My Mum is a Widow and 65 years old

She has very little savings left and My father died without any Life assurance

She is finding it very difficult to make ends meet and already receives all the benefits She is entitled to

She loves where She lives and gets on really well with the neighbours

Apart from moving to a smaller house or Rented accomodation

Does anybody have any idea of what could be done to try and allow Her to stay where She is  ?

ANY advice appreciated

Thanks 

Hello squirrel

I can sympathise with your Mum.  I was a widow in 1992, in my late 50s then, my late husband 'didn't believe in life assurance' at the time when it mattered, by the time he did believe in it, it was too late - he was uninsurable. I was left with a mortgage and I struggled for a few years. 

However, looking at it logically, a house is a house.  Any house requires attention - repairs, renovations, redecoration etc - and this costs money.  No structure stays as it is - time and weather etc.  Your Mum is living on pensions income including means-tested benefits.  That means she is living below the poverty line, with nothing to spare beyond anything but bare living costs.

In addition, she's in her mid-60s (relatively young, a spring chicken as many of us might think).  She may meet someone and remarry, as I did.  However, she may not.  That means she has a long period of time ahead of her to live in this 'difficult to make ends meet' state that she's in at the moment.  Everything gets more difficult as the years progress.  If she's finding it hard now, how will it be in say 20 years' time? Still living alone and trying to maintain a house which may be too big, too inconvenient, impossible to modernise and which may be falling apart around her - tiles slipping, guttering falling down, you name it. Logically, I don't think this is do-able.  Staying in a house which you can no longer manage, just because of sentiment, until she may ultimately be forced to move - stairs becoming impossible etc?

Would it not be possible for her to apply for rented sheltered accommodation in her own area, so that she can stay close to friends and neighbours? I agree, selling a house is difficult at present - where I live, they're just not moving! On the other hand, better to sell it before it deteriorates too much.

Another option is some form of equity release, but she'd need expert advice on that. At 65 she wouldn't get such a good deal - it's better if you're older - and it would impact on the benefits she gets now.

We still live in the 2-bed bungalow where my first husband and I moved to in 1990, we've done a lot of modernising to make it convenient for later life, but if/when one of us is left on his/her own then the survivor will not stay here purely out of sentiment. 

Just a few thoughts, as you hadn't had an answer so far.

I am so sorry to hear about her situation that is very sad. I hope that I can help. I take it that she has a state-pensions since it is the bare minimum. There are a lot of stipulations that you can look into for the state pensions.  They have special allowances for widows, winter heating, budgeting loans, and many other things that she could look into to make her living a bit easier. I thought that a community care grant might be a good idea because she wouldn't have to pay anything back like with a loan through the state. Here is some information on that along with other things she could apply for to get more money flowing in.
http://uk.moneto.eu/pensions/state-pensions/state-benefits/community-care/
Also this article might be helpful as well to look into options with the small amount of money coming in.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/ask-an-expert/pensions/article.html?in_article_id=430198&in_page_id=138
I believe that if she could qualify for some of this extra aid then she would be able to stay in her home. I wish you guys the best.