Help Me Save My Home
Donation protected
Hi, I am trying to raise money to save my home, which is up for foreclosure sale. I purchased the house in 2007, and was laid off in 2010 due to corporate merger - finding another full time position within commuting range of my property was difficult - My house is now up for foreclosure auction the end of July'15, and I need to raise $4000 for lawyers and court filing fees to stop it.
My home is actually my family home, which was left to my brother and I after our mother died in 2005. Susan had a short battle with cancer, which took her within 9 months from diagnosis. The year before my mother was diagnosed she went to get the chimney cleaned, and found out it had collapsed, and was recycling flue gas back into the house. Susan was diagnosed with small cell carcinoma in February 2005, she passed in September 2005. That Thanksgiving the rabbit developed a tumor and died before Christmas, within 2 weeks the cat developed a tumor and was gone by February 2006. It was a difficult time - I was 25, and had just relocated to Boston for a new position as a Chemist.
I was my mothers caretaker; however, due to the relocation package I was under, I was unable to just quit my job. I spent the time my mother was sick commuting and telecommuting from NY to Boston to be able to keep my position, while still caretaking for my mother.
When Susan was diagnosed with a terminal illness, she and my brother processed a 2% chance of survival, and refused to hear anything else - I heard 98% chance of 6 to 9 months, and began planning her medical care. Dan was unable to deal with the fact that mom was dying - he stopped calling, he stopped coming over ... He told me he could not watch her die. This left me to do just that, alone. My mother refused all home healthcare aids because she was going to live, and thus did not need the help. She told me that my wanting homehealthcare aids to help me caretake meant that I wanted her to die, I did not believe that she would live ... Every day got more and more quiet ... Every moment it was as if death was seeping inside of me too.
When she passed away everyone expected me to just go back to Boston and resume my life, but I could not. The quiet was still there, and I could not wrap my head around the fact that she was gone any place but her house - the place that she had died.
My brother had financially supported her, and he wanted to make his money back from the sale of her house. He refused to go to the house any more than need be - he couldnt go there, it was too hard. I NEEDED to be here to process it. It was the peak of the housing bubble, and since Dan and I were both executors of the estate I was under fiduciary duty to maximize the value of the property, not minimize it.
I eventually obtained a job in NY at the end of 2006, and bought Dan out of his half the equity in 2007. It was the peak of the housing bubble, and even though the house was in a delapidated state, it was appraised at $256k, and I was bound to pay him half. Thus I wound up with $130k mortgage (essentially full value) on the property,
I was not ok, I tried to get through each day, but it took me years to stop having flashbacks after lots of therapy. I was not good with my money - I was angry at money, I didnt want money, I wanted my mom. After I was laid off in 2010 my finances fell apart in 2011.
I have been trying desperately to fix things ever since. I have retained my job with a local community college as an adjunct instructor, I recently gained employment at a home instruction service for local high schools - my income is much greater than it was, and I have been in contact with my mortgage company regarding attempting to keep the property. I just got an interview for a full time position as a Chemist - after lots of hard work, things are financially starting to pick up.
AND THEN - I got a letter in the mail about a week and a half ago informing me of a foreclosure auction July 21 - I have spoken to a lawyer, and he said the proceedings can be stopped with a CH 13 Bankruptcy, and simultaneous request for modification - if the modification goes through, the bankruptcy can be dropped. But I need to raise the lawyers and court filing fees in a shorter time than just working and saving can allow. I am asking for $4000 to attempt to save my home - the family home, my mom's home ... Maybe one day my nephew can build a tree house here ... Maybe one day my brother will see the value of attempting to hold onto it ...
My home is actually my family home, which was left to my brother and I after our mother died in 2005. Susan had a short battle with cancer, which took her within 9 months from diagnosis. The year before my mother was diagnosed she went to get the chimney cleaned, and found out it had collapsed, and was recycling flue gas back into the house. Susan was diagnosed with small cell carcinoma in February 2005, she passed in September 2005. That Thanksgiving the rabbit developed a tumor and died before Christmas, within 2 weeks the cat developed a tumor and was gone by February 2006. It was a difficult time - I was 25, and had just relocated to Boston for a new position as a Chemist.
I was my mothers caretaker; however, due to the relocation package I was under, I was unable to just quit my job. I spent the time my mother was sick commuting and telecommuting from NY to Boston to be able to keep my position, while still caretaking for my mother.
When Susan was diagnosed with a terminal illness, she and my brother processed a 2% chance of survival, and refused to hear anything else - I heard 98% chance of 6 to 9 months, and began planning her medical care. Dan was unable to deal with the fact that mom was dying - he stopped calling, he stopped coming over ... He told me he could not watch her die. This left me to do just that, alone. My mother refused all home healthcare aids because she was going to live, and thus did not need the help. She told me that my wanting homehealthcare aids to help me caretake meant that I wanted her to die, I did not believe that she would live ... Every day got more and more quiet ... Every moment it was as if death was seeping inside of me too.
When she passed away everyone expected me to just go back to Boston and resume my life, but I could not. The quiet was still there, and I could not wrap my head around the fact that she was gone any place but her house - the place that she had died.
My brother had financially supported her, and he wanted to make his money back from the sale of her house. He refused to go to the house any more than need be - he couldnt go there, it was too hard. I NEEDED to be here to process it. It was the peak of the housing bubble, and since Dan and I were both executors of the estate I was under fiduciary duty to maximize the value of the property, not minimize it.
I eventually obtained a job in NY at the end of 2006, and bought Dan out of his half the equity in 2007. It was the peak of the housing bubble, and even though the house was in a delapidated state, it was appraised at $256k, and I was bound to pay him half. Thus I wound up with $130k mortgage (essentially full value) on the property,
I was not ok, I tried to get through each day, but it took me years to stop having flashbacks after lots of therapy. I was not good with my money - I was angry at money, I didnt want money, I wanted my mom. After I was laid off in 2010 my finances fell apart in 2011.
I have been trying desperately to fix things ever since. I have retained my job with a local community college as an adjunct instructor, I recently gained employment at a home instruction service for local high schools - my income is much greater than it was, and I have been in contact with my mortgage company regarding attempting to keep the property. I just got an interview for a full time position as a Chemist - after lots of hard work, things are financially starting to pick up.
AND THEN - I got a letter in the mail about a week and a half ago informing me of a foreclosure auction July 21 - I have spoken to a lawyer, and he said the proceedings can be stopped with a CH 13 Bankruptcy, and simultaneous request for modification - if the modification goes through, the bankruptcy can be dropped. But I need to raise the lawyers and court filing fees in a shorter time than just working and saving can allow. I am asking for $4000 to attempt to save my home - the family home, my mom's home ... Maybe one day my nephew can build a tree house here ... Maybe one day my brother will see the value of attempting to hold onto it ...
Organizer
Melissa Vellone
Organizer
Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY