Homeless please help

email address

my buiness went bust two years ago. Due to constant demand from the bank for mortgage payments.I rented out my house, as I could not afford the mortgage.The Rent I recieve just covers the mortgage.

I then went living with a friend and paying him rent for the room. However my savings ran out and I cant find work. Now I have been living in the back of my van for the last 2 weeks.

My question is ............I was self employed ,so I am not entitled to social welfare and I rented out my house under a lease, So no where to live.

What can I do, to be housed and gain a social welfare payment.

horgan_p

First stop , CWO (community welfare officer).
These guys have access to a fund which they can disperse in GENUINELY needy cases.
At least thats how it works in Cork anyway , I assume the rest of the country is the same.

Its a common myth that the self employed are entitled to nothing.What you get may be means tested , but you will be entitled to something if your situation is as dire as you just described.

Get used to the idea that you'll have to sell your house. Very odd advice to give someone who's homeless , but there you go.

cee_jay

Why are you not entitled to social welfare? Have you applied?

foxinsox

Someone else might be able to give you better advice..

Your first step is to find out who your CWO Community Welfare Officer is and find out what time you can get to see them. Go see them and tell them everything about your situation.

I'm not sure what part of the country you are in but I would suggest trying to get help from some charity that helps homeless.

If you are really stuck for money tonight, maybe try your local priest or Garda station.

I recently spoke with a homeless man here and he said the Gardai let him kip in the station one night because it was freezing.

In the meantime until you get to talk to the CWO, please try and mind yourself and try get food and keep warm for the next few nights.

Best of luck

SerialComplaint

email address wrote: »

My question is ............I was self employed ,so I am not entitled to social welfare and I rented out my house under a lease, So no where to live.

What can I do, to be housed and gain a social welfare payment.

It's not true that you have no entitlement to social welfare. You have no entitlement to Job Seekers Benefit, which is not means tested. But you have the same entitlements to non-means tested benefits as anyone else.

However, don't expect Social Welfare to support you to maintain your house. That's not their job. And don't expect the local authority to house you while you are renting out your own property. I know these situations can be complicated by negative equity, and may not be as black and white as I suggest.

Get down to your CWO urgently, and get into your local authority to see about housing options.

toexpress

cee_jay wrote: »

Why are you not entitled to social welfare? Have you applied?

Odds are the OP wasn't paying credits, a lot of self employed people don't which can exclude them from job seekers. That said anyone can go and see their local CWO and they will get a community welfare payment. They can also apply for rent supplement and get sorted through those means.

OP it's way to cold to be sleeping in the back of a van, your friend cant be much of a friend if money was such an issue that you are now in this circumstance. Call on a friend, call the nearest SVP but do not sleep in the van for goodness sakes. It's to get colder as well so get it sorted.

Also, pick your friends a bit better, just some advice for the future

email address

cee_jay wrote: »

Why are you not entitled to social welfare? Have you applied?

I have not tried, but i was a 60% shareholder director of a company and now I have no address.

My house cant be sold. its in negative equity of almost 200k

amdublin

I am sorry I have no experience in this area or information for you but I just wanted to say good luck and I hope you get sorted.

toexpress

OP what part of the country are you in?

horgan_p

email address wrote: »

I have not tried, but i was a 60% shareholder director of a company and now I have no address.

My house cant be sold. its in negative equity of almost 200k

Dude , stop working yourself up about it , you have no idea what you're entitled to until you talk to the CWO. Don't be making guesses on what someone might say to you. Especially don't do something stupid based on those guesses. Monday morning your mission is to find out who your CWO is and make contact with them. Until then you're only winding yourself up.
Face the facts - the house will be gone. Whether the bank take it or the social insist that you try to sell it , either way you took a punt and it didn't work out. I'm sorry and I feel sorry for you but thats the harsh reality of it. Just concentrate on getting your own head sorted.
thats the most vital thing now.

foxinsox

email address wrote: »

I have not tried, but i was a 60% shareholder director of a company and now I have no address.

My house cant be sold. its in negative equity of almost 200k

For the moment, forget about the house you have..

You MUST arrange to see the CWO, don't mind what Social Welfare Office are saying, forget about your previous business for the moment.

The CWO have funds for emergency situations, there are people that can help you.

Your main concern at the moment is to try and get somewhere other than your van to sleep/live in. The CWO will be able to give you advice on this.

If you want to mention the county you are in maybe someone here can post info for you on where you might find help.

I'm not sure if you have easy access to internet or just using your phone, but I'm sure if there is anything boardsies here can do to help they will.

dudmis

Call into your local St Vincent de Paul - they do great work behind the scenes and would def help you out in the short term. Keep well and warm!

email address

SerialComplaint wrote: »

However, don't expect Social Welfare to support you to maintain your house. That's not their job. And don't expect the local authority to house you while you are renting out your own property. I know these situations can be complicated by negative equity, and may not be as black and white as I suggest.

I left school at 15 , I am nearly 40. I never claimed social welfare in my life and thought I never would. I had no option , but to rent that house out and I cant sell it, I owe more than its worth. However I cant even get into it now, someone else has the lease.

horgan_p

Fella , read my posts above.

FORGET THE SHAGGIN HOUSE. SORT YOUR HEAD OUT FIRST.

Sorry for the caps lock but there you are. A slice of reality.

monkeysnapper

didnt he say the mortgage was covered by the rent? why are we worried about the house? if he can prove he's not making money from the rent cant he still claim something?

foxinsox

I agree with horgan p


Please forget about the house for the moment, honestly just don't even think about the house and the past..

Your plan for the moment is to meet with your local CWO as soon as you can.

Things will get sorted.

There are people that can help.

Concentrate on getting warm and having food for tonight and tomorrow.

Please don't be sitting in your van worrying because it will work out ok.

email address

Thanks all. I will try swo on monday.

horgan_p

The CWO could count it as an asset and use it in his means test.
Bit like using a partner's income in a means test.

Ms Happy

Where are you based OP?

foxinsox

email address wrote: »

Thanks all. I will try swo on monday.

NO....NOT SWO (Social Welfare Office) !!!!!


CWO Community Welfare Officer - Completely different... usually in your local health clinic - well here anyway..

Best of luck..

SerialComplaint

email address wrote: »

I left school at 15 , I am nearly 40. I never claimed social welfare in my life and thought I never would. I had no option , but to rent that house out and I cant sell it, I owe more than its worth. However I cant even get into it now, someone else has the lease.

Stop repaying the full mortgage on the house. Hold back €300-€400 per month to get yourself a room in a shared house.

CarMe

Hi Im just going to share my experience here as a lot of people (including myself until recently) simply don't believe that there is often no help for the self employed. My dad worked all his life, got a taxi plate and car 25 years ago. He had a brain anyerism (sp?) in august two years ago and is no longer aloud to drive. He isn't entitled to any money from social welfare, rent allowance, has no home etc. He was told he would have to stay in a homeless shelves for six months and then he may be looked at for rent allowance or housing. My mam and dad divorced a few years ago so he just got some money from that recently which he is using to pay rent in a little place. Hopefully soon he will get the ok to work again before it runs out.

Op Im sure you will be fine, have a good friend who could put you up while you look for work? I hope so and wish you the very best of luck.x

the groutch

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Stop repaying the full mortgage on the house. Hold back €300-€400 per month to get yourself a room in a shared house.

have to agree with this
the bank might not be too happy, but they're hardly going to reposess your house and take a 200k hit themselves.
it will at least buy you some time to get things straightened out

gumpy2

im also with holding back something from the mortgage, there is thousand of people doing similar to this at the moment because they simply do not have the money,

i would get onto mabs im sure they can help you, go to mabs.ie or you can also call them on 0761 07 2000 monday to friday 9am to 8pm

suzie987

Hi, I can't give you too much advice regarding the house situation, etc. However I am a volunteer with the Saint Vincent de Paul and you should contact them as soon as you can. Usually each area has a group (called a conference). The best way to get in contact with them is by calling the head office for your region (see this page for numbers http://www.svp.ie/Contact-Us.aspx) or alternatively contact the national head office on 01-8386990

Tell them you need help and your location, they will either contact the conference president for you or give you contact details for the group. They should be able to help you ASAP and in the long term could help you get in contact with MABS regarding your mortgage and may be able to give you some long term help with bills, etc, to get you back on your feet.

As others said, contact the Community Welfare Officer (the SVdP will advise you to do this also). They have emergency funds which they can give you. I think this website is the correct one to find the details of your local CWO http://www.welfare.ie/EN/ContactUs/Pages/cwo_contact.aspx

Best of luck

The_Conductor

email address - check whether there are break clauses in the lease you have with your tenants- regardless of the negative equity associated with the property, you are probably going to have regain vacant possession of the property. There are social welfare entitlements open to you- including but not limited to, mortgage interest supplement- which can cover the interest component in full (depending on your assessed means)- but only if you're living in the property.........

Check out what the situation is with the tenants- perhaps they might be persuaded to surrender the property of their own accord.

You do need professional help- from several different quarters- the Community Welfare Officer, Threshold, probably the PRTB and others.

I'm sorry that some of the previous posters in this thread have been so blunt with you- but you do really need to get out of the frame of mind that you're not entitled to regular social welfare, and have no address and are in trouble. There are no troubles that are insurmountable- and there are several different avenues open to you- other than your local social welfare office- you have to make contact with them though........

email address

once again, thanks for all the advice and best wishes.

To be honest I have been using some of the rent , and just paying the intrest part of the mortgage for the last couple of mths.It gives me 70 euro per week to buy food and I have been using a community swimming facilities for hygiene basics.

The lease can not be broken. However the 2 options I knew I had available to myself , before I posted this thread was.

1. Move in to the house, when lease is up.In approx another 8 mths And live there till I Get removed by the banks.
2.Use the rent to feed , maintain and wash myself until I get back on my feet.While living in my van.

If anybody has any other suggestions, outside the ones mentioned (which I appreciate).

I would be gratful to hear them.

who_ru

Tomorrow you can contact the CWO officer and your aim should be to rent a 1 bed apt in whatever area you live in.


Have a look on daft to gauge what price 1 beds are asking.

there is some information in the link about welfare payments and unemployed people

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/unemployed_people/self_employed_and_unemployment.html

I sincerely hope they expedite your claim. Your priority must be your own well being for the immediate future. the banks can wait, they spent long enough inflating a property bubble.

Chin Up.

The_Conductor

ok - so the lease cannot be broken- however, the tenants might voluntarily vacate the lease if they were made aware of your predicament.

You don't move into the house and wait to be removed by the bank- you move in and apply for mortgage interest supplement- which you are entitled to, and which will keep the bank off your back.

You are also assuming because you were self employed that you have no entitlement to social welfare. Well- you have no automatic entitlement to social welfare- it would be means tested- which is the same right that any citizen, regardless of whether they have ever worked or not, is entitled to (you just have to be able to prove that you are actively seeking work and attend any courses they prescribe for you. Your automatic entìtlement to a years UA- does not exist however.

Your tax affairs are shot too from the sound of it- if your using the excess of rental income over mortgage payments as personal income- but we won't go there for the moment- its minor.

The bank won't evict you- and indeed under the new insolvency rules, you may even hang onto your property- though this is down the road- your immediate concern is housing yourself and your immediate wellbeing.

Go to the CWO tomorrow!!!!!!

someuser905

homeless, but you have a house?
move back in, it'll take months / years for the bank to foreclose

Mena

someuser905 wrote: »

homeless, but you have a house?
move back in, it'll take months / years for the bank to foreclose

I think you missed reading the numerous references to the tenants in place, who have a legal standing on the property via the lease, which ends in 8 months.

the_syco

smccarrick wrote: »

ok - so the lease cannot be broken- however, the tenants might voluntarily vacate the lease if they were made aware of your predicament.

Maybe a bit forward, bout would the tenants be more prone to moving out if they know that the landlord may not have money to fix things, should anything break down (heating, electrical stuff, plumbing, etc)?

ProudDUB

I thought that one of the reasons why a land lord can legally terminate a lease is if he plans on moving back into the property himself. Do I have that wrong? Granted, he will not have any rental income coming in to pay the mortgage, but I say worry about providing a roof over your head first, worry about the banks second.

OP should qualify for Job Seekers Allowance. It is means tested. If he has rental income coming in, it is possible that he may fail the means test. Even thought the rental income goes to bank and not into his pocket, technically it is still income that he is earning. If he is living in his house again & not earning any income from it, that eliminates that problem.

Best of luck to you OP.

SerialComplaint

email address wrote: »

The lease can not be broken. However the 2 options I knew I had available to myself , before I posted this thread was.

1. Move in to the house, when lease is up.In approx another 8 mths And live there till I Get removed by the banks.
2.Use the rent to feed , maintain and wash myself until I get back on my feet.While living in my van.

If anybody has any other suggestions, outside the ones mentioned (which I appreciate).

I would be gratful to hear them.

Here's my suggestion; http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=77163626&postcount=21

The_Conductor

ProudDUB wrote: »

I thought that one of the reasons why a land lord can legally terminate a lease is if he plans on moving back into the property himself. Do I have that wrong? Granted, he will not have any rental income coming in to pay the mortgage, but I say worry about providing a roof over your head first, worry about the banks second.

OP should qualify for Job Seekers Allowance. It is means tested. If he has rental income coming in, it is possible that he may fail the means test. Even thought the rental income goes to bank and not into his pocket, technically it is still income that he is earning. If he is living in his house again & not earning any income from it, that eliminates that problem.

Best of luck to you OP.

Its one of the reasons for terminating a part 4 tenancy- not a lease. A lease is a legally binding document between two (or more) parties, in this case the OP and his tenants. If he has a clause in the lease similar to the reasons for terminating a Part 4 lease- well and good- otherwise he waits until the elapse of the lease (or enquires whether the tenants are willing to vacate the lease- which is the course of action I'd advocate he takes immediately).

Note- I'm guessing that the deposit is long gone- so there would be a 4 week window where the OP has no income whatsoever.

The OP *needs* to present himself to his local Community Welfare Officer immediately- sleeping rough in the back of his van isn't on.

Solair

You should talk to your tenants too. The rental market is very easy to find things in and they might move if you asked nicely. I mean, not everyone is a total mercenary!

Read the lease agreement carefully too. You can often terminate the lease if you need to move in!

Do you have any family or friends you could stay with until you've sorted your situation out?

Definitely get onto the CWO and call into Social Welfare. They're there to help.

foxinsox

Hope you are doing ok OP..

Hopefully you got to talk to CWO today or at least have an appointment asap.

Take Care

Tigger

toexpress wrote: »

Odds are the OP wasn't paying credits, a lot of self employed people don't which can exclude them from job seekers. That said anyone can go and see their local CWO and they will get a community welfare payment. They can also apply for rent supplement and get sorted through those means.

OP it's way to cold to be sleeping in the back of a van, your friend cant be much of a friend if money was such an issue that you are now in this circumstance. Call on a friend, call the nearest SVP but do not sleep in the van for goodness sakes. It's to get colder as well so get it sorted.

Also, pick your friends a bit better, just some advice for the future

You can't elect to not pay prsi
Self employed prsi just dosent insure yOu against unemPloyment

It's just as much as employed prsi it just dosent count the same ( mainly because employee prsi is mainly paid by the employer with a small bit being paid by the employee)

The_Conductor

Tigger wrote: »

It's just as much as employed prsi it just dosent count the same ( mainly because employee prsi is mainly paid by the employer with a small bit being paid by the employee)

Its payable as a different PRSI class. You can elect to pay full PRSI- however very few people do. When you say its paid mainly by the employer- thats true- it can be up to 70% paid by the employer (as a generalisation) however the total PRSI (and I'm only talking about PRSI- no other deductions) is less than health insurance for a family (which ironically is a least partially what it was supposed to be covering- before they chopped most of the benefits associated with PRSI- now its just another tax).

Anyhow- we're getting diverted from the topic at hand- namely how can we help the OP- what useful advice can we give him- and indeed- has he followed the advice?

OP- I would also seriously suggest you start a thread in the State Benefits forum link here.

Kind regards,

Shane