My son receives SSI and selling a house.

[stlcards]

I think I have finally found a buyer for the home I have been trying to sell. If the sale goes through, it will be owner financing. Once the whole process is over I will have an excess of $12,000 after paying the bank. The buyer plans on a $15,000 down payment which is a little less than half of the selling price (the rest paid over a five year period). I'm really nervous about selling because of the uncertainty of how the SSI office will interpret this. The house has been vacant for a while and it has been a burden to make the monthly payment while paying rent in the home I currently live in. I'm concerned the $15,000 down payment will be viewed as income or the contract will be viewed as having some value since it could be sold (like banks do) and cause our assets to exceed the $3,000 limit. I've also read online something about selling the house would cause us to repay previous benefits, basically wiping out all of the $12,000 and possibly causing us to owe money even after losing the equity in this house.

My spouse's car barely works and we have student loan debt too. I'm starting professional school soon and could use the money towards tuition or towards repayment of my current student loan debt (or get another car). I'm starting to think it may be better to rent the house for $500 each month during professional school and sell it later. The $500 per month rental income would not put me over the monthly limit and my son would still receive his full benefits. I really dislike the renting option.

I feel like their is a way to navigate this situation and not get screwed, but I have no idea how to do so.

 

[Proserpina]

I think I have finally found a buyer for the home I have been trying to sell. If the sale goes through, it will be owner financing. Once the whole process is over I will have an excess of $12,000 after paying the bank. The buyer plans on a $15,000 down payment which is a little less than half of the selling price (the rest paid over a five year period). I'm really nervous about selling because of the uncertainty of how the SSI office will interpret this. The house has been vacant for a while and it has been a burden to make the monthly payment while paying rent in the home I currently live in. I'm concerned the $15,000 down payment will be viewed as income or the contract will be viewed as having some value since it could be sold (like banks do) and cause our assets to exceed the $3,000 limit. I've also read online something about selling the house would cause us to repay previous benefits, basically wiping out all of the $12,000 and possibly causing us to owe money even after losing the equity in this house.

My spouse's car barely works and we have student loan debt too. I'm starting professional school soon and could use the money towards tuition or towards repayment of my current student loan debt (or get another car). I'm starting to think it may be better to rent the house for $500 each month during professional school and sell it later. The $500 per month rental income would not put me over the monthly limit and my son would still receive his full benefits. I really dislike the renting option.

I feel like their is a way to navigate this situation and not get screwed, but I have no idea how to do so.

As you know, SSI is based upon need. Though you're allowed to sell real property and still receive SSI while the property remains unsold (SSI must be made aware beforehand and you need to sign a sort of contract with them), the benefits will generally need to be paid back as soon as you get the actual house payment. Once that's gone, you'll generally be able to reapply.

See here: http://www.ssa.gov/ssi/spotlights/spot-sell-resources.htm

What is also important though is financial planning for your future. You already have a student loan burden and you're about to add to that. You have a disabled child and if you're needing SSI to just survive, something is going to have to give. Further education might be a luxury you can't afford right now.

 

[Proserpina]

I feel like their is a way to navigate this situation and not get screwed, but I have no idea how to do so.

With all due respect, I suspect the tax-payers would feel the same way about your plan.

 

[Onderzoek]

I think I have finally found a buyer for the home I have been trying to sell. If the sale goes through, it will be owner financing. Once the whole process is over I will have an excess of $12,000 after paying the bank. The buyer plans on a $15,000 down payment which is a little less than half of the selling price (the rest paid over a five year period). I'm really nervous about selling because of the uncertainty of how the SSI office will interpret this. The house has been vacant for a while and it has been a burden to make the monthly payment while paying rent in the home I currently live in. I'm concerned the $15,000 down payment will be viewed as income or the contract will be viewed as having some value since it could be sold (like banks do) and cause our assets to exceed the $3,000 limit. I've also read online something about selling the house would cause us to repay previous benefits, basically wiping out all of the $12,000 and possibly causing us to owe money even after losing the equity in this house.

My spouse's car barely works and we have student loan debt too. I'm starting professional school soon and could use the money towards tuition or towards repayment of my current student loan debt (or get another car). I'm starting to think it may be better to rent the house for $500 each month during professional school and sell it later. The $500 per month rental income would not put me over the monthly limit and my son would still receive his full benefits. I really dislike the renting option.

I feel like their is a way to navigate this situation and not get screwed, but I have no idea how to do so.

It is likely that you are currently over the resource limit due to this non-home rental property whether it sells or not and will be over the resource limit because the contract will have a value that will count as a resource.

What monthly limit are you talking about in terms of income? And how are you computing it? Are you saying that you and your spouse and your disabled child only live on the child's SSI payment?

Seems odd to me that you are going to start additional schooling and go further into debt rather than find work. But maybe there is more to this story than you are telling us.

So if you define getting screwed as expecting to be able to keep all your assets and still get SSI payments for your disabled child, then yes, you will.

 

[stlcards]

I think I have finally found a buyer for the home I have been trying to sell. If the sale goes through, it will be owner financing. Once the whole process is over I will have an excess of $12,000 after paying the bank. The buyer plans on a $15,000 down payment which is a little less than half of the selling price (the rest paid over a five year period). I'm really nervous about selling because of the uncertainty of how the SSI office will interpret this. The house has been vacant for a while and it has been a burden to make the monthly payment while paying rent in the home I currently live in. I'm concerned the $15,000 down payment will be viewed as income or the contract will be viewed as having some value since it could be sold (like banks do) and cause our assets to exceed the $3,000 limit. I've also read online something about selling the house would cause us to repay previous benefits, basically wiping out all of the $12,000 and possibly causing us to owe money even after losing the equity in this house.

Updating:
The first buyer backed out after seeing the house. The house has some problems. I have done some research and realized I had the house way overpriced based on comparing other similar houses that have sold in the last six months. There is no $12,000, maybe $5,000 best case scenario. and I'll be happy to give that to SSI if the let me sell it. The seller I have right now is getting impatient (have a good size down payment too and I'm not getting answers from the SSI office).

 

[Onderzoek]

Updating:
The first buyer backed out after seeing the house. The house has some problems. I have done some research and realized I had the house way overpriced based on comparing other similar houses that have sold in the last six months. There is no $12,000, maybe $5,000 best case scenario. and I'll be happy to give that to SSI if the let me sell it. The seller I have right now is getting impatient (have a good size down payment too and I'm not getting answers from the SSI office).

Here's an answer from an SSI specialist with 28 years of experience, me.

Based on the information you have provided, you have at least $5000 in equity in a non-home property, this rental house. That $5000 is a countable resource. You and your spouse can have $3000 in countable resources; anything over that amount is deemed to your child who has a $2000 limit. Therefore, your son has been ineligible for SSI for as long as your family has not been living in that house or since his date of entitlement, whichever is later. My guess is that the overpayment will be in the five figures once SSI assesses it. And you will have to pay it back.

You need to start returning SSI benefits.