Housing benefit

There are a few web sites that will do the calculations for benefits entitlement for you, for example ..... entitledto.co.uk, also see moneysavingexpert web site for more info. Good luck!

Best you speak to the council where you want to move to, owning a property could well go against you . Moving to be near family is a plus .if you sell your house they will take that into account thoigh, it's income. Best your son makes initial enquiries ? Good luck

Thanks so much Kateykrunch. I will certainly try the websites.

Thanks for your help Anniebach.

I agree you should talk to the council. See where you stand.

I don't think you would qualify for housing benefit if you have 50K in the bank. They will take this as savings and you will have to pay your rent accordingly until the amount gets down to an amount which is acceptable, then you will have to live on the rest of your savings and your pension but you will be eligible for housing benefit then and maybe pension credit, if they still do that. The best thing to do is to look on the council website where you want to move to and ring them to find out details about housing benefit and houses available but if you want to rent private then you will have to look on the web or estate agents etc. Be careful though because housing benefit sometimes does not cover the rent of private properties when your savings have got lower. And you need more deposits and guarantors to secure the home in the first place. If wanting to go onto the council list, then you could be waiting years unless you can get somewhere on medical grounds but being out of the area might go against you with this.Good luck though, a nice bungalow or ground floor flat sounds ideal.

And you wouldn't be able to sell your home now and give the money to your children neither if you wanted to go on and claim benefits. This would be seen as deliberately getting rid of your assets so that you could claim. They would take it as though you still had that money and you would still have to pay your own rent for the forseeable.

Very tricky situation meriel I really doubt you would get HB if you own your own house . When you sell you would then not be entitled to it until you have used up that money and have less than £3,000 . All the things you hear about people getting Thousands in benefits is just not true , you really have to be on your uppers to qualify . I wonder if a trip to CAB would help to find a way to move on health grounds . Is there a possibility of getting a bank loan until you have sold ? The benefits system is a minefield and since Duncan Smith is cruelly rigged to ensure that very few qualify for any help whatsoever .

Have you thought about shared ownership? You buy part and rent part of the property. Usually from housing associations. Maybe check out the area you want to live in.

50,000 would buy you a small place in some parts of Liverpool. Co ownership is probably the way to go as you won't qualify for housing benefit.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Still not sure what we are going to do. Probably stay here while we can. We'll have to spend what money we have in paying for someone to do the garden and any maintenance to our cottage. I suppose we are better off than a lot of people, at least we are not homeless!

If you can't sell your cottages can you rent it out and use that rent against renting a place in England

I did an online search and found there are properties for sale at £50,000 or less in Liverpool. There are also one bedroom over 55's apartments for sale at between £45,000 and £50,000. I haven't been to Liverpool for around 30 years so don't know the areas at all but I expect your son would have that sort of information.

I don't know if it's the same in Liverpool but usually properties are cheaper a few miles out outside of major city centres.

You would need to factor in legal and miscellaneous costs.

f77ms I thought pensioners could have up to £10k without it affecting Housing Benefit and that £16k was the cut off limit (with a sliding scale inbetween)? It's been a while, so I could be wrong.

Meriel personally I don't think the local council will be able to help because the demand for housing is so high. I wouldn't look at buying either because of your husband's health. It would be hard to maintain a property if you just have State Pensions. I would do some research into renting from a Housing Association. You might find some willing to help because of your husband's health and you have family in the area. Are you church goers because sometimes churches can help with arranging Housing Association properties too.

Someone mentioned moneysavingexpert.com. It could be useful to join the forum there and ask for advice about your situation. I'm sure you will get replies on how to best go about getting the information you need.

Maybe you would qualify for guaranteed pension credit if your state pensions are below as certain amount. This can be applied for and it would give you extra income to help pay for maintenance on your current home and a gardener. It also goes towards claiming free dental treatment and help with glasses if needed. If you dont meet the criteria for that and have some savings and are over 65 you could claim for the savings pension credit, but you need to be quick as this is being phased out i believe. Also if you are over 65 maybe you are eligible for attendance allowance. CAB should be able to help or even better contact Age UK they are all geared up to help claim for benefits.

Are you in Northern Ireland or Eire? Might entitlement vary depending on where you're from? Just wondering.

On my side of the River Mersey (Wirral Side) there are one bedroomed apartments for over 55s starting at £45/55K and some are open to offers because maybe the family are selling them on behalf of family members who have moved into residential homes so bargains can be had if you do your homework,most are in good areas close to transport links etc,have you thought of maybe selling at a lower price to say a developer who will take the pressure of any work to be done away from you it may be an option to be considered, it would save you spending money on a facelift to your cottage. xx good luck xx

Jane, we are in Eire. Very different to Northern Ireland re benefits I think.

Thanks glammamamma. I will look into your area. ?