Broken Beyond Repair

[havasu]

Good to hear things look and seem way better than before.

 

[nealtw]

Well that side of the house and yard look much better, good to hear from you.
We are still pulling for you.

 

[slownsteady]

Progress is always good news. Congrats on moving forward and the work so far looks good!

 

[applebear]

Thanks all, I appreciate your continued support. I know some times I struggle with wanting to give up, but grateful for all the times you've drug me back out and helped me keep going.

 

[zannej]

I hope you can get the help to get the work done before the bank tries to foreclose. Although, frankly, it would be in the bank's interest to let the work get finished first. I just hope they don't give you trouble once it is done.

 

[applebear]

I hope you can get the help to get the work done before the bank tries to foreclose. Although, frankly, it would be in the bank's interest to let the work get finished first. I just hope they don't give you trouble once it is done.

Thank you Zann. As you all ready know, the bank has become extremely impatient. Even though they promised I'd have the house I wanted in the end and things would work out after this contractor pulled his stunt...it appears this is coming from higher up and he is being pressured to get things out of me that I don't have the power over.

He told me they had a bunch of houses foreclosed in the south that were just shredded, and put me in that category. I sent him pictures to try to prove I had put so much into this little dump and felt I had proven my commitment. It had no effect, and the demands became even louder.

I can't cry, I've just gone numb...I'm tired. :help:

 

[Chris]

Is it money they want or work done?

 

[applebear]

Is it money they want or work done?

If I understood correctly, one or the other [I need to ask to be sure]...he just kept expressing the word "NOW" and I told him it's hard to put pressure on people who are doing something out of kindness.

 

[Chris]

Is he the bank Manager? If not go to the bank manager and explain what happened and show what you have done since to rectify the problem. I know my bank would be willing to work with someone in your situation.

 

[applebear]

They all know, there have been several meetings about it. They gave me an year, but it took nearly that long just to gather the money. They wanted me to dip into the donations to get it...I said no, as per the conditions of it.

 

[zannej]

I don't normally wish ill on people, but I really hope the contractor has some karmic retribution.

I wonder if Red Cross gives any assistance for situations like this.

 

[havasu]

The Red Cross is an organization who can be contacted, but they would probably be deferred to local civic organizations or local churches.

http://www.redcross.org/about-us/who-we-are/mission-and-values

 

[applebear]

From what I could tell by looking at redcross [I looked a long time ago], they usually focus on disasters such as fires or floods. I don't think my home would fall under what they do.

 

[zannej]

From what I could tell by looking at redcross [I looked a long time ago], they usually focus on disasters such as fires or floods. I don't think my home would fall under what they do.

I wonder if there are any organizations that specifically help with situations like this.
I know it was a huge problem in New Orleans after Katrina. Hundreds of families were taken by scam artists.

 

[havasu]

I know it was a huge problem in New Orleans after Katrina. Hundreds of families were taken by scam artists.

Actually there were several thousand scam artists to the tune of some $80 million dollars. They are still prosecuting them to this day.

 

[applebear]

I've looked into every program suggested to me. Habitat told me they only help families [ie since I'm alone, I don't qualify]. Lions Club wouldn't respond after they discovered what it was about. And there were a couple others that just didn't respond.

There is little empathy for situations like this. I know I'll never make this mistake again, but there is little forgiveness for it.

 

[zannej]

I've looked into every program suggested to me. Habitat told me they only help families [ie since I'm alone, I don't qualify]. Lions Club wouldn't respond after they discovered what it was about. And there were a couple others that just didn't respond.

There is little empathy for situations like this. I know I'll never make this mistake again, but there is little forgiveness for it.

Yeah, there seems to be a lot of victim-blaming going on and it is sad. Quite frankly, even people who do their research and do everything right still get ripped off from time to time. A lot of people just hire contractors without knowing the risks and are fortunate to not get scammed. But, unfortunately, there are scumbags out there who do stuff like this.

 

[Chris]

It's difficult, there is so many people scamming and ripping off programs that it takes away from people that actually need them.

 

[havasu]

I was there right after Hurricane Katrina. I was a fresh Red Cross volunteer, and my job for the first few days was to sit on a pallet of cash, I believe $20 Million dollars. Anyone who went into a Red Cross facility was handed $1,000. A few days later, I was shipped off to Birmington, Alabama, and ran a Red Cross shelter. I heard a bus pull up at 3 in the morning. Out came 60 African Americans, who were all talking with each other as if they were all family. One by one, they all denied knowing anyone else from the bus, and all lived on the same block, in the same township, and all lost their wallets in the great storm surge, 20 miles from the ocean (big BS). After an hour of their shenanigans, they finally admitted they were all friends and neighbors, and had chartered a bus and were going from one Red Cross facility to another, demanding their $1,000. They were quite upset that I just didn't give them their money so they could move on the the next facility. As they were leaving, I called the police but they just shrugged their shoulders and said there was nothing they could do.

From that point on, the Red Cross deals with disasters differently, and won't be ripped off anymore.

 

[applebear]

There needs to be better laws. Neighbor had contractor destroy his kitchen, so he fired him...got taken to court and still had to pay. By then, I knew not to fire the contractor but it didn't help me any. Heck, if I had a crystal ball, maybe I would have to save me from having to go through a winter with nothing but plywood protecting me.

And yes it's sad programs are being abused. But I can prove every bit of this. All I see spammed on my FB, by my own friends, is how people like me [poor] are this and that...we're just out to get your money so we don't have to work. If only everyone knew how hard it was to ask for help in the first place, and how long and what it took to do so.

It's sad there are people who abuse programs of any sort that are meant to help, but I too once worked before becoming disabled and even then, I'd rather have my money risked on some bad than let one who really needed it go without. It's getting harder to scam, and it was not a snap to get help when it was my turn...I just didn't walk in and go, "Gimme." I had medical records going to my childhood, and I still had to wait and find a way to survive until my facts could be verified.

Havasu proves the point by stating how Redcross does things much different now than just handing out money...so do others. I didn't want things to go this way, I wish I could take it back and be paying on my loan now without the threat of loosing my home...but I can't, and I'm sorry.