Fundraising to buy Mum's home - is this right?

[cc12313]

Hi Everyone,

Hope you all are having a lovely day!

Just to give you a bit of backstory, My Mother, brother and I are living in a council home and have been for all our lives. My father and his Mother etc. lived here for 60 years before that. My Mother is coming up to retirement age and has nothing. She has put all her savings, my dad's life insurance and retirement fund into the house to fix the repairs the council wouldn't because of 'insufficient resources'.

I asked them to relinquish the house to her because of all the money she has put into it. They refused. They bleed her dry and are keep doing it as more problems are developing. I wish I could sue the council but a solicitor advised me against it as it takes a long time for those cases to come before a court and we would have to pay while it 's waiting and we may lose the house if we fail or go into debt.

My grandmother is awaiting to be diagnosed with dementia. We know she has they just need to rule out other possible causes but it means my Mam will have to retire sooner than expected and with no savings, we are struggling to pay the rent and then care for my grandmother as the council will not allow her to move in.

A Councillor, off the cuff, said they wouldn't allow it as she is an OAP and they would need to adapt the house i.e. build another room on as it could be considered over crowding otherwise and put in hand railings etc. for her which, seeing as how they haven't done any other easy repairs, they are not going to do this big job.

I've set up a gofundme fundraiser to buy the house and fix the repairs. I've contacted all the news outlets I could think of and wrote and sent so many letters and nothing.

I don't know what to do. I feel so stuck and desperate and I feel sick for even having the fundraiser up as this is the councils fault. Does anyone have advice on how I can get awareness to this fundraiser and if I'm doing the right thing? I haven't told my Mum I'm doing this as she is already stressed out with my grandmother.

Her father died 20 years ago and she said that it was a shame that his life assurance went on fixing repairs in the house rather than to his children and wife.

Jesus OP. This whole thing is beyond baffling. That article is shockingly badly written and won’t help your cause. I don’t know what to say. It’s madness to plough money into a house which isn’t yours. Especially when you’re all on low wages and despite splitting the rent three ways unable to save anything.

Sorry but something doesn’t add up here.

I would never donate to this cause.

There are much more needed causes.

You need to tell the whole story or go to the CAB/shelter or your local MP for help.

While I do feel for you, you have to realise that few people are going to fund several working age adults to buy a house, when they have not made the employment and financial choices you could have done to raise your own mortgage.

Several generations of your family have benefited from the security of a council house. And chosen to put your own money into it, rather than trying every possible avenue. Your brother hasn’t made use of the security he’s enjoyed to get a decent job. It is a difficult situation but it isn’t a tragic one.

I don't understand why they didn't spend the £50,000 life assurance and the £30,000 they apparently have for repairs if the council gives them the house on buying it at the time?
The mortgage would have been paid off by now and insurance would have paid for damages.

@misspiggy19 Being honest, most of that money was from my mom's savings and dad's life insurance. Most of it was because of structural repairs (as the house is over 100 years old), re cementing path, etc.

@Furrytoebean we don't have 30,000 the council has a tenant purchase scheme that leaves you purchase like a mortgage. We asked for the house price to be set at 30,000 (taken into account the work we have done) as we could afford those repayments and would qualify for the scheme then. They said no when we applied already for it because the incomes are insufficient for a mortgage of over 100,000

Structural repairs should have really been done by your local authority.

Do you mean recementing a path in your garden? Because that doesn't count as a structural repair.

I cannot understand why someone would pay for repairs on a property they rent. I just think you've shot yourself in the foot cos no one was forcing you. If they weren't doing it you keep on at them you don't spend god knows how much yourself.

I private rent and can't afford to buy so no it's not the sort of thing I'd give money to!

I will take down the fundraiser. You all were right. I was just driven to do it because I wanted to help my Mam and my Nan. I honestly had no ill intentions or was trying to hurt or scam anyone. I am naive I will admit. I didn't think about how lucky I am or of the other worthy causes out there. I didn't think we were worthy of donations for this I just wanted to do it for my Mam so she had something to retire to that was fixed up and safe and she wouldn't have to worry about it for the rest of her life on top of looking after my nan.

I will work hard and try and find away around the mortgage issue.

Thank you to those who gave advice. I will keep hounding the council to fix these repairs.

You sound really kind. Can you look into benefits for carers for your mum? Or look into private renting in a cheaper area?

I think a go fund me page to raise money for three working age adults is shocking op to be honest.

We don't have three working age adults in our house we have two and two dependents and need repairs as and when etc however we just about manage it.
Three salaries in a council property should be way more than enough to cover bills and as far as repairs go,hound the council. Keep hounding them.
If you've taken it upon yourselves to pay for repairs without waiting for them to attend it's going to cause a problem.
They don't have to sell the property to you regardless of how much you've spent.
Did they sign off on any of the work?

Kick your brother up the arse.

I don't know how old you are op but you could be looking to move out and start your own mortgage by now maybe?

And why has all your dads money gone into the property??
Did you never get any advice or speak to your housing officer before any of the works needed doing?

Ive had some nightmare rents in my time so sympathise with your want to fix things yourself rather than waiting for other people to do it, but I think that was a crazy move. Thats the benefit of renting - the repairs aren't your problem.

I agree, 3 adults wages in a council house should more than cover the rent. How much rent do you pay?!?

You didn't answer the pp about whether you've posted before about your controlling mum etc.

Hello everyone,

We've had a number of reports from people concerned about this thread so, as we usually do in these circumstances, we're putting our heads round the door with some important reminders.

Right now we can't see any evidence to indicate that the OP isn't above board – if we did, we'd remove the thread straight away. But the truth is that, sadly, we at MNHQ can't know with 100% certainty that any poster is genuine, no matter who they are or how long they have been here. As frustrating as it is, we're not able to vouch for anyone here.

So we always ask users to remember that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are – and remind folk not to give more to another poster, either financially (in cash or gifts) or emotionally (in time or care and support) than they'd be prepared to lose if things went wrong. Though, we strongly advise against parting with any cash or giving away your personal details, and if you receive a PM which makes you uneasy - report it to us and we’ll take a look.

Sorry to hijack your thread briefly there, OP – we really hope you get sorted soon. We'd ask you in advance not to post links to the crowdfunder.

I know it's not a race to the bottom etc but I've had three crowdfunders on my Facebook this week for friends who can't afford essential medical treatment for their kids. Yours is in piss poor taste imo.

You can get up to 4 people on a mortgage.

Tbh , I wouldn't contribute. The reason being, you have plenty of working adults that should manage their salary . How much rent are you paying ?
Of course I wouldn't expect you to have buildings insurance, but surely you have contents insurance to cover your personal loss on the floor ?
With regard to maggot infestation - caused by flies, which again must be due to rotting food or unclean environment.
I'm sure a fair few of us could think of situations where we could do with being funded.

Does someone in your property pay for house & contents insurance ?

Because this may have paid out to repair the flood damage

We have had similar issues with our shower tray in our privately owned house. It did not cost anything like £4000 to fix. The title now don’t all match and we were able to reuse the shower itself. Sometimes you need to make do.

OP - are you that poster who has posted several times before who is choosing to live at home and pay for lots of things in the house while your mother gives your brother money? The one who ignores all the sensible advice and refuses to consider living in a flat share?

To purchase a property you would need to pay

Solicitor fees
Land registry fees
Mortgage arrangement fee
Property survey (not compulsory)
Possibly a deposit, perhaps 10 percent of the purchase price
Example
If the property is valued at 100k, you would need to pay 10k
You cannot take out a loan for the 10k, you would need to save up
Then pay the mortgage every month, plus all the bills, plus all the maintenance

So you would probably be better to continue to rent the council property. The rent is probably much cheaper than a mortgage

How much is the rent per month ?

I don’t understand why you, your brother and your mum get a mortgage together for a different house that doesn’t have problems? That way, it’s entirely up to you all if your grandmother moves in or not although if she has dementia it might be she will be very disoriented and confused by the move so care in her own home or ultimately a care hike might be more appropriate for her.

Do you know exactly how much it costs to live where you currently live, have you seen the bills for these each month ?

Council rent
Council tax
Water
Gas
Electric
Broadband
Telephone
Mobile phone
House & contents insurance
Food
TV licence
Extra TV like Netflix, Sky
Pets

Of course you can't fundraise so that you can own a house rent and mortgage free. That's ridiculous! And your reasons are that you've wasted a lot of money on repairs that you didn't have to pay for and that your brother is useless. Absolutely insane!

Is there space for you to go and live with your grand parent ?