Homeless situation...It is "NOT" going away. Could you "survive".?

[Steve_In_29]

I'd have to say another contributing factor to homelessness is housing costs. Atleast in this area though I'm sure costs are crazy everywhere.

A small apartment, or even a spare room in someone else's home is running $1200 per month or more. Houses are twice that, and often more. I can't believe how people can afford to pay those kinds of prices, along with car payments, credit cards and living expenses unless they make $10K per month income.


I do have this house, though in MUCH need of costly repairs that I can't afford to fix. I do have a big yard, a garden, ability to have chickens and plenty of room for the dogs to run and play. My mortgage payments are about the same cost as above mentioned apartments or rooms. My only source of income is my social security and if it was just me here, I could still pay to continue living here. It would be tight, but I could make it.

My 2 sons still live here at home with me and we share expenses. One son is a diesel mechanic and makes good money and it would still be hard for him to afford a place of his own. Other son has a good job, but makes much less. He'd never be able to afford to move. It might be possible if they moved and shared costs, but then the dogs come in to the equation. (Dogs are theirs, I'm just the babysitter). Most rentals whether apartments or houses, either won't allow dogs or pets, and those that do are breed specific (rarely if ever pitties). Even if dogs are allowed, its usually one not two, plus having to pay extra deposits and even monthly fees per dog per month over and above the outrageous rental costs.....Oh and can't forget the first & last months rent, damage, cleaning, pet and whatever other fees and deposits required just to get the keys. Often move in costs can be upwards of $5k or more.

Since the condition of the house is always in question, we are one disaster away from being homeless ourselves. I've looked into nearly every possible scenario to pay for the repairs and keep coming up empty handed. My credit is shot and can't refinance. Even if I did, the interest rates alone would nearly double my payments. Thought of selling to the boys for what it would cost to fix and the house itself, and the payments would still be too much. Then tried to have them assume my current mortgage and let them finance the repairs........bank said they have to have $20k up front, then of course the higher payments again. Even tried for a rehab grant for low income seniors and was told the house needs more than they can fund. And I can't sell it currently due to one needed repair, but even if I could I'd never get enough out of it to pay for anything else.

So we are all stuck here, trying to make the best of a bad situation and literally living on a prayer that the house will hold up until we can do something about it. We are just one straw away from breaking the camels back and becoming homeless. And no, I don't think at my age I could do it.


Even though my situation may be unique, I also think the same holds true for most people........we are all just one disaster away from homelessness.

Not to be rude but with 3 people contributing to the expenses I have a hard time understanding the financial hardship.

Why won't the senior assistance pay for what they can instead of ALL of the repairs?

Are you in a church, that might be able to provide help? At least with free labor.

 

[JustMe]

Not to be rude but with 3 people contributing to the expenses I have a hard time understanding the financial hardship.

Why won't the senior assistance pay for what they can instead of ALL of the repairs?

Are you in a church, that might be able to provide help? At least with free labor.

I won't even get into the financial hardship aspect as it's too much personal information so you'll just have to trust me on that and be glad you don't understand it. I hope you never find yourself in such a predicament.


As for any assistance in the repairs.......when I told them I needed a new roof because the existing one is nearly 30 years old, the plywood is soft along the bottom edges and when we tried to replace the facia ourselves, we found the ends of the trusses with dry rot. They would only cover tear off & replace of shingles, etc but not the plywood and trusses.

Even before we found the dry rot, I had several roofing companies give me a bid on a new roof. Bids came in at $30k to $40K, for the shingles, underlayment, a few sheets of plywood IF needed (not all of them) and whatever else would be included. Then of course once their up there and find out just how much is needed, the cost would go up from there.


Then there's the floor/wall between the bathroom and washer/dryer that is in the kitchen. with more dry rot and even some soft spots (dryer is slightly tilted). There is a hole in the wall behind the toilet that I can stick my hand in and can see daylight from the crawl space. Tub creaks and shifts just a little bit every time anyone takes a shower. One of these days, it's possible we'll be showering in the basement when the floor finally gives out......taking the dryer along with it. All of that needs pretty much gutted and replaced.......floor, subfloor, piping and whatever else. I have NO idea on the costs to do those repairs, but would imagine atleast $7k to $10K


And that's just some of the issues. I don't know about you, but I don't have that kind of money laying around nor can I get funding for it.


I hope this response doesn't sound like I'm angry at you because I'm not, though I am angry at the situation and frustrated that I can't do much, if anything about it.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

I used to own some apartments that I bought as an investment. I hired a property management company to deal with the tenants, make repairs and collect the rent. With the PM company I never had to see the tenants. I got sick of the sad sacks and their sob stories. Just to move in I charged first, last and a deposit. And NO pets were allowed. It was really simple, if they couldn't pay their rent they would be kicked out. Their problems weren't my problems. I wasn't running a chairity. These were high end apartments that I eventually turned in to condos and sold.
I have no use for people that sit around crying and whining about how hard life is and begging for handouts.

Totally agree. Gave a good deal to my tenant, a years free rent so she didnt have to pay capital gains on that amount. Lesser amount paid for the house for me.
Then it became true landlord situation. She said I need 3-4 months for heer house to be built. Wanted same amount in rent for a 6 months lease
“I can’t afford It” Made some trades for equipment in lieu of rent for 4 months. Was actually happy to have someone in the house, but she didn’t empty half the workshop as was in the lease. I wanted a place to work in the rain.
After the 6 month NON renewable lease ran out, “I need more time. “ Wasn’t going to kick someone out 15 days before Christmas.. Told her Rent is 500 more. The next month is another 500 more.
“You can’t do that, there is rent control”. Her ******* advisors didn’t know it doesn’t apply to single family dwellings. And she signed an acknowledgment in the lease

Needless to say, i cut her a lot of breaks. On the 16th I am going up and her stuff better be out. A tooth brush is in the place, she is living there. Another moth rent.
Done being Nice guy, She didnt live up to the 6 month lease. And I have Texts she will be out on the 15th.

 

[Steve_In_29]

I won't even get into the financial hardship aspect as it's too much personal information so you'll just have to trust me on that and be glad you don't understand it. I hope you never find yourself in such a predicament.


As for any assistance in the repairs.......when I told them I needed a new roof because the existing one is nearly 30 years old, the plywood is soft along the bottom edges and when we tried to replace the facia ourselves, we found the ends of the trusses with dry rot. They would only cover tear off & replace of shingles, etc but not the plywood and trusses.

Even before we found the dry rot, I had several roofing companies give me a bid on a new roof. Bids came in at $30k to $40K, for the shingles, underlayment, a few sheets of plywood IF needed (not all of them) and whatever else would be included. Then of course once their up there and find out just how much is needed, the cost would go up from there.


Then there's the floor/wall between the bathroom and washer/dryer that is in the kitchen. with more dry rot and even some soft spots (dryer is slightly tilted). There is a hole in the wall behind the toilet that I can stick my hand in and can see daylight from the crawl space. Tub creaks and shifts just a little bit every time anyone takes a shower. One of these days, it's possible we'll be showering in the basement when the floor finally gives out......taking the dryer along with it. All of that needs pretty much gutted and replaced.......floor, subfloor, piping and whatever else. I have NO idea on the costs to do those repairs, but would imagine atleast $7k to $10K


And that's just some of the issues. I don't know about you, but I don't have that kind of money laying around nor can I get funding for it.


I hope this response doesn't sound like I'm angry at you because I'm not, though I am angry at the situation and frustrated that I can't do much, if anything about it.

How do you have a mortgage on a house in such a rotten (literally) condition?

Well if you can't afford to fix it, at some point it is going to become unlivable.. And from your description it sounds like that will happen sooner rather than later.

To prevent that it sounds like your two able bodied sons NEED to learn to do carpentry (etc) work to rehab the place.

 

[Peanut]

I won't even get into the financial hardship aspect as it's too much personal information so you'll just have to trust me on that and be glad you don't understand it. I hope you never find yourself in such a predicament.


As for any assistance in the repairs.......when I told them I needed a new roof because the existing one is nearly 30 years old, the plywood is soft along the bottom edges and when we tried to replace the facia ourselves, we found the ends of the trusses with dry rot. They would only cover tear off & replace of shingles, etc but not the plywood and trusses.

Even before we found the dry rot, I had several roofing companies give me a bid on a new roof. Bids came in at $30k to $40K, for the shingles, underlayment, a few sheets of plywood IF needed (not all of them) and whatever else would be included. Then of course once their up there and find out just how much is needed, the cost would go up from there.


Then there's the floor/wall between the bathroom and washer/dryer that is in the kitchen. with more dry rot and even some soft spots (dryer is slightly tilted). There is a hole in the wall behind the toilet that I can stick my hand in and can see daylight from the crawl space. Tub creaks and shifts just a little bit every time anyone takes a shower. One of these days, it's possible we'll be showering in the basement when the floor finally gives out......taking the dryer along with it. All of that needs pretty much gutted and replaced.......floor, subfloor, piping and whatever else. I have NO idea on the costs to do those repairs, but would imagine atleast $7k to $10K


And that's just some of the issues. I don't know about you, but I don't have that kind of money laying around nor can I get funding for it.


I hope this response doesn't sound like I'm angry at you because I'm not, though I am angry at the situation and frustrated that I can't do much, if anything about it.

Not being critical... just a helpful suggestion. As a country boy here on the farm, if we needed something, we built it or made it. Roofing isn't complicated, unless you have dormers, and a half dozen peaks and valley's. If it's a simple A style front to back all the better...

But I wanted to point out, don't have to replace an entire roof at once. You can do small parts of it as money and time allows. IF your boys are handy with tools. Warm weather would help... you can rip off a section of roof, replace the plywood and cover with tar paper in a day. Shingle that section the next. Basically I'm suggesting do a section every weekend.

I know nothing about building permits in cities so that might make it impossible. But roofing itself isn't that complicated. Just need some basic skills.

 

[JustMe]

How do you have a mortgage on a house in such a rotten (literally) condition?

Well if you can't afford to fix it, at some point it is going to become unlivable.. And from your description it sounds like that will happen sooner rather than later.

To prevent that it sounds like your two able bodied sons NEED to learn to do carpentry (etc) work to rehab the place.

We've lived here for over 26 years, it wasn't in such bad condition when hubs & I bought it........alot of the trouble comes from his not doing maintenance.

And this is in part the reason I first posted in this thread, about homelessness.


The boys do have some carpentry skills and experience, though I'm not sure enough to do it all themselves without a more experienced person to atleast supervise and advise.

They each work different shifts and days off so it's hard to get them together to tackle the big jobs.

 

[JustMe]

Not being critical... just a helpful suggestion. As a country boy here on the farm, if we needed something, we built it or made it. Roofing isn't complicated, unless you have dormers, and a half dozen peaks and valley's. If it's a simple A style front to back all the better...

But I wanted to point out, don't have to replace an entire roof at once. You can do small parts of it as money and time allows. IF your boys are handy with tools. Warm weather would help... you can rip off a section of roof, replace the plywood and cover with tar paper in a day. Shingle that section the next. Basically I'm suggesting do a section every weekend.

I know nothing about building permits in cities so that might make it impossible. But roofing itself isn't that complicated. Just need some basic skills.

No, nothing fancy here and basic roof on the house, other than the front porch roof is dormer type? Perpendicular to the house?

Attached garage is a basic flat top that is a "torch-down".....not plywood or shingles.


Of the 2 issues, I am more concerned about the bathroom floor.


I don't think we need permits for those, only if we added anything new.

 

[Peanut]

No, nothing fancy here and basic roof on the house, other than the front porch roof is dormer type? Perpendicular to the house?

Attached garage is a basic flat top that is a "torch-down".....not plywood or shingles.


Of the 2 issues, I am more concerned about the bathroom floor.


I don't think we need permits for those, only if we added anything new.

Sounds like you need to stop by the local senior center. Find an old roofer who's willing to sit in a chair and give advice. I'm sure he'd enjoy yapping about what he knew best. Throw in a couple bucks and roast dinner? Where there's a will there's a way... just have to think outside the box.