Q. Our mum is 84 and in failing health. I have 6 siblings and while some of them are still affected by the recession 17 years ago, overall we do not have the money to maintain her at home. Our mum also does not have the savings to keep her at home which is mortgage free and worth c. € 650K. Her only income is the State pension – our dad died 5 years ago pensionless, so we don’t want to send her to a nursing home as we would like her to stay in her own home for the last few years of her life. Have you any suggestions ? Matthew – Drogheda Co Louth
A. Thanks Matthew – one of the options that your Mum can avail of is the “LifeLoan”. This loan originated in Bank of Ireland in the late 80s and is taken out on the home – maximum then 40% of the value, now once over 83 it is 33% – and no repayments of any kind are made until either your mum passes on or she moves out to a nursing home. Just remember the debt though doubles every c. 10 years but even if the debt is more than the value of the property, your Mum can stay in the home and the lender carries that loss even after she passes …The providers in 2012 ran out of funding but with our aging population and the rising equity in properties, it was only a matter of time before providers reintroduced this loan. Spry Finance are now the only providers of lifeloans in Ireland – www.spryfinance.ie or email me for details. Ideal for those over 60s without income and needing to do renovations to their home, pay off debts or just simply for funding cruises, business class tickets and fun !