How to get a £500k house free

[Judy1234]

www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23405477-details/Jobless+couple+with+12+children+are+give n+a+%C2%A3500%2C000+home/article.do

Yep you never know drosophila, maybe its the new way to move near good schools

I hope my DD appreciates the effort MB, thats not why I work but it will be nice if she inherits my work ethic.

The area I'm in this week used to be a mining town so you can understand the barriers I'm facing MB. They're given every course, funds, and regeneration scheme under the Sun. And still some of the highest unemployment rates in the UK

My SIL is a single mum who was on the dole for a while.

One of her friends, and yes, I know her! Well, their child 'accidentally' burned their 2bed maisonette because they were living in 'overcrowded' conditions although not a priority for re-housing because they weren't homeless.

They did spend a month in a B&B and had to deal with Social Services for a brief while (the parents coached the child who had the 'accident' on the correct story).

Then got a bigger place.

She's pretty open about how they came about it and even congratulates herself on her own cleverness.

I do know what you are talking about.

Strange when you think that a few generations ago the same community would have been one of the most radical in terms of organising self betterment through sunday schools, workingmens institutes, friendly societies, radical politics etc.

What happened, I wonder?

Lots of things, MB. Particulary Ms Thatcher and the 'there is no society' period.

You know my city? Well it's not the next town over, but the one after that. Going East.

15 minutes away by train, and it's like a different planet.

i think its disgusting they get this house. how society has declined.

One thing I just thought of, however, is that in our council, housing is in such short supply that the council will pay private landlords for the let of their house.

It's possible this was done in this instance, and this house probably isn't council-owned or HA.

Which means the tenancy is short-assured.

And the landlord can chose not to renew their tenancy in 6 months.

expat, it says the council bought the property for 350k, and spent 150k doing it up...

What a joke.

Ah!

WEll let's hope they suspended right to buy for all new tenants.

I know people in huge council house, my grandparents being one of them, they live in a 5 bed house, someone else I know lives in a 4 bed house, and someone else in a 7bed house!!! All their kids left home years ago but they are still pottering around in their huge council houses, the council can't make them move.

Never mind the cost of benefits/house etc - surely her pelvic floor is buggered beyond repair after 12 kids? Laundry bills alone for incontinence must be astronomical....

of course, I don't know the woman, she may well do pelvic floor exercises all day long. After all, she has nothing else to do....

Maybe she had c/s

Do you think she's a breastfeeder?

I would love to have a large family (probably not 12 though), we are currently trying to decide whether to try for number 3 or not, the only reason we are hesitant is because we are not sure whether we can afford it. I have no problem with people having 12 children as long as I don't have to pay for them.

bloody hell

they should be ashamed and they so obviously aren't.

I hate threads like this.
Yes they shouldn't be expecting everything on a plate. No they probably shouldn't have had so many children when they couldn't afford them.
BUT, they're just one family. Situations like this are so far from normal peoples situations, yet these get publicity and suddenly we need massive overhauls of the benefit system. Anyone on benefits should get no cash at all. Coupons, buspasses etc for us. We're evidently not worthy of living a normal life if we can't work.
Yes everyone will come back now and say well if you can't work we don't mean you, we just mean the scroungers, except those scroungers are a absolutely tiny minority of people claiming benefit. If you start shouting about changing the whole system it's us normal lot that havn't chosen to be where we are who will be affected.
The whole attitude of dole scroungers is one thats thrown at anyone who's claiming any benefits after reading stories like this.

So no it's crap that some people do this but there are always and will always be people that are out to get what they can. I'd rather put up with that and know that the ebenfit system as it stands is helping a massive ammount of people.

I can't live a 'normal life' because I am working poor.

These people are not in the 'can't work' category.

There are two able-bodied adults whose children are all in school or nursery, and the article doesn't mention any of them having special needs.

They deliberately quit working in order to pop out more sprogs and claim benefit.

And what's so wrong about having a debit card to use for essentials and all the rest paid directly to the source? What's so abnormal about that?

Alcohol and cigarettes are luxuries, not necessary.

My maternal grandparents had 13 kids (11 survived - 2 died as infants) - both of them worked.

Well nothing is wrong will it Expat,if you could pick and choose who got that system and who didn't. It would have to be the same for everyone surely.
I'm on benefits, my dd is disabled. So nothing like this situation but we'd be treated the same.
As it is now, we don't get a lot of money at all. But we do get enough for me to treat my dd every now and again. I can take her for a day out - it's not essential so I presume with your ideas we'd not have that. Take her to the cafe for lunch - nope can't do that. On a train to the beach for the day - nope thats out.

You'd be forcing a lot of people to live almost as second class citizens because of siuations out of their control, just because of a tiny minority of idiots.

This isn't about parents of disabled people, or people who lose their partner or job, Bored.

It's about people who chose to give up work so they can have more kids they know they can't support at all - and are unwilling to support financially as they expect the government to do this.

I have 2 children and would love more. But we just can't afford it at the moment. DH works, I am retraining, and we are just getting by. It is very frustrating that we get no help at all. It's not like we expect it, but it is a constant battle to get by financially. We would be much better off if DH earned less (he doesn't earn that much anyway) or if we split up. Where is the support for average families? Please don't even mention tax credits- what a crap system that has turned out to be. Rant over. For now.

I know that Expat, thats what I'm trying to say.
That even though its these people that piss people off, it's the rest of us that will pay for it if changes were made to the system on the basis of a tiny minority taking the piss.