jonnyivy
1st October 2014, 17:00
Hi everyone, I haven't looked at Filipino sites for the last year. I'm totally numbed and disapointed in my local government for putting a halt to my future over a simple, easily resolved situation around this time last year.
Here's my story:
My wife, 2 kids and myself planned for over a year to go and live in our house in Philippines. We had schooling organised, my wife had her building/ Karenderia all set up to open ... and I had an opportunity to have half-shares in an Aquaponics set-up in our village. We thought we had organised everything for the day we finally decide to sell our house and move.
The house went on the market in September and, in one week, we had the offer we were looking for. I knew the buyer, he applied for his mortgage and was accepted. The house was valued by his bank and accepted. He was desperate to have our house as it met every need he was looking for and his wife was about to have their second child.
Okay so far, so good ... then it was discovered by my solicitor that my dear old mum's name was still showing on the title deeds as a 'life renter' - which means she could return to our house and live there rent-free until she no longer needed it.
This was impossible as she had lived in a care home for the past 3 years, was in a wheelchair and needed 24hr care.
To cut a long story short, when the social work department found out I was inquiring at the care home about my mum's ability to sign off her name from the deeds, they intervened with their 'help'. Only one social worker was involved ... the one whom I had cooperated with and taken advice from over the past 7 years with my mum's interests and living accommodation, so I knew her well and vice versa.
She was well aware that my solicitor could visit my mum and decide for himself that my mum was capable of understanding what she was signing (mum has slight dementia)and the care home staff all agreed that she was not incapacitated to the extent of not being aware of what was happening around her.
So this social worker advised me against taking my solicitor to see mum ... instead, she would organise a doctor's report to say that mum was capable (which she confirmed herself) that 'common sense would prevail' that there is no monetary involvement from any parties as I am sole owner of the property.
I waited patiently for 3 weeks for this 'doctor's report' ... which, in the end, never transpired as she had never even asked any doctor to review my mum.
I don't know whether this social worker realised she was offering to do something for me that was outwith her job description or she was told she was in too deep (it should have been dealt with by her solicitor, not her) but 2 days before the deadline of the sale date her superiors telephoned me to say they no longer were interested in the case and I could get my mum to sign by myself !!
This was dropping me like a stone - reverting back to where I was 4 weeks earlier - but, by now, with only 1 day to complete the sale. What her superiors didn't know was that she had put a block on me going near my mum with Title Deeds until she gave approval (care home management told me this). I still couldn't get mum to sign, so I had to phone her superiors to explain the block. They couldn't understand why she would do this, and promptly phoned the care home to have it lifted.
By now I was an emotional wreck with frustration. It ended up that the Head of the Social Work Department gave me permission to get the deeds signed and countersigned by anyone who knew my mum.
Mum did eventually sign the deeds 2 days after the deadline and this was countersigned by the owner of the care home who thought it was all a perfect disgrace and a typical 'jobsworth' attitude by the social worker involved.
Unfortunately, the buyer's solicitor - who, by now, was well aware of the involvement of the Social Work Department - would not accept the countersignature and was insisting on a doctor's approval before taking the sale any further !!
By this time, my heart had sunk, my wife and kids were totally disappointed and my buyer had been offered a house 2 doors along from us which he bought instead.
I have now waited for 9 months to collect enough evidence to apply for some compensation from the Social Work Department - as I put in a complaint and had my case upheld by a Justice of the Peace and an independent panel at a revue meeting.
So folks ... we are still here in Scotland, living an okay life, though not so much savings now (if any!) and a business venture that was taken away from me in the Philippines.
Long blog ...but thanks for reading ...comments welcome.
Jonny
Here's my story:
My wife, 2 kids and myself planned for over a year to go and live in our house in Philippines. We had schooling organised, my wife had her building/ Karenderia all set up to open ... and I had an opportunity to have half-shares in an Aquaponics set-up in our village. We thought we had organised everything for the day we finally decide to sell our house and move.
The house went on the market in September and, in one week, we had the offer we were looking for. I knew the buyer, he applied for his mortgage and was accepted. The house was valued by his bank and accepted. He was desperate to have our house as it met every need he was looking for and his wife was about to have their second child.
Okay so far, so good ... then it was discovered by my solicitor that my dear old mum's name was still showing on the title deeds as a 'life renter' - which means she could return to our house and live there rent-free until she no longer needed it.
This was impossible as she had lived in a care home for the past 3 years, was in a wheelchair and needed 24hr care.
To cut a long story short, when the social work department found out I was inquiring at the care home about my mum's ability to sign off her name from the deeds, they intervened with their 'help'. Only one social worker was involved ... the one whom I had cooperated with and taken advice from over the past 7 years with my mum's interests and living accommodation, so I knew her well and vice versa.
She was well aware that my solicitor could visit my mum and decide for himself that my mum was capable of understanding what she was signing (mum has slight dementia)and the care home staff all agreed that she was not incapacitated to the extent of not being aware of what was happening around her.
So this social worker advised me against taking my solicitor to see mum ... instead, she would organise a doctor's report to say that mum was capable (which she confirmed herself) that 'common sense would prevail' that there is no monetary involvement from any parties as I am sole owner of the property.
I waited patiently for 3 weeks for this 'doctor's report' ... which, in the end, never transpired as she had never even asked any doctor to review my mum.
I don't know whether this social worker realised she was offering to do something for me that was outwith her job description or she was told she was in too deep (it should have been dealt with by her solicitor, not her) but 2 days before the deadline of the sale date her superiors telephoned me to say they no longer were interested in the case and I could get my mum to sign by myself !!
This was dropping me like a stone - reverting back to where I was 4 weeks earlier - but, by now, with only 1 day to complete the sale. What her superiors didn't know was that she had put a block on me going near my mum with Title Deeds until she gave approval (care home management told me this). I still couldn't get mum to sign, so I had to phone her superiors to explain the block. They couldn't understand why she would do this, and promptly phoned the care home to have it lifted.
By now I was an emotional wreck with frustration. It ended up that the Head of the Social Work Department gave me permission to get the deeds signed and countersigned by anyone who knew my mum.
Mum did eventually sign the deeds 2 days after the deadline and this was countersigned by the owner of the care home who thought it was all a perfect disgrace and a typical 'jobsworth' attitude by the social worker involved.
Unfortunately, the buyer's solicitor - who, by now, was well aware of the involvement of the Social Work Department - would not accept the countersignature and was insisting on a doctor's approval before taking the sale any further !!
By this time, my heart had sunk, my wife and kids were totally disappointed and my buyer had been offered a house 2 doors along from us which he bought instead.
I have now waited for 9 months to collect enough evidence to apply for some compensation from the Social Work Department - as I put in a complaint and had my case upheld by a Justice of the Peace and an independent panel at a revue meeting.
So folks ... we are still here in Scotland, living an okay life, though not so much savings now (if any!) and a business venture that was taken away from me in the Philippines.
Long blog ...but thanks for reading ...comments welcome.
Jonny