Hi All,
I’m new to this forum and had a question about home ownership. How many of you own your own home and purchased it post SZ or while receiving disability? What steps did you take and what was your financial situation?
I’m curious because I’d just spoke with someone who said he owns his own home while on disability, although he has bipolar.
Any little ‘breadcrumb’ you can provide is helpful.
Thank you,
Wildflower08
Welcome to the forums!
I live with my parents and pay rent, but they own the home. When they die I will inherit it.
I couldn’t afford a mortgage on disability where I live. Even tiny little apartments go for $500,000
If I bought some beat up shack in the middle of nowhere then perhaps I could afford to buy my own place but money would still be extremely tight.
You also have to remember that on top of mortgage payments you are responsible for all the repair and maintenance costs. Plumbing, furnace/AC, roofing, etc… Then there is your gas bill, water bill, electricity bill, etc… It gets expensive fast.
If you can figure out how to afford a mortgage, I’d say go for it, it is better than renting.
If you rent for 10 years, then move, it’s a total loss
If you pay a mortgage for 10 years , then move, you can sell your place and get your money back, probably more because real estate almost always goes up.
First off I was really isolated and didn’t spend much money going out.
I went to University as a mature student, and still lived with my parents whilst I attended
My degree was full time, but I still did Landscaping as well
Because I was over 21 only my income and not my parents was considered, so I got all the grants and bursaries
I saved as much of it as I could.
Then I saved money for about 4 years working
At 29 I bought my 1 bed flat.
I have lived here on my own for 5 years now
In my 5th year I was on full disability, as I had a suicide attempt due to work stress and was off for a while
Still get a non-means tested benefit, but I get about £333 a month for that
My mortgage is £400 a month, and service charges £110 a month
I checked my flat on a value site and it would be about £850 to rent it
My husband and I are both disabled. We got a mortgage for our home by showing our SSDI award letters. We also have great credit which helped
Welcome to the forum by the way!!!
Welcome to the board @Wildflower08 . I had a good size down payment when I bought my first house, so the mortgage was fairly low. Also, that was prior to developing schizophrenia
I bought a house a year ago and am on disability.
You just need to explain to the loan officer that your income comes from disability. It wasn’t an issue. Shop around for loans too. There are so many shady lenders out there. Generally a local bank will offer the best rates in my experience.
I had a 740 credit score and no derogatory marks on my credit report.
GL
Welcome to the forum.
I bought 2 houses but they were both purchased prior to disability. I’m in a similar situation to Headspark in that I will probably inherit my parents house(if I live that long).
Good luck if you are house shopping.
Its not really feasible for me.
Depending where you are some benefits have hard caps on what you can own in terms or savings and assets. Because housing is so expensive where I am even if I had zero outgoings I can’t save enough for a house because I would reach the cap.
Perhaps your friend inherited money and was able to buy a house like that?
I’d heard of a few others getting around the asset limit somehow? How they did it, I haven’t quite been able to figure out yet.
Hi Headspark,
Thanks! While I’m no stranger to the Internet, I’d just recently stumbled upon your forum after many years of hard searching. (Ironically, forums of this sort are extremely hard to find?)
But, yes, it’s a sad reality that home ownership comes with high price tags, hidden fees, and other costs, that even befuddles the average homeowner, who don’t often face quite so many challenges as we often do…
Do you know what sorts of typical costs your parents have had to be responsible for in the past? Have they had to cover some significant repairs such as roofing, HVAC or A/C, foundation, or mold issues, etc.? Do they intend to cover these sorts of repairs before you inherit, or do you foresee having a plan in place to cover such costs when they’re gone?
I’m trying to figure out whether it’s wise to buy a home or not, or whether it just doesn’t make sense?
Any helpful tips or feedback would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Wildflower08
"I bought a house a year ago and am on disability."
That’s amazing that you were actually able to do that …
What area or state did you buy your home in, if you don’t mind my asking? What were typical asking prices for comparable homes, for instance? And did you use disability solely to cover the down payment or some form of savings or a settlement?
Thanks,
Wildflower08
Yeah, we had to replace our Furnace about 4 years ago, this summer the AC broke and they needed to pay for a repair. They’ve replaced the carpeting a couple times. We had to buy a new front porch because the old one was breaking down, and now the new one (It’s not new anymore) is looking shabby. So lots of things pop up that cost money. When it rains we have a leak in the basement, we haven’t gotten it fixed yet. It leaks into the hallway which is tile and has a drain so it’s not an emergency but needs to be fixed eventually. The driveway is looking shabby, it really needs to be repaved but that is expensive and we can’t afford it. Our house was built in the 1950’s and the way the original furnace was setup there was a vent from the basement to the outside and we ended up with a bee infestation, we had to call the exterminator, that cost money. When you own a house you never know what is going to happen next.
Then we have our bills. Cell phones, Internet, TV, Phone, Water, Electricity, Gas, House insurance, Car insurance, car repair bills, etc…
I doubt I will be able to afford all this when I inherit the house even with disability and my part time job, but I still think I will okay. I had a real estate agent call me about 1-2 months ago, and I started talking to her and she said she could email me a monthly report about the housing market in my neighbourhood. I gave her my email and in the last report the houses on my street are currently selling for over 1.4 million dollars. 2 or 3 towns north of me there are some nice houses being sold for around $400,000. What I will probably have to do is sell this house and buy another one in a different town, then retire with a million bucks in the bank. That is all based on today’s prices, they will probably go up over the next many years until my parents pass away.
My only advice would be that if you can buy, and manage your home, do it, because if you ever have to move, you can sell your home and get your money back, and if it has been a significant period of time, quite a bit more. My parents bought this house for $60,000 back in 1977. It is now worth over 1.4 million dollars. If you rent, it’s just money down the toilet, you’ll never get it back when it comes time to move, or if you are kicked out.
I’m in rural Midwest where hime values are lower. Most homes in my area go for under $100,000. Really didn’t have to put much Money down to buy either. I qualified for a first time home buyer program that covered $7,000 of my $10,000 down payment. I think I had to put down $3,000. I had been saving my disability checks for about 8 years and that’s where my down payment came from.
GL
I got one of those credit score apps, but my score has taken a nose dive because I have no loans and credit cards to prove I pay back
Have always been good with money, and pay mostly on debit card or cash
You would have thought not having to use credit would make things better, but apparently not!
I was always afraid of credit cards until a few years ago.
I wasn’t really responsible enough to have one until my mid 30’s
Now It’s a good thing for me
But it only took me a couple of years of paying my cc bill on time and my credit was good enough to buy a house.
I get credit cards sometimes but never even bother activating them
Last month I got an Amazon one as I got a £25 gift card, but never used it!
in 2003 I bought my house
not on disability, but diagnosed and on meds
working two jobs, with excellent credit
went thru USDA Rural Development
and qualified for a subsidy
3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage
I have two kids
but I got in over my head, and now they’re threatening
to kick me out
don’t want to lose my house
also, when I moved in I qualified for a city grant
had work done on the house
so yeah, been here 18 years
I purchased my apartment four years after diagnosis and being on medication. I was working full time then, which is why I got the loan, but I am not working full time now.
I’m still getting by but it is hard and I am relying on my parents to pull me out of trouble now and then.