I'm at a loss for words. So many emotions are flooding my brain. Mostly, I'm having trouble reconciling the ridiculous blessings I have in this life in comparison to good folks who live right down the street. I have a clean bed. My roof doesn't leak. I have heat in the winter. I've never missed a meal involuntarily. I've never not been able to pay my bills. I have no college debt. I have no car debt. I've never paid a dime of interest to a credit card company. I have some money in a Roth IRA.
Tonight, Robyn and I met with the owner of the house that is about to be foreclosed on. Clearly (in our opinion), this kindhearted person never had any intention of getting behind on the bills. This person simply doesn't have a big income, and circumstances hit like a tsunami late last year. During the big snowstorms of last winter, the hot water heater went out, the furnace died, and the owner had a heart attack. All in the same week. Thus, the expenses went up while income went away while the medical recovery happened. And when the expected income isn't there, it was enough to eff up the entire situation.
The house is filthy. Bugs. Lots of bugs. But the money's tight, and with foreclosure fast approaching, there isn't a penny to spend on bug control. Can't afford to spend money on a house that might not be their's in a few weeks.
Quietly, Robyn said it best: "no one should have to live like this." Meanwhile, multiple adults, multiple young adults, a toddler, and a baby are living in a mess. What is unthinkable for you and me is this family's reality.
So what do we do about it? Can we in good conscience walk away from these human beings without doing something to help them improve their situation? Do we just let them get foreclosed on and evicted? Should we just let them become dependent on the system?
I think we're going to try to buy this house and rent it back to this family. I think. I don't know. I'm not 100% sure it's financially possible for us to do. But it probably is.
If there's a big hiccup in this deal, it will be because of my unwillingness to help. I want to help. But I'm stingy, too. I feel like I have the much-cliched angel on one shoulder and devil on the other...
"Help these people, Scott. You are able to help them. You can't deny what you saw tonight."
"Are you kidding?! How many luxuries have you put on the back burner so that you could be 'financially responsible'? You know you're eyeing a Telecaster, a vacation, and a quad-cab pickup, and it would be ok for you to treat yourself once in awhile..."
"It's not about you, and you know it. There are precious lives in that house. They need your help more than you need money."
"Somebody else will take care of them. They'll get Section 8 when they get evicted."
"They are human beings who deserve to be treated with respect!"
"Mutual funds are a better investment than real estate in the ghetto."
"People are a better investment than mutual funds."
"You want to retire someday, don't you?"
"Treasures in heaven, Scott. Treasures in heaven."
7 comments:
My real hesitation with this deal is how you will be able to deal with an eviction if that ever becomes necessary. Could you do it?
It is so sad that there are families living in infested homes. I never even thought about it until recently a friend told me about his situation (rats and insects)-also in Price Hill.
mike... that's definitely one of my fears. i don't know if i could do it...
Honestly, I think we could evict her, "because we have to", and help find her a better place to live, because she is Gods child.
It can be both.
I think this is brilliant. I really admire your willingness to dream big.
The situation this family has is a difficult one and unfortunately not an uncommon one with some lower income families. I think it's extremely admirable that you want to help this individual, however there is some hesitation. My mother in the past has lent large sums of money to people in similar situations to help them get on their feet and she wasn't as blessed as you and your wife, but like yourselves she could not stand to see any human being suffer. What I have learned from watching her is that these families' situations don't change very quickly if at all. Many times my mother was left in a financial bind because of money she lent out but as she always said "God made a way." Which is true. My suggestion to you is to help this individual find a place they can afford until they can get their situation straightened out. Help them budget, plan financially for the future, and whatever else you can think of to get their credit situation in a better spot. I think they will be better off for it and you're not putting your family in financial risk. "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime."
Hey, Scott, I chanced upon your blog looking for something totally unrelated, but feel qualified to respond, having moved a couple years ago after 10 years on Academy Ave.
Re: the bugs that your unfortunate neighbor is having to deal with. If it's roaches, troll abt on the internet and see if you can't discover a formula involving boric acid and mashed potatoes. There was a wonderful non-toxic pest lady who unforetunately moved last year. She would come and apply this magic potion (tiny dabs with a fully loaded syringe) and we would be roach free for another year UNTIL the city decided to let a few houses on our street go for awhile. One had been deeded by gift to a person with lots of kids, not much income, and a considerable drug problem. She never, ever paid any property taxes! No move was made to deal with the problem until her tax debt topped $10,000. It still took another year before she was evicted and vacated the house. The house was just appalling-- junk up to the ceiling-- literally-- in several rooms. It was purchased at auction & totally gutted & renovated. During the last few years of her occupancy, we had to get treated more like twice a year for the roaches. We also had a neighbor who, knowing a foreclosure was inevitable, pulled up stakes and left one day. Told people he was moving to Florida. The lawn grew, uncontrolled. COmplaints were made to the health department, city hall, etc. Someone broke in to steal a couple stained glass windows. Police were called. They suggested maybe one of the neighbors should board it up so others wouldn't get in. Gee, thanks! The yard went unmowed for a year. It saved me on cat food, as all my cats feasted on the wildlife in our unintentional urban prairie, but the bugs increased, too. On what seemed like my 835th call to city hall, someone finally gave me the answer: the city had laid off mowing workers because of the budget crunch, they were 700 yards behind in complaints. I was horrified. However, they guy told me to call one of the council members & leave a complaint, & that would get it bumped up to the top of the list. I called Friday at 3:30ish. The yard was mowed on Monday morning before 7 AM.
I miss my huge old house on Academy, but I was fed up with dealing with the issues of blighted properties, out of control parties, etc. I really believe that a large part of the solution will have to come from a policing approach that focuses on quality of life issues like noise, speeding, & littering ordinance enforcement. If it worked in NYC, surely Price Hill can succeed!
BTW, Steve Driehaus did a lot in the state legislature to try & stop the predatory lending, housing blight, etc. He's a Dem worth voting for.
Also, the era of my complaints were not from the current mayor's term, but from Mr. Luken.
Cheers to you & your gorgeous house-- so glad you have heat!
Pat
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