Help Stacey and Robert Find a New Home

Great... I'm here again.

Just about 15 years ago, during the economic issues of 2008-2010, Stacey and I went through a crisis where the company I was working with at the time suddenly closed up shop on a Thursday and refused to pay that week's pay. Our small national chain was out of business immediately. The ripple effect that caused was catastrophic. My landlord at the time was a really great guy - his wife, on the other hand, was a beehive terror in a Cadillac. She demanded that we move out of the home I had for 12 years. She was tired of the old home we were in and was going to sell it. We bargained and begged and managed to get her husband to allow us until the end of the year to vacate the premises. He also gave us a 40-foot dumpster to allow us to lighten our load. I lost most of my personal and family treasures in that forced move. But it brought us to where we are today.

It's now 15 years later. I'm older... much older... multiple heart attacks, stints, weary of the world and hoping just to make it to the next day. Monday, July 7th was going to be a slightly festive day - Ringo Starr's Birthday for one. Also Stacey's. We were going to have some fun and entertainment, even though I was currently out of work. Back in March, Staples decided I was not fit to be their Operations Supervisor/MIS after 16 total years of service to them (For those counting, 11 in the current stint with them, another 5 from 2001-2006), and sacked my position. Monday was supposed to be a break from job hunting (which is fun when you're 64) and have some fun with the Mrs. on her special day.

9:43 AM rolls by with a phone call from our current landlord, Stan. The rent is up to date, so he shouldn't be calling for anything about that - maybe he's calling about our soon-to-be day of darkness, as the power was going to be cut to the building so that the local power company can swap a pole outside.

It would have been nice if that were the reason - it wasn't.

"I sold the building," was the first thing he bluntly dropped on me, then made it worse. "The new owners want you out by August 31st and they want to schedule demolition as soon as possible."

He just dropped one bomb after another then. Yeah, we would get our down payment back, but not until AFTER we move out, which means those funds won't be available for any down payment on a new place. Unemployment does not pay enough to handle anything like this. Worse, I now have to put any job offers on hold, as we aren't sure where we're going to land.

I can't blame him for selling the building - it was almost inevitable. He tried twice before, but it was found he had never received permits to use this building as apartments in the first place, so each time he attempted, the Boro refused it as an unlicensed residence. We were lucky that they didn't boot us even then, but allowed the operation to continue, as it was still generating revenue. His final thing he could do was to sell to a company that has been going through our Boro and selectively demolishing homes to build modern new ones - our building will be their largest so far.

But that leaves us in a predicament - With my shaky health and Stacey's disability, finding a new home, and then moving 15 years of accrued stuff is beyond our capabilities alone. Those that helped us move into this apartment are gone. Any down payment needs to be acquired before the actual old down payment can be had. And if we wanted to buy a home rather than rent again, it may not be nearby like the last time. We are in need of help and funding. More than I've ever asked for before. We have less than two months to get things figured out. Please help.