Anyone who knows me, knows that hospitality is something I highly value. My home has always been not only my own sanctuary, but a sanctuary to anyone who enters- whether that’s for an hour, overnight, or for some weeks. When I miraculously was able to buy a home in Philly in 2021, I saw it not only as a gift to me, but also a gift to bless others with. It truly has been that, but now I face the possibility of losing that home.

Over the last year, there has been a series of unfortunate situations with my house that has ultimately lead to this. In 2023 I moved out of Philly, pursuing dreams abroad. I rented out my house, but after that tenant's lease ended, there was a gap between tenants and the house was empty for several months. During that time I was paying both the mortgage and also paying my own rent. I couldn’t financially sustain this so I applied for a forbearance program with my mortgage company. I then secured another tenant, who ended up paying rent very late each month (which also impacts my mortgage payments) and they ultimately stopped paying rent completely. This came right at the time when my forbearance with the mortgage company ended. Finally, I was able to get that tenant to vacate the property, but was left with a lot of damage in the house, which so far has cost me about $2,500, with more work that still needs to be done. I have been working hard to get it all prepared for the next tenants I had lined up to move in August 1st. Yesterday I got word from those tenants that they are no longer able to move in. With all of the money that has been lost due to the last tenant not paying rent, plus all the repairs, I am not able to cover the mortgage due on August 1. I was counting on the next tenant’s move-in to cover that. Because I was already in forbearance, the mortgage company is watching closely to make sure that I pay my mortgage each month on time. They have informed me that I will face foreclosure if I fail to pay mortgage on time right now.

While I still work hard to secure my next tenants, I need the finances to cover mortgage for August, as well some plumbing issues that still need to be fixed. Recently a mentor/friend pointed out that I have a hard time directly asking for help. She encouraged me to ask for exactly what I need. I didn’t know at the time that I would need to put that into practice so soon in this way. I had to face the fact that I cannot do this on my own. I have always valued community and coming together to support each other. I’m now asking my community to help me to keep my house. You can do that by giving financially, sharing the need, and/or sharing the flyer (posted in the pics here) advertising my home for rent.

Know that you will always have a place to come to if you want to visit my new home in Jamaica- whether you give to this GoFundMe or not!

Much love and blessings.