How can I help my retired mum with money?

[Flame76]

Not sure what help I can get, but feeling desperate so it's worth a shot asking for advice here! My mum is close to 70 years old. Lives in a 3 bed house. She's single and very lonely, also has a history of depressing and anxiety/stress. Screwed over in a divorce decades ago so zero savings. Her pension covers basic living costs (council tax and other bills, small budget for food etc) but she has nothing left for one off expenses, like house or car repairs. Her fence blew over in the recent storm. The repair cost has to go on her credit card. Her credit card bill is gradually going up and up. She has no money to pay it off. Luckily it's zero percent interest. But this can't go on forever. How can I help? She won't be able to afford the energy price rises later this year. It makes me sick to see other people's parents going off on cruises while my mum is crying down the phone to me about affording a fence repair. Am I missing any obvious benefits she may be eligible for? Does she have to pay council tax despite her age? The only avenue I can see is selling her house and downsizing, which she would do. But the cost of selling/buying, I don't think this will free up cash to keep her going forever.

Do you have space for her to live with you? Could she sell her house and pay for an annexe in your garden to live in?

You and your siblings giving money is the best solution if you’re ultimately going to inherit your mothers expensive home in 10-20 years time. Other than that, some extreme budgeting will get her through it, if she wants/you want her to stay in her home.

You say you cannot rent the property out while your mum moves in with you because the property needs attention. If this is because of decor you may find a bit of a reduction in the rental per month and someone will rent the home.

The property will need to pass a gas safety certificate and also an electrical safety certificate and have a decent boiler for heating and hot water. Have the property professionally cleaned including the ovens and carpets. It’s worth getting an independent agent in to verify this and discuss the rental price you could expect. If you do go down this route make sure the agency credit reference to applicant, get references from previous landlord and employer and ask to see 3 months bank statements. Be firm on this and absolutely insist on these criteria as it could possibly avoid a tenant who does not make rent payment a priority. PM me if you need any advice.
I’m sure it would be perfectly possible to rent the property. You should see the condition of some council properties and they are lucky if they get a small allowance for paint prior to moving in.

I would sell the house and look into over 70s/sheltered accommodation if it were me. No point your mum rattling around in a 3 bed house. The idea of lodgers is also good but it's not for everyone. Someone I know has recently sold her house and moved into one of those park lodges where you have to be over 60. Again, not for everyone.

When my mum was taken ill and we needed advice about benefits etc, we found Age Concern to be helpful. They signposted us to someone at the council who gave us information about various things my mum was entitled to which made her last years much easier. I found people generally very helpful but you have to be proactive and get ringing around.

^ agree e we it’s the above poster. Your DM has options.

@LakieLady your library will be able to order you in any books you want to read, my MIL does this and they've usually in pretty quickly.

Reading on a kindle is nothing like a screen anyway. It looks just like a real book and has other advantages like being easier to hold, plus you can increase the font size if you need to.

Plus with all the 99p offers, it can be a really cheap way to read all the books you want.