A Forever Home for Mandy and Philip

Mandy and Philip urgently need your help to resolve their housing crisis. They are under an eviction notice. So time is the element. We're trying to make our goal by Sunday 11 October. 

Couples always dream of having a home of their own. For many, it is their safety net.

Mandy and Phillip have been together for over 10 years. They have always surrounded themselves with a beautiful, safe, and tranquil environment, to help Mandy focus on her challenging health issues.

The home they created has become a Buddhist haven, a place of refuge for them both, and for all those of us whom they have invited to visit and share in it over the years. 

Now, when they least expected it, the home they built to keep the world at bay is being taken from them. At the worst time imaginable.

They are a treasure to their community both in Portugal, and the wider world. Now we're asking for the community to support them.

So we're asking you to support us in helping them rebuild their dream, to help Mandy and Phillip start again.

But this time in the safety of knowing it's truly theirs and it cannot be so abruptly taken from them.

They've already have saved a large deposit, and found a home here in their adopted homeland of Portugal, not far from where they live now (in the pictures above) It suits their needs and budget. (Mandy needs space to isolate, as she has long had to spend much time in isolation and masks, something we've all become familiar with this year.)

But at the eleventh hour, the bank revised their mortgage offer, leaving our dear friends €10000 short of their needed deposit. They need a further €2000 as the house needs windows and a kitchen to be habitable. They have until the last week of October to goahead with the exchange, or they will lose the house, and being under an eviction order, they're in a very tricky position. 

We've added 7.5% on top, to cover the GoFundMe campaign fees.

Our goal is to raise this money, as soon as possible.

There's no time to waste. Their home is half-packed already, and they must leave. They have a place to go, but they need our help to make the move.

If just 120 friends gave €108 each to this campaign, we will be done and dusted here. Of course, please give more if you can, and if you only have less, remember that even a small donation will be of so much help to them both.

Let's make this the home of a lifetime possible, that our dear friends need so much.

Please join us in helping to make Mandy and Philip's dream a reality, to give them the peace of mind, and the restful home that they so need right now, as Mandy recuperates from surgery, and continues her battle against cancer.

Below, Mandy and Philip share their own story, in their own words. Please read on. But please don't delay in donating. Every moment counts in this campaign, as they are living under an eviction notice.

Much love, 

Andō, Lindsay, and Lucy (friends of Mandy and Philip)



The full story, in Mandy and Philip's own words:

“For those that know us, you will understand how hard this is to do, but our backs are truly up against the wall. We appreciate that 2020 has been an extremely hard year for many in so many ways and continues to be so.

For us, I lost over 60% of my business due to covid and it has been hard to bounce back from, but we did the best we could. We were grateful for the clients we did have.

I have just undergone a double mastectomy and all that goes with it, although my surgery was free, the costs of my medication and continuing treatment is costly, and the ever present threat of cancer of course.

But the most awful thing to happen is that after 15 years, we are being evicted from our home!

It came completely out of left field, no warning at all. Just a lawyer's letter in the mail box. No discussion, nothing. We asked for more time, it was denied. We explained my condition, it was denied. We told her about my surgery, it was denied. We offered to purchase the house, denied.

We have also received another lawyer’s letter saying that every tree, plant, flower bed and fence has to be fully removed, otherwise she will charge us for the removal. So we have even more expense and stress to get this done.

It has been impossible to find anywhere to rent, so we have spent the rest of the time looking for somewhere to buy. We finally found a small house that has everything we would need, within our budget, although it will need work, as it has no kitchen or windows at the moment.

All was going great until the bank informed us they were no longer lending us 75% but only 65% so we are over €10 000 short. We have saved every penny we have to make this move, and my family have helped as much as they can, but now once again it looks like it will not happen unless we ask for help. There is nothing to be done to stop the eviction, the law is on the owner's side.

So to help us secure a forever home, we are asking for your help.”

— Mandy & Philip


A note on the management of funds

As the founder of this campaign, set up a Stripe account in accordance with GoFundMe guidelines and instructions. Mandy and Philip's bank account has been added as the beneficiary. Once there are €10,000 net (after GoFundMe and Stripe fees of 7.5%) in funds cleared in the Stripe account, I will disburse funds to their bank account at home in Portugal. I hope this will be by Monday, but it depends on the pace of support. Further funds will be disbursed to them weekly as they come in, until we reach the total. My goal is to reach the final total by Sunday evening.

Thanks for reading this far, and for your support here.

—  Andō