Not sure what we can do

[LittleMissMe99]

We own our property with a mortgage and both work earning minimum wage. I have heart and lung disease so only work 25 hours. We live quite rurally. Our car has broken. My children have to walk 2 miles to school. No public transport. We thought we would buy a new a car. Unfortunately now our roof is leaking. Right above our daughters bed. We had house insurance look and they said the whole roof needs replacing and it's not covered as it's age related. There is mold on my daughters ceiling. It would cost £8000 for a new roof. We haven't got that amount of money. What have others done? Is there anything we can do? I'm so upset. We can leave the car. But the roof needs doing. We can't afford a loan. We barely make ends meet as it is. Help! Has anyone been in this position?

Oh I’m so sorry you’re in this position OP. Beyond stressful.

How much equity do you have in the house? Can you take a loan/another mortgage against the house?

We’ve done this recently for some home improvements

We have been in this almost exact situation. Even down to chronic health issues. In the end we had to remortgage for the amount we needed to fix the roof. Is that something you could do? It meant we needed to completely cut back and re budget for everything. And of course you can only do this if you have some equity. The other option is to put the house up for sale as it is and try and buy somewhere else. Make sure you get several different quotes for the roof work so you know you’re not getting ripped off.

Also- just a thought; if you’re not already doing so try and claim PIP for your health issues. It’s not means tested so won’t matter if you’re working or not. I get PIP for lupus and all sorts of other things and I was amazed to get the highest rates which means an extra £600 odd a month. Do have a google and look into it and avoid the horror stories about claiming - plenty of people like me have positive experiences, just don’t post about them.

Would you be able to remortgage for £10,000? You’re right that the roof does need doing. It’s not something you can leave. A small amount extra on your mortgage shouldn’t put the repayments up by much per month.

Worth getting in touch with citizens advice, and your local authority, to see if any help is available

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/moving-and-improving-your-home/help-with-home-improvements/

Worth trying here too

www.findmyhia.org.uk/

Mould isn’t great for people with heart & lung conditions so your specialist team or any specialist charity for your condition may be able to direct you to grants, etc to support things like this for your health. Definitely worth checking.

Check with CAB and your county council to see if your DC are eligible for taxi transportation to school. I would have thought you are.

Check if you are eligible for PIP and how much your income would drop/universal credit you would get if you have to stop working. You really need to think of your health here. Would you get help with your mortgage if getting UC?

Once you've got those things sorted, check your eligibility for a personal loan to get the roof repaired/a new roof. Pay back extra monthly to have on interest, if there isn't a penalty for doing so.

@Bagelsandbrie

Also- just a thought; if you’re not already doing so try and claim PIP for your health issues. It’s not means tested so won’t matter if you’re working or not. I get PIP for lupus and all sorts of other things and I was amazed to get the highest rates which means an extra £600 odd a month. Do have a google and look into it and avoid the horror stories about claiming - plenty of people like me have positive experiences, just don’t post about them.

I don't think I would get PIP. I can function pretty well considering. I have Sarcoidosis of the heart, lungs and lymph nodes. My husband has type 1 diabetes. I did look into it briefly but I think you must be effected in day to day life. I think sarcoidosis and lupus are autoimmune cousins. Very similar

[quote LastStarfighter]Worth getting in touch with citizens advice, and your local authority, to see if any help is available

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/moving-and-improving-your-home/help-with-home-improvements/[/quote]
I've looked at local authority. They will offer some people a loan I think. Something we might have to do I think. Thank you

Just had a quick look for relevant charities, and SarcoidosisUK exists. It looks like they can provide telephone support but don't have much funding. However, I would suggest phoning them as they may be able to advise further re benefits / PIP application suitability etc, and might have other suggestions. Hope you can find some help to get on top of such essential repairs.

PIP will look at difficulties you have with things like cooking a meal from scratch, washing and dressing yourself, managing your medications and therapies, communicating, budgeting, mixing with others, managing and planning journey alone and how far you can walk. You have to be pretty disabled to get enhanced rates.

@Babyroobs

PIP will look at difficulties you have with things like cooking a meal from scratch, washing and dressing yourself, managing your medications and therapies, communicating, budgeting, mixing with others, managing and planning journey alone and how far you can walk. You have to be pretty disabled to get enhanced rates.

Hmmm it’s not quite as clear cut as that. You have to be able to do things “reliably and safely”. I can do stuff, and I was very honest on my form. I have good days and bad days. I didn’t base the form on my worst days as so many sites mistakenly think you should (you can be done for fraud for that actually) but wrote about how some days this happens and some days xxxx happens. And even though I can cook / wash myself etc etc if I push myself on a bad day to do these things I end up in severe debilitating pain etc. I was given enhanced rates on both elements indefinitely / ongoing. They did contact my rheumatologist as well which I’m sure helped as he was able to explain lupus to them and how it’s a chronic and progressive disease in my case. I’m not bed bound for example but I have a lot of chronic pain and difficulties.

It’s worth applying for. They can only say no!

Maybe there are different types of Lupus ? My sister in law had it when she was younger and was pretty unwell for some years but has been fine for many years now, it has not progressed at all and she has had no flare ups in recent years.

Yes PIP is about whether you can do those activities reliably, repeatedly within a reasonable time frame, so if it takes you say an hour to shower and get dressed and you would have severe pain afterwards then you would need to document that on the form and supply medical evidence to back it up. As Bagels says many do get an award without any problems, the key is backing it up with medical reports etc.

I think extending the mortgage if you can is the best way forward. And good idea to contact a charity which supports people with your condition.

@Babyroobs

Maybe there are different types of Lupus ? My sister in law had it when she was younger and was pretty unwell for some years but has been fine for many years now, it has not progressed at all and she has had no flare ups in recent years.

Yes it an affect people in completely different ways. Some people just suffer with skin rashes, others have their organs damaged to the point they die from it. I’m in the middle- it’s causing my kidneys to fail and I have severe joint issues. I also have other conditions too - Addison’s, asthma, pituitary issues, etc etc. They impact on my lupus and it means I can’t take a lot of the medications other people can as they interact with other things I take. It can be very complex. But Pip isn’t judged by diagnosis anyway, it’s about how those conditions affect you.