Completely messed up secondary application for DS & house move

[outsidenowinside]

I currently live with my parents, wife & 2 children, in a house I own jointly with parents. I know, its an odd living situation.

Our plan was to live together, as a family unit, but the house is now too small for all of us. We want to move to an area close to a good local school, as our son will be in year 6 & applying for secondary schools, when he returns in September.

Its looking unlikely we will complete below 31 Oct but I understand from the council, I can submit a late address change, as stated on the council website.

The main issue is that my parents have made it clear they don't wish to move, however they are unable to buy my share of the property, as they don't have enough savings nor can they qualify for a mortgage as they're retired.

The admission's policy of our target school has a condition that they may disregard your current address if you own & have lived in another property elsewhere in the borough in the year prior to the application.

This is to stop parents temporarily moving to addresses close to the school but this will be our new home. Also, my parents are planning on refurbishing the house, to make it more accessible for my mother, who has a range of mobility issues.

We cannot sell the property and I cannot afford to remove my name from it as it would result in a large financial loss for me.

Any suggestions?

If the house isn't big enough and your parents can't aford to buy you out then surely then have no choice but to move?

I'm assuming you own part of the property as well.

You either get legal on them and make them move or put up with it, neither are attractive I am sure.
However, if you were able to move and either buy or rent then it may be possible for the new house to be seen as your actual address if you move all bills there.

Hi

Yes - i own part of the property. My name is on the deed, and I paid the mortgage.

Talk to the council and if they accept your reasoning get them to ok it in writing?

It should be ok. I did a similar mid-year transfer of my DC and on the application applied under current address (out of area) ticked the house move box and put in the explanation that we were moving over Easter break and here is our new address to be which is in area for the school we wanted to transfer to. Attached proof of the pending purchase from the EA.

I had pre-vetted with the school that they had spaces and my DC could be accommodated as the application here goes to the LA who then asks the school…

It was not a problem, the LA simply said we were responsible for transport if the house move were delayed, places confirmed.

I think your explanation can simply state although you are part owner, it is your parents home, you were staying there temporarily, and the intent was always to live in your own house when finances allowed.

In these circumstances I would speak to the council,

If you submit documentation showing that your parents live in the other property and you are living with your family elsewhere it seems clear this is not just about school places and this is a genuine move.

Given that your parents won't move, and that you cannot afford to sell, I'm confused as to what you are wanting to do? Are you planning to rent? Or can you afford to buy somewhere else as well as paying your current mortgage?

Either way you should explain in an email your situation and that your parents are remaining, and what evidence would they require to demonstrate the move is a genuine one.

Our current house, which we purchased together, is mortgage free.

My parents are in their late 60/70s & they dont want to leave their home. My mother in particular, who has mobility issues and other health issues, is adamant she won't move.

i would be buying a new home, in mine & my wife's name.

Unfortunately, it's the school who will accept or decline my address, and they are all closed.

But you've got 2 months to sound out the council?

Can you do the application in just your wife’s name? Presumably she isn’t on the deeds to the current house so it wouldn’t flag up?

Most schools who are their own admissions authority delegate to the local authority - email them.

Will you be seeking new school places for both children on completion or will the new property be within commuting distance of the current primary?

I'd like to keep them both at their current school. I don't see the point of moving my son a few months into his final year at primary school. I will move my daughter once the 24/25 school year ends as it will be too hard travelling.

I had pre-vetted with the school that they had spaces and my DC could be accommodated as the application here goes to the LA who then asks the school…

@SugarandSpiceandAllThingsNaice if the school had spaces and no waiting list, then you could have been applying from the other side of the country and the lpaces would have been offered to your DC.

Oversubscription criteria only come into play whete there are not enough places for the number of applicants (that is, there is oversubscription), who must then be ranked according to the school's admissions policy. If there is one place in a year group and one applicant for it, the school can't say, Sorry, you can't have it, because you're ranked under Criterion 5 and we're going to wait for someone in a higher criterion to apply

The OP might be really lucky and find that the school is not oversubscribed for 2025 year 7 entry, in which case, their current address would be okay. But it sounds as if this is unlikely to be the case, and where the DC actually lives, on a specific date (in this case, possibly a final cut-off to accommodate movers, which in our area would be something like November 24th) will be the address used to rank applicants and where they live now may not see them ranked sufficiently highly to be offered on March 1st, or possibly at all, if it puts them low down on the waiting list.

It's normally the LA that does this, because they will coordinate admissions for all the schools on your preference list, and the verification only needs to be done once. They will use your council tax records.

The LA will need to be convinced that your move is permanent, not temporary. Your circumstances are fairly unique, so you will need to write to them about it. It will need to be clear to them that you are buying a family home, not just a property that you intend to rent out after you secure admission to the school.

Thanks :)

Yes. In fact we chose the school to apply for because it had places available. It wasn’t the closest or the best one our new home was in area for. But better to have a school than be out of school for months was my thought.

Is this house purchase actually in motion and well progressed? Otherwise I don't see how you will even make a late November or December extended deadline.

Just get your wife to do the school application at the new address. I assume she has no connection to the current house financially.

Have your parents tried applying for a mortgage or just assumed they won't get one? I had assumed that mortgages couldn't go past state retirement age but then discovered that banks were happy to lend as long as the mortgage was cleared by age 80.

Obviously they might not want to take out a mortgage or have to make the payments out of a pension. But it is an option.

They could move into somewhere smaller and easier to manage if they're developing mobility issues

Talk to a mortgage advisor: I wonder if you could do equity release on the property you part-own and use that for a new house?

I know equity release sends shivers down spines but it isn’t the horror that it used to be.

Otherwise I would see if your parents would consider a mediated discussion. See your pic and the importance for your Dc education and space for your family. What if your Mum saw some houses that were already mobility friendly? Take them to see some properties that might be possible?

If you force a sale to release your money for your own house, as you could presumably do by invoking the court, they would have to move anyway. And would end up worse off.

You mean lie?

ER is absolutely the horror everyone thinks it is.