Urban Curb Appeal Victim
Donation protected
Campaign Title: URBAN CURB APPEAL VICTIM
Project Funding Goal: $9,837.00
My name is Charles Schulz. I live in a three-story row home located in the City of Harrisburg Pennsylvania. My house was built shortly after 1899 and is in one of our city's many historic districts. I bought it knowing that it would require some restoration, but was not aware of exactly how much it would cost or how long it might take to accomplish. After installing a new roof, rebuilding the back porch, numerous plumbing and other structural issues I still had wooden windows and three build-outs to restore. A series of unfortunate cascading life events ensued, leaving me without a job, looking for work and living on my savings which were eventually depleted.
I have recently been put in dire straits by two mean-spirited individuals who are not residents in my neighborhood, but own rental properties nearby. Last August they filed complaints with the City of Harrisburg Bureau of Codes Enforcement against my property. That bureau subsequently cited me for violations with regard to peeling paint of exposed wooden surfaces. I called the Codes Enforcement Officer that issued the citation to discuss what I was able to correct at that time and informed him that I was not able to complete major restoration of my property without financial assistance. Since the time of my conversation with the Officer last year, I have been investigating ways to secure funding to pay for scraping and painting of exposed exterior wood on my home in order to bring it into compliance.
I am 68 years old. My income consists of Social Security, an hourly salary from a small business employer and occasional odd jobs. My employer is sympathetic to my situation, however there is no option for a raise or any additional work income. I entered into Chapter 13 bankruptcy two years ago to save my home from a Sherriff’s sale. As a result, I am not able to refinance my mortgage or borrow money. I have no family members who could give or lend me money. Neither the City nor our County governments have funding available to assist with low-income home repair and I do not qualify for most of our local non-profit housing organization's programs, although I have submitted applications requesting any assistance they can offer.
In April of this year the same two rental property owners who filed complaints against me last August, again filed complaints with city Codes Enforcement regarding my property. The Bureau of Codes Enforcement forwarded the matter to a District Justice without any contact or discussion with me. That Magisterial Court issued a citation fining me over $600 for non-compliance with codes violations. I pleaded Not-Guilty to the charge and recently appeared before a Magistrate to explain my situation. The kind and understanding Justice placed my case on hold giving me the opportunity to make headway with restoration work on my home before he renders a decision this September. Although I can do some of the work myself, I am unable to accomplish a great deal of it because of the heights of the windows and porches so I must hire professionals, but lack sufficient financial resources to do so within the time constraints that have been issued by the Magistrate.
If I do not correct the violations in the next two months, the court can enforce the non-compliance fine against me and city Codes Enforcement can continue to site and fine me as often as they like and may even be able to force me out of my home due to non-compliance. Consequently, I have turned to "GoFundMe" as a resource to help with my desperate dilemma.
I am hoping to work on scraping and painting of windows, doors and railings piece by piece, consequently, any contribution you could make could assist my progress. I want to live in a nice neighborhood that I contribute to by keeping my house presentable, but currently it's a daunting and unaffordable task. I am not trying to improve my property to profit from its sale or rental, I only want to keep my home and protect myself from the relentless persecution of The City of Harrisburg and the two rental property owners who have targeted me and my property for their own commercial purposes. Without help I feel like I am doomed by unwarranted real estate curb appeal agendas.
Project Funding Goal: $9,837.00
My name is Charles Schulz. I live in a three-story row home located in the City of Harrisburg Pennsylvania. My house was built shortly after 1899 and is in one of our city's many historic districts. I bought it knowing that it would require some restoration, but was not aware of exactly how much it would cost or how long it might take to accomplish. After installing a new roof, rebuilding the back porch, numerous plumbing and other structural issues I still had wooden windows and three build-outs to restore. A series of unfortunate cascading life events ensued, leaving me without a job, looking for work and living on my savings which were eventually depleted.
I have recently been put in dire straits by two mean-spirited individuals who are not residents in my neighborhood, but own rental properties nearby. Last August they filed complaints with the City of Harrisburg Bureau of Codes Enforcement against my property. That bureau subsequently cited me for violations with regard to peeling paint of exposed wooden surfaces. I called the Codes Enforcement Officer that issued the citation to discuss what I was able to correct at that time and informed him that I was not able to complete major restoration of my property without financial assistance. Since the time of my conversation with the Officer last year, I have been investigating ways to secure funding to pay for scraping and painting of exposed exterior wood on my home in order to bring it into compliance.
I am 68 years old. My income consists of Social Security, an hourly salary from a small business employer and occasional odd jobs. My employer is sympathetic to my situation, however there is no option for a raise or any additional work income. I entered into Chapter 13 bankruptcy two years ago to save my home from a Sherriff’s sale. As a result, I am not able to refinance my mortgage or borrow money. I have no family members who could give or lend me money. Neither the City nor our County governments have funding available to assist with low-income home repair and I do not qualify for most of our local non-profit housing organization's programs, although I have submitted applications requesting any assistance they can offer. In April of this year the same two rental property owners who filed complaints against me last August, again filed complaints with city Codes Enforcement regarding my property. The Bureau of Codes Enforcement forwarded the matter to a District Justice without any contact or discussion with me. That Magisterial Court issued a citation fining me over $600 for non-compliance with codes violations. I pleaded Not-Guilty to the charge and recently appeared before a Magistrate to explain my situation. The kind and understanding Justice placed my case on hold giving me the opportunity to make headway with restoration work on my home before he renders a decision this September. Although I can do some of the work myself, I am unable to accomplish a great deal of it because of the heights of the windows and porches so I must hire professionals, but lack sufficient financial resources to do so within the time constraints that have been issued by the Magistrate.
If I do not correct the violations in the next two months, the court can enforce the non-compliance fine against me and city Codes Enforcement can continue to site and fine me as often as they like and may even be able to force me out of my home due to non-compliance. Consequently, I have turned to "GoFundMe" as a resource to help with my desperate dilemma.
I am hoping to work on scraping and painting of windows, doors and railings piece by piece, consequently, any contribution you could make could assist my progress. I want to live in a nice neighborhood that I contribute to by keeping my house presentable, but currently it's a daunting and unaffordable task. I am not trying to improve my property to profit from its sale or rental, I only want to keep my home and protect myself from the relentless persecution of The City of Harrisburg and the two rental property owners who have targeted me and my property for their own commercial purposes. Without help I feel like I am doomed by unwarranted real estate curb appeal agendas.
Organizer
Charles A. Schulz
Organizer
Harrisburg, PA