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

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

I realize she has been there for 66 years. Still, she does not own the home. Others have stated that the trust states that the home has to be sold. Maybe time for the renters to move on. I would say head on over to a less costly place. Maybe Fresno, Bakersfield, Phoenix. Some place that she could afford. Sounds like she is not able to afford the area she lives in.

That would have been the smart thing to do many years ago. Unfortunately, now she's 97 with cancer.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The article said that a local hot-shot law firm has taken up her case. Good luck with that. I don't see how they could possibly win, but who knows? They might find an angle. \

I wonder what type of work she did during her lifetime, or if she every had a paycheck at all. It sounds like she and her housemate are paying the rent from a Social Security check: $450 each. She really lucked out with that rent deal. Her mistake was to live too long. Maybe someone will step forward and offer her a MIL apt. in their basement, or something. And then--what about the housemate? What's she going to do? Also with no kids, no family around.

I think more mistakes were made than just living too long. Our society really needs to emphasize planning more.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

Good point, my parents bought their first house in 1960. My father told me the bank asked if my mother was going to start having children and not continue to work. Can you imagine that now?

A single woman who was working wouldn't get approved for a home loan in those days.

This is a valid point.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Except not many are. Fact is the % who are is really really low. All stupid people?

Perhaps not in an IQ sense, but it's extremely frustrating for me to witness how bad humans are at any kind of long term planning.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by sav858

Well she died today , figured something like this would stress someone in that condition to death. They said natural causes but I don't doubt this played some role in accelerating the inevitable.

Well... That's a really sad ending to this episode.

I get that this was a complicated case, but it's unfortunate something couldn't have been worked out for her to reduce the stress on her remaining life.

At least she didn't have to be kicked out into the street in the end and was able to live out her remaining days in the comfort of the home she lived in for the vast majority of her life.

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

If there is greed here, I think there are a lot of people who are parties to it:

--The landlord wants to make a fortune on the house.

Other than the quote from Marie that she doesn't believe the landlord, nothing on this thread indicates that he is lying when he states that his kids are the beneficiaries of the trust (not him), and that a provision in the trust indicates an expiration date that he needs to honor by selling the house.

--The woman who lived in a house for $900 a month. You have to be in complete denial to not know you're getting an incredible deal with rent that low. Not realistic to expect such things to last forever. As always, Murphy's Law always happens at the worst possible time.

I agree.

--The NIMBYs on the Peninsula and Bay Area in general, who like to play the "Yes, of course we need to build new housing, but......". Once all the "buts" are taken into account, the amount of housing built falls far short of what's needed. It sure does benefit the home values of existing homeowners at the expense of people like this woman, though. Hmmmm.

It's easy to point the finger at other people's greed. Not so easy to look in the mirror and see one's own contribution to it, though.

I agree.

I know this is anecdotal evidence but, looking at all of my friends and family in the Bay Area both liberal and conservative, all of the NIMBYs are liberals/progressives.

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by sav858

Well she died today , figured something like this would stress someone in that condition to death. They said natural causes but I don't doubt this played some role in accelerating the inevitable.

Wow, condolences to her son. A previous post on this thread indicated that her son lives in a small apartment nearby, and is in poor health himself. I hope Marie's death doesn't have the added effect of having a significant impact on her son's health.

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

That would have been the smart thing to do many years ago. Unfortunately, now she's 97 with cancer.

See sav858's post. Marie died.

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by HockeyMac18

Well... That's a really sad ending to this episode.

I get that this was a complicated case, but it's unfortunate something couldn't have been worked out for her to reduce the stress on her remaining life.

At least she didn't have to be kicked out into the street in the end and was able to live out her remaining days in the comfort of the home she lived in for the vast majority of her life.

I wonder if this situation will continued to be covered in the media re...What will happen to Marie's 'roommate'? Previous information on this thread indicates that the 'roommate' is 85 and also lacks other nearby options. IIRC, no mention has been made of the 'roommate' being ill. Much ado was made that the promise was made to Marie, and that the verbal promise = for 'the rest of Marie's life', but I don't remember ant details about how the 'roommate' figured into that nor how long the 'roommate has lived there. Will people volunteer their time to help with the transition for the 85 year old 'roommate'? I'm not sure if this is possible but can the people at GoFundMe, in addition to a possible account being established for the 85 year old 'roommate', propose that the money contributed for Marie go to the 85 year old 'roommate' instead?

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

Perhaps not in an IQ sense, but it's extremely frustrating for me to witness how bad humans are at any kind of long term planning.

Humans have been bad at long-term planning and about a bazillion other behaviors since they lived in caves. Frustration over this reality could lead to unnecessary apoplexy. Good luck with that, bro.