Pensioner Accommodation Options??

sweetnipples on 27/05/2019 - 14:31
Last edited 27/05/2019 - 14:38

Hoping others have been through this and can offer some help, options or ideas.

Trying to help my partners Mother who is 74 and on a full pension
She has been asked to leave where she has been renting for $230pw as the new owners wish to develop the property.

Brief background:
74 years old
Full Pension
Cash savings of $100k that we are holding on her behalf as she has a Gambling Addiction
Smoker
No Rental History apart from the place she is about to leave and her Tenant Score will be poor
(She smokes in the house and is a hoarder, no cleaning skills)

She thinks the Department of Housing will just look after her

We are trying to find her somewhere to rent for around $220 - $250pw

Other options like Assisted Living etc are probably out of her budget???
I have no idea what Government assistance there is for a person in this situation?

Option 1:
We are considering buying a property for $220,000 and putting her in it, taking rent off her like any tenant

Option2:
She could just rent another property for around $250pw
(If she gets accepted, that a big question mark)

Option 3: (her preferred idea)
She goes into a Housing Commission home, but its a 6 month waiting list

She has been her own worst enemy for years for Gambling issues
Has no property.

Location is Regional Victoria in a town of 30,000 people
So there are some services

Just wondering what others have done? Or what assistance is out there? Or any ideas that make be workable?

I've thought of On-site Cabin in a Caravan Park, but that seems more $$$ than renting home sometimes

Thank you

Financial

Comments

  • cheapjunkie on 27/05/2019 - 14:40

    She has been her own worst enemy for years for Gambling issues
    Has no property.

    This says Option 1 would definitely run into problems eventually especially since it's family and may be harder to enforce ie evict etc due to the tricky situation

    • sweetnipples on 27/05/2019 - 14:45

      Yeah, we (all the kids and their partners) are scratching our heads how to deal with grumpy old dutch lady
      In Option one, we would take her rent out of the money we are holding and she can live off her Pension
      But, as you suggest, easier said than done…
      It is not really an arrangement we want to enter into

      • ozbjunkie on 28/05/2019 - 08:44

        Don't buy her a property whatever you do. I'm dealing with a family member hoarder at the moment and letting the real estate of a rental deal with her hoarding is vastly superior to you having to do it in a property you own.

        The council can order her to clean her hoard if it's your property, and if she fails to do so, they can get in cleaners and whack you for a 20k bill.

        Get an ACAT assessment ASAP and tell Centrelink you will place her in full time nursing home care unless they can find a place for her. The government wants to save money. Might push her up the list.

        Hoarding is also a recognised mental disorder, so use that to your advantage with Centrelink rather than hiding the fact (if ACAT isn't enough by itself).

        Good luck op.

  • Diji1 on 27/05/2019 - 15:26
    +3

    She goes into a Housing Commission home, but its a 6 month waiting list

    It's different by state but in SA that is completely unrealistic. I hope Victoria's situation is better.

  • coin saver on 27/05/2019 - 15:45
    +6

    My inlaws have a cabin they own in a residential estate were everybody rents the land including a small back and front yard rent is around $125pw.They are in a nice seaside town near Phillip Island Vic.

    • sweetnipples on 27/05/2019 - 15:48
      +1

      Can you explain that in a bit more detail coin saver
      Im not quite sure i understand
      So, you bring of buy a cabin (say $45K) and you rent the site for $125pw?
      Power and Water included, no rates
      So basically just a caravan park arrangement but permanent?

      • coin saver on 27/05/2019 - 15:53
        +2

        Basically you place a cabin on someone elses land and pay rent for the land.When you want to leave you can either pickup the cabin and take it with you or sell it "where is" and the new owner takes over and pays the rent.Another option may be to rent an independent living unit in a retirement village.

        • sweetnipples on 27/05/2019 - 15:54

          Ok, that does sounds reasonable
          Who covers Water, Power, Rates etc?

          • coin saver on 27/05/2019 - 16:00
            +2

            @sweetnipples: Sorry i meant to cover that in my last reply, where my inlaws are the landlord covers the rates only but i believe that most other places also cover the water.This type of arrangment is also eligible for rent relief but at $125pw i believe it will only be around $5.

    • Wystri Warrick on 27/05/2019 - 17:51

      Username checks out!

  • Ocker on 27/05/2019 - 15:55
    +1

    Using her $100k, buy a place for about $250k. Repayments at 4% would be well less than rent costs you are talking about.
    When she departs this earth you will then have an asset in her estate of at least $100k

    • sweetnipples on 27/05/2019 - 16:00

      Agreed, but she doesn't want to buy anything, she wants to spend her money
      (probably on Pokies)
      But i agree
      Yet doing so would leave her with no money.
      Would the Pension pay the loan?
      Would she even get a loan, obviously we'd have to do that

  • Afternoon Delight on 27/05/2019 - 16:00
    +4

    Just ran this past my partner who deals with welfare issues. On option 1 there can be implications with the pension where paying rent to family members is involved, also for your own income tax from the property. You can talk to a DSS Financial Informations Services officer on 132300 on how this may impact the pension level, or if you didn’t want to involve the DSS just yet you can seek out your own private financial advisor, but ask for someone who knows their way around DSS legislation. Hope this helps.

    • sweetnipples on 27/05/2019 - 16:11
      +1

      Thanks mate, as you can see, this is all over our head
      Not a problem we have had to tackle before

      Previously we had her on a family owned investment property that had 2 dwellings on it
      Dwelling 1 paid all the running expenses
      Dwelling 2 (Where the Mother Inlaw was) she got free….. Just paid power and some water.

      She also had $200k of her money tied up in the property, which was great, as she couldn't touch it

    • Wystri Warrick on 27/05/2019 - 17:53

      That's really kind of you Afternoon Delight :).

      • sweetnipples on 27/05/2019 - 18:07

        ..

        • Wystri Warrick on 27/05/2019 - 18:13

          Don't understand?
          Was just mentioning that it was kind of him for going through the trouble of checking it out with his partner.

          Lol I just noticed you username 😂.

      • Afternoon Delight on 27/05/2019 - 18:37
        +2

        Thank you, it was my pleasure, though it’s my partner that’s the real hero. It’s a tough job advocating for people in their dealings with the DSS.

  • pformag on 27/05/2019 - 17:36
    +1

    Granny Flat an option?

    • sweetnipples on 27/05/2019 - 17:45

      It is something we would like to do
      But at this stage (land wise) it's not an option

  • mskeggs on 27/05/2019 - 17:54

    What does she want to do?
    74 is hardly infirm for most these days.

    • sweetnipples on 27/05/2019 - 17:56
      +1

      She has given up
      Just wants Public Housing and go Gambling until its all gone
      That is what she wants….

      But we all know when that time ends, worse times are to come in relation to living affordability
      Hence we are trying to figure something out

      $1660 a Month she gets on the her Pension, that is more than i've earned in years!

      • brad1-8tsi on 28/05/2019 - 09:44
        +2

        If you are going to go through all this pain then I'd suggest you insist on getting power of attorney to manage her financial affairs. If she won't agree then you might have to show some tough love. Addicted gamblers, alcoholics and druggies will just suck you dry if you let them.

        I'd also suggest you try and steer her into some counselling for her addiction. If she's religious then Gamblers Anonymous might be of help.

        My great aunt was very similar. We knew she played the pokies and bet on horses but thought it was within her means. It was only when she died that we discovered that all her jewelry was gone including several family heirlooms that she'd been entrusted with; any antiques had been sold to the 2nd hand shop up the road and she'd taken a reverse mortgage against the house.

  • Quantumcat on 27/05/2019 - 17:59
    +3

    Sell your current house and buy a new house on more land, and build a granny flat using her 100k as the extra needed

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 27/05/2019 - 18:00

    Might be just me, but looks like some tough love is required. If she's mentally proficient, let her sort it out for herself.

    • sweetnipples on 27/05/2019 - 18:09

      100% Correct

      Everyone else has tried and walks away
      I am trying to be firmer with her
      You are spot on
      But, its not that easy, she is a nut case and breaks down in tears and sobs… FFS, even her own daughter just about walked out

      She is certainly not able to handle he life or money

      Anyway, just here to get any suggestion or if there is departments we can send her

      Looks like there is Renting or DSS
      Or one of us homes her, which isn't gonna happen

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 27/05/2019 - 18:14
        +2

        Cool, she's playing with your emotions and knows that she'll get her way in the end.

        Tell her to get on the phone to DHS and sort it out or she can live in a caravan park.

  • wordplay on 27/05/2019 - 19:18
    +2

    shouldn't be too hard to find a rental joint for $250 if you are regional.

  • ozbjunkie on 28/05/2019 - 08:47

    If mentally and physically competent look at a room in a share house to save money. Otherwise, See my reply above re ACAT.

  • srhardy on 28/05/2019 - 09:35
    +1

    A old 24ft caravan with some reno can be had for <$5k put up a shed beside it with toilet/shower on a concrete base, cost <20k and charge her max rent assistance amount on the pension (330 a fortnight) & another $50 fnight for water/electricty and share internet/paytv if she has family with any room on a block. Its temp and avoids most council rules as such

  • DBBROS on 28/05/2019 - 11:14
    +1

    Would definitely recommend ACAT as suggested by others. Most of the patients at the hospital I work are elderly who lives alone and comes to a point where they can't care for themselves anymore. Having seen a lot of cases, I would definitely recommend that she would definitely need to go into low care respite or permanent care at some point

  • [Deactivated] on 28/05/2019 - 13:58

    What does 'she' want? What option would make her happiest?

    Bit old to become a grey nomad I suppose. An old age home may be better for the company.

    Gov housing in 6 months seems best option $$-wise, in WA I think it's around $100 p/w.

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