Her income is $1600 from Social Security. Her mortgage which includes taxes and insurance is 1200. She has other bills of heat, electricity, cell, and food etc. Can she get government housing assistance? She is old and not well and can no longer work. She is 77.
With interests rates low maybe Mom could refinance? But the best thing may just sell house, pay off the Mortgage and put the balance where it will get some interest. Make sure the house sells at Market Value in case Medicaid is needed in the next 5 years. The proceeds can only be spent for her needs. She can't give any large amounts away. There is low income housing that she maybe able to get a voucher for and HUD has senior apartments.
We chose to build a custom designed home in our 30’s. We took out a 15 year mortgage.
I would hate to be paying off a loan in my senior years! Ours was paid off many years ago.
Now that it’s just the two of us, I feel lost in this house. I would love to downsize into a smaller home or even a condo.
I hope you r her POA. If she is proven incompetent, it is no longer want she wants its what she needs.
I hope Lauramcdonald23 isn't using her own money to pay her aunt's bills.
My friend packed up her entire house 3 years ago (with my help) and got so far as to engage a realtor and plan a sale & move out--at the very last second, literally the morning of the open house, her son (who has been MIA for years) called her and told her not to sell. So she pulled out of the contract and moved back into the house. Now she's on the brink of foreclosure--again because she cannot afford to live there anymore. At any given point she has at least one of her utilities shut off.
She's upside down in it, even if she tried to sell it now, it would garner a LOT less than what it's worth. We had found a double wide trailer for $70K with a $400 'lot fee' and she would have sold her home, bought the trailer and been able to live comfortably in this development.
She has a verbal agreement from her son to have custody of his 3 kids. She works FT at age 70+ and is exhausted all the time. The 2 older boys are beginning to get into criminal activities, the oldest will be heading to Juvie in May.
She qualifies for SO MANY programs, I took time to look them up and do what little I could to set her up--all she had to do was SHOW UP at the gov't offices and show her ID and she's have health care, food stamps, etc to help out.
She won't do ANYTHING. Complain, yes, but not actually DO anything. There are so many programs for her--esp as she has custody of the kids---but she won't move forward. She actually gave her son (the kids' father) their stimulus checks, rather than keep them for the support of the kids. He had no right to those---and he will happily take the next round too.
My point--though long in coming, is that you can prod, suggest, push, support and even just get tough with people like this--and it's like talking to a wall. She doesn't seem to WANT to be successful. IDK.
With a little effort--she could be living comfortably and not be stressed out over money 24/7.
I totally gave up on her about 18 months ago. She was killing me with her indecisive behavior and actual neglect of these poor kids.
As my DH often says "You can't fix stupid". That may be harsh, but when you have a PILE of dividend checks from an investment that total OVER $3K and you are too LAZY to go 3 blocks to the bank and cash them---then my sympathy is gone for her.
mortgage. If there is equity in the home, your can use the proceeds to rent an apartment or small house. There really isn’t financial assistance for homeowners. But there is for renters. So......she should probably seriously consider selling the house.
I do know that there are apartments specifically for seniors.
My brother rented in a place like this, which happened to be run by the church.
They also provided non perishable food items on a monthly basis.
They had religious services held on the premises, shuttle buses to grocery store, pharmacies and doctor appointments.
Also, a few activities were held on the property too, such as bingo.
Would she be interested in residing in a ‘senior’ community that charges rent based on income?
Unfortunately, your mom does not have that luxury. You might want to frame the explanation with an example that has no emotional context for her. Such as, tell her YOU would love to (pick one), go on a trip around the world, buy a luxury yacht, or live in a mansion. But you can't afford it. Same goes for her house. She WANTS to live in it, but she can't afford it.
Best of luck. It's so difficult when our parents want things that, for whatever reason, are not feasible.