Craigslist is the most wretched hive of scum and villainy that I have ever seen. You must be cautious.
If you can somehow get the eviction put off till January, can you then get help from the county?
I’ve been in this sort of situation. It totally sucks and I didn’t have a kid.
Hang in there and good luck.
I was thinking something similar. Is the county going by “Annual Income” or something like that where you can walk in there right after New Year’s and honestly say that your annual income is currently zero?
How much money do you owe on your apartment now? You might be able to drum up some donations from friends if you can guarantee that you won’t come around next month asking for another month.
One possible way to proceed could be to talk with the landlord and offer a deal that if they agree to postpone any eviction until next month, you will agree not to contest it.
I wish I had something more to offer besides moral support … and posting that I’m thinking of you in order to very shamelessly bump this thread for you.
Even if you don’t go to a women’s shelter, you might at least call one or two and see if they have suggestions or resources for you.
I have two friends that had terrible credit and found medium nice places from craigslist. Landlords that will use only their judgment on whether or not to rent to you are out there.
When you say you’re most of the way through the process… has there been an unlawful detainer action in General District Court? Did you appear? Did you ask for a trial date? Did the trial happen?
If you’re along one stage of that process, or within ten days of the trial, you may be able to extend your time for a little while.
I urge you to contact Legal Services of Northern Virginia, Inc.
A non-profit public interest law firm that provides free legal assistance to low-income residents of Northern Virginia.
I wish the OP would come back with an update.
Did you even read the OP? We’re not talking about someone with “bad credit.” We’re talking about someone being thrown out of her place because she can’t afford the rent and has no income.
I will recommend two things, the second being more helpful than the first. The first is ourgoods.org which is a bartering website. They are set up in NYC but it might be worth 10 minutes of your time to post what you need and what you are able to give in return. You might find someone with a grandma in Fairfax that needs a live in cleaning lady or something through here.
The second is Task Rabbit. This is a website where you can hire people to do unskilled labor for you or hire yourself out as unskilled labor. The signing up process can take a little time but once you are signed up there is a lot of work available and you can make a reasonable amount of money running errands, unpacking boxes, etc. for people in your area. You also get paid pretty much immediately after the job is done so you don’t have to wait two weeks for pay day to come around to have some money on hand.
Thank you Bricker. The Judgement has been entered and the landlord is just waiting for the Deputies to schedule the lock out.
Thank you all so much for your responses. I have been calling the resources you’ve provided, but no luck so far. I just fall into that in between category of people who earned just a little to much to get any help.
I also broke down and called my family members, who responded just as unhelpfully as I expected them to.
I’ve got a couple of leads to follow on people renting rooms not too far from here, so hope springs eternal.
Thanks again!
It takes a long time to evict someone. Did this process start before you lost your job (that was right after you ratted out the “skunky” person right)?
Do me a favor and take it to the pit. I don’t have the energy for this crap right now.
Mind you, I won’t be joining you there, but you are welcome to go vent your spleen in the appropriate setting.
If it’s really unacceptable for the Celtling to live with her father full-time, then I would say swallow your pride, think of her, and go to your family. If you were alone, you could sleep in the alley, but as long as you have a child to worry about, I would go ahead an go to family before it gets too bad. You don’t even have to take them up on it, just arrange to have a back-up plan with someone in case nothing else works out. You’ll sleep a lot better.
I did, yesterday. They were not helpful. The only real offer of assistance was my Dad and his wife offering to let me live with them. But they are in SC and there’s no way in heck that the Custody Court is going to let me take Celtling out of their jurisdiction. They would just say “Go ahead, but leave the child here with her Dad.”
If you’ve already found some apartments you can afford on the money coming in, then what you really need is a co-signer. You can ask your father (as he seems to be the only one willing to help). If he can’t do it, there are companies that will co-sign for you, for a fee. It’s not cheap but maybe it will get you in the door, which seems to be the main problem.
I found this article that discusses various co-signing companies. The article is a bit old, but hopefully these companies are still in business.
Yeah, if a woman put up an ad in CL stating: Will work for room and board., I’m pretty sure how that would turn out.
I forgot to include the link to the article:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lease-cosigners-worth-the-price-1344823003248
You could also ask your Dad to co-sign and if he balks, just ask him to pay the fees for the co-signing service.
Update:
A couple of angels have offered Celtling and I a lovely space in their beautiful home. I have no words for my gratitude. Their house is a long drive from Celtling’s school, so until the final notice comes (it hasn’t yet) I will continue looking for work and housing closer in. But after spending a wonderful evening talking around the table with this kind and brilliant family, I am half hoping that no other options come up.
So I’m breathing freely again.
I have known a few ladies that did just this in a local farm paper, NOT craig’s list. They are experianced horse folks, who, like the OP, found themselves in a hard place through no fault of their own. They all found room in exchange for some specified amount of help with the ranch chores.
One got a room for her & her daughter in the ranch house. She also got board for the pair of them. Basically, they were/are treated like family and it all worked out for the older couple as well. She could take care of the ranch for a few days while they went on “mini vacations”. They helped her go back to college and earn a degree. As the daughteer grew up, she got her own room and a horse as well. She calls the “hosts” gandma & grandpa. Every one won that time.
So good to hear this! I didn’t post before, but was following the thread. Best to you, and hope you have a nice December.