Help Joshua Save His Family Home

I’m asking for help to pay our property tax bill and hoping to receive enough to make some desperately needed repairs and changes to our house.

This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Another was when my father passed away in November of 2013, two things happened. First, I promised him that I would take care of Mama and Seth. It was the last words he heard me say after “I love you.” Second, and to that end, I went straight to work that day. We were poor, and I didn’t want to beg anyone for money to help pay our bills. I would just have to cry while I was working. At that time, my job involved working “gigs,” and if I had to be replaced, my replacement might wind up finishing the gig for me as I sat out of work for a week or more, making no money. It was November, so on top of our regular bills, the tax bill on my parents' house was due. I’ve been paying it ever since by putting it on credit cards. The bill itself is 18 times more than it was in 2013. It’s gone up from $120 in 2013 to $2,423.23 in 2024.

Now, after caring for my mother, trying to keep this rundown house working, and paying the increasingly expensive taxes, I have put myself in enormous debt. To compound our problems, we have had one monetary catastrophe after another this year. Our hot water heater burst. We paid to replace it. Our refrigerator died. We paid to replace it. And, last month, our AC died. Yes, we paid to have it repaired. In addition, every single one of our utility bills has gone up.

All of the funds we had saved to pay this year’s taxes are gone.

I’m not giving up. I am trying to keep my promise to my father. I did recently manage to get a modest raise at work, but it is too little, too late for this year.

In honor of my father, and on behalf of my mother, brother, and myself, I am asking (begging) anyone and everyone for help paying our tax bill this year.

I must say that last year, as I was about to take my vehicle’s title to TitleMax to get a neck-breaking loan, my mom’s sister, one of my many wonderful aunts, stepped in and helped us. I can’t thank her enough for such incredible generosity. Nor can I ask her to do it again.

I’ve never done something like this, and I don’t know the etiquette for such things. I’m terrible when it comes to asking for help.

Our tax bill is due on November 15th.

If by some miracle of the Almighty I can raise more than what I need to pay our tax bill, I will use the extra money to make desperately needed repairs to our house, including cutting down at least one dangerous tree on our property. There’s one pine tree I call the “guillotine.” It’s 70+ years old and it leans dangerously toward my mom’s bedroom. We have been very lucky that it hasn’t already crushed our house.

If I am fortunate enough to raise even more money, I will use any remaining funds to pay the legal fees for placing the house in my name and to make much-needed repairs. The house is in catastrophic disrepair, and because Seth and I spend all of our extra time and money caring for our mom, we have not been able to keep up with it.

I will hopefully fix one of the many problems with our home, not the least of which includes leaking pipes, clogged drains, faulty wiring, damaged structure, and a leaky septic tank.

It’s my dream to keep and repair the house my father spent his life paying off. I humbly ask for your help.

With the deepest regards,

Joshua