Get the house back into repair.
Donation protected
As some of you may know, we have reached a challenging point in home-ownership. We had planned to keep it private, but we had already decided to move after the latest in several major expenses when the well suffered damage due to the previous home-owner's "DIY tendencies." We simply cannot keep up with the expenses, even with insurance. We LOVE this house, but the distance and issues have made this a completely untenable situation.
We have long spent our emergency funds and ability to take loans/credit cards. Those who have been to our house know that we hadn't even had a chance to repair the damage from the first plumbing issue (affectionately known as the "Speed Bump") where the improperly installed dishwasher dripped through to the basement.
We just had our oil furnace completely give up the ghost. Our insurance is probably helping to cover much of the water damage caused by 4+ inches of hot water, but not the new boiler which is the priciest part. While having a hot tub is something we wanted, in the basement by surprise wasn't really what we were hoping for. No one was hurt and there wasn't a fire though, which is lucky.
For the destroyed oil furnace, while we may qualify for fuel assistance to get a new burner through Massachusetts grant programs, they are out of money at this time, and may not be able to start qualifying us until November. We are looking to see if an exception can be made but the process is slow and unclear. We also are out of hot water and heat until it is replaced (though the water otherwise works fine thanks to that last repair...thank god!)
We would normally never resort to such a thing, but times are bad. We were trying to save for the new roof, or the painting that the house badly needs to be lived in long term, much less resold, but things kept coming up.
If left in this state, things are only going to get worse.
We are asking for help with covering some of the expenses because we are out of options. We are going to continue to try to pursue grants and things of that nature, but realistically much of it will need to be out-of-pocket. There are some things on our list that are musts, and some that are maybes.
Houses don't sell well in our area, so it's necessary that it's at absoluty move-in ready and passes inspection to sell in any length of time.
To start with the money would be used for:
Paying the well repair company
The installation and cost of the new furnace
Repairing the floor damage caused by the first leaks
Wiring the bathroom light
Fixing the wiring in the upstairs room
Painting the house
etc.
Some of it will also go towards paying the taxes on the funds.
For those who own a home, you'll probably notice that our list is long for 10K. If the money goes over, the money would still be used towards getting the house in livable, then sellable condition. If it's under, we will handle things in dire need first.
Of course we prefer not to just be handed money. Michelle also has an etsy store, and sells art. We are happy to go that route as well. She cannot take on many detailed commissions because we currently rely on the regular income from that time spent making gryphs so couldn't realistically give a reasonable deadline since it couldn't be prioritized. Smaller projects might be a go, such as pet portraits. She'd be happy to discuss work that is already created though, or custom size prints, etc.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. Any help right now would be invaluable, thank you for your time, anything you can give, and anywhere you can share this. If you'd like to contact us directly with support rather than through here, you can contact me at [email redacted].
Thank you.
Coureton, Michelle aka. The Lady of the House, and Gabriel aka. The Critter.
Note: We have been offered help in the form of a donation matching campaign. All donations of up to $100 dollars will be equally matched. Contributions of over $100 will have a $100 matching donation added. This campaign will continue through August 1st, or a total of $1,000 in matched donations.
We have long spent our emergency funds and ability to take loans/credit cards. Those who have been to our house know that we hadn't even had a chance to repair the damage from the first plumbing issue (affectionately known as the "Speed Bump") where the improperly installed dishwasher dripped through to the basement.
We just had our oil furnace completely give up the ghost. Our insurance is probably helping to cover much of the water damage caused by 4+ inches of hot water, but not the new boiler which is the priciest part. While having a hot tub is something we wanted, in the basement by surprise wasn't really what we were hoping for. No one was hurt and there wasn't a fire though, which is lucky.
For the destroyed oil furnace, while we may qualify for fuel assistance to get a new burner through Massachusetts grant programs, they are out of money at this time, and may not be able to start qualifying us until November. We are looking to see if an exception can be made but the process is slow and unclear. We also are out of hot water and heat until it is replaced (though the water otherwise works fine thanks to that last repair...thank god!)
We would normally never resort to such a thing, but times are bad. We were trying to save for the new roof, or the painting that the house badly needs to be lived in long term, much less resold, but things kept coming up.
If left in this state, things are only going to get worse.
We are asking for help with covering some of the expenses because we are out of options. We are going to continue to try to pursue grants and things of that nature, but realistically much of it will need to be out-of-pocket. There are some things on our list that are musts, and some that are maybes.
Houses don't sell well in our area, so it's necessary that it's at absoluty move-in ready and passes inspection to sell in any length of time.
To start with the money would be used for:
Paying the well repair company
The installation and cost of the new furnace
Repairing the floor damage caused by the first leaks
Wiring the bathroom light
Fixing the wiring in the upstairs room
Painting the house
etc.
Some of it will also go towards paying the taxes on the funds.
For those who own a home, you'll probably notice that our list is long for 10K. If the money goes over, the money would still be used towards getting the house in livable, then sellable condition. If it's under, we will handle things in dire need first.
Of course we prefer not to just be handed money. Michelle also has an etsy store, and sells art. We are happy to go that route as well. She cannot take on many detailed commissions because we currently rely on the regular income from that time spent making gryphs so couldn't realistically give a reasonable deadline since it couldn't be prioritized. Smaller projects might be a go, such as pet portraits. She'd be happy to discuss work that is already created though, or custom size prints, etc.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. Any help right now would be invaluable, thank you for your time, anything you can give, and anywhere you can share this. If you'd like to contact us directly with support rather than through here, you can contact me at [email redacted].
Thank you.
Coureton, Michelle aka. The Lady of the House, and Gabriel aka. The Critter.
Note: We have been offered help in the form of a donation matching campaign. All donations of up to $100 dollars will be equally matched. Contributions of over $100 will have a $100 matching donation added. This campaign will continue through August 1st, or a total of $1,000 in matched donations.
Organizer
Coureton Dalton
Organizer
Cummington, MA