£5,941 raised
·42 donations
Gwen's financial crisis
Donation protected
This is a campaign to help recoup and pay expenses relating to a disaster that occurred in my home in the autumn of 2016.
After my husband's death, I thought what he left me would be enough to renovate the kitchen according to his wishes, fund my PhD, and provide me with a small investment nest egg for the future. In September 2016, my builder discovered rusted-through beams that meant it was unsafe to continue works without a structural engineer survey and a rebuilt floor. Home insurance did not cover a penny of these expenses, because there was "no event"; e.g., no one fell to their death.
Thousands and thousand of pounds later, I am left with a half-finished kitchen, outstanding bills for works already done in the neighbourhood of £8,000, no way to finish the work, funds depleted to the point that buying food and paying monthly expenses has become difficult, and no hope of ever even beginning my PhD. Forget the future nest egg: that isn't going to happen either.
Some of these bills have been outstanding for a while: I have been afraid to look at this problem and it has grown without my realising it. So some funds are needed right away (probably about £5,000), but some funds will be for future works (like putting an actual surface on the temporary floor in my kitchen so that the floor won't be damaged despite the expensive repairs already carried out). I have been turned down for traditional bank loan despite the fact that I now have clear deed to my property.
I never expected to be in this kind of predicament: I am fifty years old, gainfully employed, and have a life rich in friends and family. This experience has shown me once again that we're never very far away from complete disaster. All I want is to be able to finish the kitchen and get my life back on track.
After my husband's death, I thought what he left me would be enough to renovate the kitchen according to his wishes, fund my PhD, and provide me with a small investment nest egg for the future. In September 2016, my builder discovered rusted-through beams that meant it was unsafe to continue works without a structural engineer survey and a rebuilt floor. Home insurance did not cover a penny of these expenses, because there was "no event"; e.g., no one fell to their death.
Thousands and thousand of pounds later, I am left with a half-finished kitchen, outstanding bills for works already done in the neighbourhood of £8,000, no way to finish the work, funds depleted to the point that buying food and paying monthly expenses has become difficult, and no hope of ever even beginning my PhD. Forget the future nest egg: that isn't going to happen either.
Some of these bills have been outstanding for a while: I have been afraid to look at this problem and it has grown without my realising it. So some funds are needed right away (probably about £5,000), but some funds will be for future works (like putting an actual surface on the temporary floor in my kitchen so that the floor won't be damaged despite the expensive repairs already carried out). I have been turned down for traditional bank loan despite the fact that I now have clear deed to my property.
I never expected to be in this kind of predicament: I am fifty years old, gainfully employed, and have a life rich in friends and family. This experience has shown me once again that we're never very far away from complete disaster. All I want is to be able to finish the kitchen and get my life back on track.
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Gwen Knighton Raftery
Organizer