97 year old Burlingame woman is being evicted from the small home she has rented for 66 YEARS (apartment, rent)

[azoria]

'Where am I going to go?': Cancer sufferer, 97, is being evicted from the small home she has rented for 66 YEARS so landlord can cash in on booming million-dollar California property prices

The community of Burlingame, California is rallying around a 97-year-old cancer patient who faces eviction from the home she has lived in for nearly seven decades.
Marie Hatch, 97, says she first moved into her home 66 years ago when her friend Vivian Kruse owned the cozy cottage.


Hatch claims Kruse gave her a verbal promise that she could live in the home until she died - a promise that was guaranteed by Kruse's daughter and then granddaughter.
But after Kruse's granddaughter died in 2006, her husband took control of the home and now he is pushing to sell the property.

Hatch and her 85-year-old roommate Georgia Rothrock were served with eviction papers on February 11, giving them 60 days to vacate the property.


Read more:
Marie Hatch aged 97 faces eviction from California home she's rented for 66 YEARS | Daily Mail Online

[JanND]

I'm not unsympathetic but She is not facing homelessness just relocation.

I think there are lots of housing options for very elderly folks, many senior programs in place offer assistance including housing that offers medical support.

It is not what she wants but the family did keep their promise for 66 years, likely to their own financial detriment.

With this publicity I won't be surprised if someone decides to buy the property and let her remain.

[calicoastal]

The property was part of a trust which was forced to sell when the owner died. It's sad that this woman didn't buy a place 66 years ago when houses were cheap, it seems like poor retirement planning on her part and a cautionary tale for those hoping to be lifelong renters.

[BicoastalAnn]

Originally Posted by JanND

I'm not unsympathetic but She is not facing homelessness just relocation.

I think there are lots of housing options for very elderly folks, many senior programs in place offer assistance including housing that offers medical support.

It is not what she wants but the family did keep their promise for 66 years, likely to their own financial detriment.

With this publicity I won't be surprised if someone decides to buy the property and let her remain.

Are you talking about non-profit programs? I was just looking at nursing homes the other day and the average cost is $90k nation-wide! Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care unless you're on Medicaid. I hope this woman either has a lot of money or little enough to qualify.

[MountainHi]

Originally Posted by JanND

I'm not unsympathetic but She is not facing homelessness just relocation.

I think there are lots of housing options for very elderly folks, many senior programs in place offer assistance including housing that offers medical support.

It is not what she wants but the family did keep their promise for 66 years, likely to their own financial detriment.

With this publicity I won't be surprised if someone decides to buy the property and let her remain.

It takes longer than 60 days to get on a list for the subsidized senior housing, though. I wonder if the landlord even spoke to her about it. She could sign up for the housing, and then verify with the landlord that she'd done so, and that she was told it would be a wait, and hope the LL would be a decent guy and let her stay until there was an opening.

Amazing that she out-lived even her friend's grand-daughter, as well as the daughter! In spite of having cancer. She's got some good genes.

[MountainHi]

Originally Posted by BicoastalAnn

Are you talking about non-profit programs? I was just looking at nursing homes the other day and the average cost is $90k nation-wide! Medicare doesn't pay for long-term care unless you're on Medicaid. I hope this woman either has a lot of money or little enough to qualify.

Elders usually sell their home to move into and afford nursing homes. They're extremely expensive. But the lady in question doesn't need one, if she's still living independently. A subsidized senior apartment would do her just fine. For now, anyway. It would be interesting to see how much longer she lives. She could be around for another 5 or 10 years.

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by JanND

I'm not unsympathetic.

I am.

This woman lived there for 66 years, for part of the time at below-market rent. A cottage in Burlingame for $900 a month? Seriously? I couldn't have rented it for that 20 years ago.

The landlord doesn't want to evict her but when his wife (who owned the house) was murdered 10 years ago, the property was put into trust for his sons. The terms of the trust require the house be sold before July.

Meanwhile, the tenant calls the landlord "greedy."

'He has no choice? Huh. I don’t believe that,' Hatch said.

Yep, somebody is greedy all right but it isn't the guy whose wife was murdered and was left with two children to raise on his own.

People disgust me sometimes, particularly the entitlement types in the Bay Area.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Whoever set up the trust really blew it.

A trust that creates ill will is a failed mission.

[justinbro2002]

The trustee has no choice he has to act in the best interests of the trust and in this instance that is to sell the home and not rent it out at well below market rate. It's unfortunate for the lady that's the risk you run being a renter. Landlords and homeowners have become the big bad wolf during the last few years.

[MountainHi]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

I am.

This woman lived there for 66 years, for part of the time at below-market rent. A cottage in Burlingame for $900 a month? Seriously? I couldn't have rented it for that 20 years ago.

The landlord doesn't want to evict her but when his wife (who owned the house) was murdered 10 years ago, the property was put into trust for his sons. The terms of the trust require the house be sold before July.

Meanwhile, the tenant calls the landlord "greedy."

'He has no choice? Huh. I don’t believe that,' Hatch said.

Yep, somebody is greedy all right but it isn't the guy whose wife was murdered and was left with two children to raise on his own.

People disgust me sometimes, particularly the entitlement types in the Bay Area.

The wife was murdered? What's the story on that? This sounds tragic all around.


Trusts aren't goodwill organizations. They're for passing along inheritances. If the trust or will had been drawn up while the property owner was alive, she could or would have built in a provision for the elderly renter. People don't usually anticipate their life being cut short at an early age, though, so she probably had no will. Sad for everyone. And now there are kids (maybe adults by now) who lost their mom.