Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In december of 2013 a church we used to attend put myself my wife and 2 children in a vacant mobile home that the church owns to live rent free. The verbal agreement was that we could live in the mobile home as long as we needed to until they were ready to build a transitional house for prisoners getting out of prison which they were hoping to start building in July 2014, and that they would keep the electricity for the mobile home in the churches name and we would pay the church the amount of the electric bill each month. The church has not started to build the transitional house due to not having the funds so we are still here in the mobile home. When July 2014 came we found out that they would not be able to build the transitional house. We were relieved to hear this because I had been laid off from work and did not have the money to move. However after finding this out in July 2014 the church then told us that we needed to move out cause instead of building the transitional house they were going to use the mobile home for the prisoners. I informed them that I had been laid off but I would do my best to try to come up with the money to move but I was not sure how long it would take. Then the church told me at the beginning of september 2014 that they had a prisoner being released on October 2, 2014 and that he would be moving in the mobile home the day he was released. I told them I did not know if I would be able to move by then. When the prisoner was released 4 days ago on Oct 2, 2014 he brought the prisoner to the mobile home where me and my family live and said he had to stay the night here with us because the prisoner gave his probation officer the address of the mobile home we are living in as his residence. I felt bad and said it was ok for him to stay the night even though I nor my wife knows this person. So the prisoner stayed the night, then I was informed by the prisoner that he was told he would be living here with us until we moved out. I never agreed to that at any time. The prisoner left early yesterday morning and my wife and I left to spend some time together and did not come back till 3 AM this morning so the prisoner of course could not get into the mobile home. When we returned at 3 AM this morning there was a letter (not legal eviction papers)taped to the door from the church signed by the preacher and the church trustee stating we had to vacate the mobile home in ten days or they would padlock the mobile home and if we entered the mobile home after ten days we would have warrants taken out on us for breaking and entering. I am most confident that the paper they posted on the door is not legal and they can not just padlock us out of the mobile home without filing the proper eviction papers through the court system. Where do I stand legally, and can the church evict a family with 2 small children just because they want to use the mobile home for prisoners being released form prison. I do not have the money to move at this point. We are a Christian family who does the best we can and we are trying very hard to make ends meet. We are not free loaders, nor are we lazy, we do not blindly spend money and we use any money we get to pay any bills we have and to meet the necessities of our family. What do I do? Thank you for your time, Rick
You need to move. I can't give you legal advise but it is unethical for you to stay.
As the church if they have parishoners who could help with the physical relocation of your property (pickup truck and people helping to move things to storage unit?) and you need to move in with family or go to a homeless shelter. You have had a great deal of time and warnings to line up a place -- be it living in a shelter or moving in with family.
I'm lost for words at your utter gall. For almost a year you've been living rent free and have only been unemployed for a few months so prior to that you could easily have been saving the money you didn't have to pay for rent in order to get yourself back together. You knew the place was temporary and the church (that church that you "used to attend") has gone out of its way to give you a chance to get back on your feet.
You pay no rent so you're not legally a tenant. You are a beneficiary of charity and have outstayed your welcome. The church has asked you to leave and now has demanded that you leave and, they're right, once they put the padlocks on the place you'll be charged with unlawful entry and trespassing if you try to get back inside.
Get yourself down to your human services offices on Monday and see what benefits you can apply for. You're likely to qualify for Section 8 housing and, in the meantime, deal with a homeless shelter or whatever else you can make do with. Your stay on the church's property has come to an end.
Im guessing you missed the agreement where they said we can stay as long as we need to until they have to use this mobile home for storage while they build the transitional house. Wow I have gall? Thats interesting to say the least. Did I happen to mention that my 10 year old little girl was living in the churches Christian Boarder home for a while and while she was there the male house parent who was a multiple convicted felon molested her and another little girl in his bedroom at the home, then the next day when he got caught shot and killed himself in front of the children because he didnt want to go back to prison. And now this same preacher said that I had to let this convicted felon with a long violent criminal record who just got out of prison live in the same house with my 2 children, one of which is my little girl who was molested. And yeah we were saving to move till my daughter was molested by the preachers people and I had to start paying for medication and a shrink for my wife because it messed her up having her little girl molested seeing as how my wife was raped from age 9 to 16 by her step father. And constantly paying for gas to take my wife and my daughter back and forth to mental help. So I think you should know the facts before you start saying I have gall. Yeah I have gall alright for sure. He has lost his mind. So the least they could do is let us stay here, and yeah RENT FREE Guess Im just gonna have to sue them for what happened to me little girl.
By the way I just talked to a lawyer friend of mine here in Salisbury N.C. and he told me that by them padlocking the place will be "self help" lease or no lease rent or no rent. He said they must evict me through the courts. Heres the link to the story on the guy who molested my child. My child was 10 years old. http://www.salisburypost.com/article...P01/140229967/
Last edited by sosrick2; 10-05-2014 at 10:05 AM..
Reason: added link
I'm sorry what happened to your daughter but you nonetheless accepted the church's offer of free housing after the fact and, "as long as you need to" doesn't mean in perpetuity. There's obviously way more to the story for the church to have come down so hard and it rather reeks of, "no good deed goes unpunished". If you allow an eviction to go through you can expect the record of it to follow you for many years to come. Many landlords will (completely legally) refuse to rent to you based solely on an eviction being filed and they're not interested in the whole story behind it.
Good luck in suing the church for what happened to your daughter and suggest you get some proper legal advice before you embark on that.
I wasn't going to respond as I have no experience in renting...however, you have some nerve.
1. You stated yourself that you are not even a member of this church anymore, so they are doing you a huge favor.
2. You originally were only going to be allowed living there until July 2014, however there plans fell through, but they had other plans for the home, and they told you to make plans to move. You explained that funds were tight and they LET you stay longer.
3. In September they told you they would need the place in early October and you said you would try and move, which you didn't.
4. Now you are upset that a paroled prisoner is living in YOUR house with your family...yes, that has been the plan for this person to move in from September. You then left with your wife to "spend time together" (what did you do with your kids), and found the note from the church and you have the audacity to be upset!!!
Wow -- you are a piece of work.
You come here looking for advice and when you don't like what people have to say then you tell us about your daughter and wife and their problems. I am very sorry that your daughter was molested, and I'm glad she is getting help, but what does that have to do with the generosity of your ex church in giving you a place to live and setting out the expectations with the parolee.
No we moved in before that happened to her. She was supposed to be there one more year. And we left the church because of what happened to her especially after we found out that the preacher had been accused of the same thing several years earlier along with physical abuse. Most people would have sued the church right off the bat but we didnt. We were trying to be nice about the situation and figured it would be a two way street.
And yes they were hoping it would be July but they were not sure it was never set in stone. And we would have moved straight out onto the street in Julyno questions asked had they started building cause that was the agreement. I always stick to what I say and expect others to do the same period. As long as we need unless they start building means exactly that. They should have chosen their words more carefully. If I were them I would have said you can stay till July and then you have to go. But they said as long as you need until we build the house. And yeah Im upset that a preacher would put children in harms path just cause he wants to do something. Extremely UNCHRIST LIKE. I do not and would not treat people this way. How do I know cause Ive been in their position. Sorry if you think Im a piece of work I just happen to be the type of person that says what I mean and mean what I say exactly how I say it period especially when I am doing ministry work.
The funny thing is that I have talked to several other pastors and several of my christian peers and they agree that what the church is doing is wrong. And it was my attorneys idea to sue.
If you have an attorney, why come here for advice? Talk to your attorney.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
