesn't have POA and that still hasn't come through. It's been over a year now and still waiting!

Mosaic123 · 12/05/2022 22:42

Wow. That's a very long time indeed.

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