What can we do with empty house?

[myaccount432]

Currently living in my Mum's home with my DH, we have been saving for buying our first home and are in the process of buying a house, we hope to be in by the end of the year. When we move out of DMs house it will be empty again.

My DM lives with her partner at his house, they are both late 60s. They are happy and content and she loves living there, but his house will always be his and she is not included on any will etc. So basically, if anything was to happen to him she would need to leave, as his house would go to his children, so she needs to keep her home for security.

My DM is sentimental about her house and would never rent it out. Downsizing/selling for something cheaper also isn't really an option as houses on her estate are worth the least in the area, so she doesn't really have an options for this and she wouldn't want to live in a flat.

So we are accepting that the house will just be empty until/unless her circumstances change. She will come and go during the week and spend time there on her days off work and I will pop in and out too, so it won't be left to rot but it won't be fully lived in.

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas for ways we can make the best out of this situation? Are there things we can do to reduce the costs of paying for an empty house?

She is low income so I want to do as much as possible to help her keep the costs as low as possible. I feel really guilty about us moving out and putting her in this situation, especially with the energy crisis atm, but DH and I are mid 30s and really want to get on housing ladder ourselves.

Thank you

Would she consider using it as an Airbnb? People would stay over for a day, week, fortnight but not long term.

@Dillydollydingdong

Would she consider using it as an Airbnb? People would stay over for a day, week, fortnight but not long term.

She just wouldn't do it

The only other thing that DH and I have spoken about is much later down the line we could sell both our properties and use it to buy a larger place with big enough garden to build an annexe at the end for her. But that wouldn't be for a long time yet so we'd still have the empty house for a number of years.

Buy her house and add an annexe.

Because it is hero my home she will be entitled to single person discount on council tax have water meter fitted as obviously using very little she is there every week so shouldn't be a house insurance problem have heating set low so no danger of frozen pipes in the winter. . The only alternative I see is you renting out your property and living in DM house that way you are still on housing ladder but of course you might not be able to let on your mortgage and for your partner it will be your mum's house decorated to her taste and never his so I don't really think that's a solution either. If your mum wants to keep,it empty that is ok she would be too vulnerable if she sold it lots of folks don't want the hassle of tenants

There’s no magic solution. It’s just what Pp have said - sell it or rent it out - short term or long term.

If the council find out it’s empty she will have to pay extra council tax. And she needs to let her insurers know as well. If she doesn't do so and then has something like a break in or a burst pipe, they will refuse to pay up.

Frankly, she needs to think about this on a financial basis.

Leaving the house empty, and popping in every so often is such a poor use of a valuable investment. It's also a big ask of you and a weight around her neck.

Not heating it or using anything in it (boiler system, radiators, toilets, taps, showers, doors) is only going to see it deteriorate in unexpected ways.

She'll still have to sort upkeep of the usual things to stop them falling apart or becoming overgrown (roof, external walls, internal decoration, boiler, garden).

She'll have to pay daily standing charges for gas and electricity which for me is currently 28p per day, but is due to go up to 56p per day next month. Her water bill will still be due unless she's on a meter which would keep that down.

Council tax will still be due, and after 2yrs could double in cost for leaving it unoccupied.

However, if she empties it of all sentimental items, and rents it out with full insurances in place, she could negate lots of issues and keep her investment whilst also increasing her low income.

She needs to talk to someone knowledgable about the rental market, maybe get a price and look at the cost v benefit.

She'll need to be really careful with insurance; if she's not living there. Some clauses would allow "Regular visits" to be okay; but some won't - it's going to really depend on who she's insured with. It's worth checking that, just because statistically, it's more likely to be broken into if people notice that nobody is living there, even if they do visit.

Rent out some of the rooms for storage? If there's a drive, rent it for parking?

You living in it and renting out your own home is a possibility. If you wanted to do that. Most people are excited to live in their own first home.

But really, this is of her own making and she is hardly ancient!

I think she is wise to hang on to her own property but It is ridiculous that she won’t rent it out if she is on low income.

I wouldn’t be entering into any shared property or ‘annexe’ solution either. Your Mum could live another 25 years and you can’t tie yourselves to that arrangement for the period of your lives where jobs, potential children, choice, potential eventual divorce etc could mean a need for change.

What about taking in a lodger? She could keep a bedroom there then and keep popping back as she is doing.

Could she move back in, her DP move in with her and rent out his place? The two of them share his rental income? In respect of living in her house?