Landlord threatened to evict grandma if she couldn't buy the $250,000 home, then this neighbor does the most unexpected thing
By MarissaRocks
Linda Taylor sadly became the most recent victim of the current affordable housing crisis. The 70-year-old woman from Minneapolis had been living in the same house for twenty years and during this time she fell victim to some predatory practices.
Taylor had tragically been tricked into signing over the home to its previous owners after she fell behind on mortgage payments back in 2004. In the pretense of helping her out, the owners offered her to rent out the house without any rent control, reports Goalcast.
Over the years, they kept increasing the rent until it reached $1,400. At this point, it was almost impossible for Taylor to afford it even during the best economic times. And then, the pandemic hit and the elderly woman lost her job. With no source of income, Taylor was in a fix as she faced homelessness.
The previous owners had reportedly lost the rights to her house after getting caught in a mortgage fraud scheme. Even with them gone, the grandmother-of-nine faced yet another problem. The new landlord, who had taken over the house, offered Taylor to buy it at the listed price of $299,000 or else face eviction.
When neighbors heard about Taylor's bad luck and the fact that she might be leaving the area for good, they decided to do something that would prevent it from happening. One of the 70-year-old's neighborhood friends turned out to be a housing rights organizer Andrew Fahlstrom, 41.
Opening up about her troubles, the elderly lady told Andrew that she had reached out to social services and even applied for grants and other programs to try in an attempt to keep her home, but had been very unlucky. Thus, her friend urged the community to support Taylor in writing a letter to the landlord, requesting him to postpone the eviction and negotiating the price of the house so she could stay there.
After receiving the letter signed by 400 people, the owner complied with their request of postponing the eviction and lowered the price of the house to $250,000, hoping that his tenant would find a way to give him the money. With no job, it was impossible for Taylor to come up with the huge amount but little did she know that her neighbor had launched a fundraiser campaign for the same.
More and more people joined the cause as the local church donated a whopping $200,000 to help her out. By the time the eviction date arrive, the community had raised $275,000 which was enough to not only buy the house but also make necessary repairs. It was the generosity and activism of her community that saved Taylor from becoming homeless and such kind gestures are always appreciated.
Cover image source: Savelindashome
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