Should I Sell My House Due to Poor Health?
In this article, we’ll look at why a homeowner may need to consider selling their home due to illness or to help cover care fees.
It’s common for people to sell their house due to poor health, and as genuine cash house buyers, we’ve helped many homeowners move forward with their lives FAST & hassle-free.
We never know what life will throw at us. It’s full of ups and downs, but even the most health-conscious people can be affected by unknown or undetected illnesses, resulting in them having to pay out vast amounts for medication or care fees.
The main question is, do you have to sell your house to pay for care, or are there ways to get by without selling up? A case can be made for both.
The Advantages of Selling your House Due to Poor Health
- Selling your house will leave you with a lump sum of cash to help cover any medical bills or carers fees you will need to pay to live your life as comfortably as possible and avoid financial difficulties.
- Selling up and moving out will allow you to move into a different home. In addition, doing it like this will give you a chance to cherry-pick a property that will cater more towards your health needs.
- Selling up is often a better option financially than equity released, as no interest is charged.
- If fewer people live with you, selling up or downsizing is a sensible option as things like house maintenance will be cheaper or become a non-issue.
The Disadvantages of Selling your House Due to Poor Health
- A family home holds many memories and often over-riding sentimental value. Some people, especially the elderly and those suffering from illness, prefer to hold onto them.
- Selling your current home and buying a new one may alter your benefit status, which could result in you receiving fewer payments.
- The funds received from the sale of your home may not be enough to cover all your future care needs.
- Selling up or downsizing can be a complicated process, even more so for those who require extra care. Moreover, the process takes a toll on even the most organised people.
As stated earlier in the article, a case can be made for selling your house to pay for your care or keeping it and using other means to pay for your care.
Even if your care and medical bills are going to cost a considerable amount, the key is to remember you don’t necessarily have to sell your house to raise funds for the care.
According to AgeUK, your ability to pay for care will be worked out through a means test. For example, your home will not be included if you’re arranging care and support at home and may not be included if you live with a partner, child, or relative who is disabled or over 60.
Currently, if your capital and income are above £23,250, you will likely have to pay your care fees. If your capital and income are under £23,250, you might get some help from the local council, but you may still need to contribute towards the fees.
What Can I Do to Avoid Selling my House?
One common approach people use to avoid selling their homes immediately to help pay for their care is the use of differed payments. Differed payments are when you delay your care payment until a later date.
Another technique often involves a homeowner giving away their property to a family member or relative, so it’s not counted in their means test. However, this can be risky as it could be seen as deliberate deprivation of assets, which means you’ll still have to pay some fee’s towards your care.
Finally, if you know you’ll need care for a prolonged time, the best thing you can do is start planning for it as early as possible. Too often, people are lazy and never get the correct diagnosis for their illness, resulting in them finding out they need to pay for care far too late. The last thing you want is to leave it late and then fall into financial difficulty and risk having your home repossessed – it’s not very common, but it is known to happen!
Below we’ve put together 3 warning signs that could help you avoid or, at the very least, plan earlier for your care, so you don’t have to sell your property.
Let’s look at these signs in a little more detail.
Warning Sign 1 – Declining Health: If your health has been steadily declining over time and you notice recurring illnesses, then alarm bells should start ringing that something is wrong. Visit the doctors and get the correct diagnosis so that if it turns out to be something serious, you have the time to start planning for your care.
Warning Sign 2 – Increased Medical Bills: This point ties in very well with the first one. If you’re paying more and more for your medication, then you should consider that it may be something more sinister.
Warning Sign 3 – Job Loss: If you have had to stop working or have lost your job due to a specific illness, then it’s time to start planning your care. Even if the illness or care time is short-term, it will cost money, and if you’ve got no money coming into your household, you will struggle.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to having to sell your home to pay for care, for the most part, you always have a choice. That said, there will always be people out there who are better suited financially to deal with the situation, so they would never even have to consider selling their home.
For those families where the breadwinner is the one that needs the care – it can become a little more difficult as having to pay for living expenses as well as care will eventually take its toll, even if one is receiving benefits. If you’re in this situation and are considering selling up, Housebuyers4u can help.
The Benefits of Selling to Cash Buyers like Housebuyers4u
If you’re looking to sell your house quickly to cover the carer fees, we can help:
- We Guarantee to buy any house in any condition, regardless of your situation.
- We are genuine cash home buyers, meaning we can complete your house sale within 7-14 days.
- We are registered with the National Association of Property Buyers, meaning we must follow even stricter regulations when purchasing properties.
- We offer better rates than your standard estate agents or other property buying companies: See the image below for more information.
