In Michigan.
Backstory: Mom and Dad are both gone now, and I'm dealing with proving to the MERP office that the house is of so little value as to not be worth their recovery efforts. This means obtaining a comparative value analysis from a realtor (in lieu of paying $400 for an appraisal), sending all sorts of info, photos and quotes for repairs, etc.
So my question is: *If* the state decides to defer recovery, allowing me to keep the house until I move out and sell it, or die myself - am I allowed to get a mortgage on the house to make needed repairs, or is does the state's claim preclude that?
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Send, the situation is:
I was caregiver for Mom for 2 years (almost to the day) before she went into the nursing home. So yes, I meet the caregiver child requirement.
But - the most that will do is allow me to keep the house until I die or move out, and if I sell it, the state gets the money. There's very little chance that the state will waive recovery completely - it's more likely that they will defer it, which means I can live here until I decide not to, or die. There's no way for me to sell it and use the money to start over, so if I move, I have to have enough saved up to cover those expenses out of pocket, because there will be nothing coming to me from the sale of the house. (boy, does that ever stick in my craw....)
I'm curious to see what the appraisal comes out at, after all the repairs are considered, etc. The state equalized value on the property (house included) is only $15,950, so I guess we'll see what happens. If I can't even get a mortgage to pay for much-needed repairs to keep it in decent shape for the state, I wonder what the state thinks they're going to get out of it if they defer and I can't afford to make the repairs out of pocket??
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Susan, You were the caregiver-for x number of years? Does that exclude you from Merp?