Ut-oh...I’m making him sad.

[Spiky Bugger]

His flaky sister, mother of the nephew charged with child sex offenses, wants to know if he’ll co-sign a loan so she can buy the house they grew up in. He feels sorry for his sister and is torn. His wife says, loudly, “What the fuck is WRONG with you...no, no, no!”

It would be a good move except:
•it’s a ghost town, no jobs, no industry.
•his HS friends cannot downsize or move away because their nice homes are worth zip.
•if she defaulted—and she would—we’d own a house 2000 miles from here and we’d just have to let her live there.

Granted, we COULD just buy her the damned house. Because houses there are really, really cheap. But we’re mid-kitchen-remodel and I’m reluctant to buy expensive aging-in-place-appropriate appliances for US, when our stove, fridge, etc work just fine. And I’d rather leave that money, if any is left, to my kid.

There IS low income senior housing in the area where she lives. She’s 64 and on SS Disability, I think. She might have to find new homes for her multiple cats and dogs...but NO!

He and his sister have nothing in common except DNA. He feels sorry for her. But I’ll break his fingers before I let him co-sign a loan for ANYONE, especially someone like his sister.

He isn’t mad, but he is a bit sad.

 

[JackieOnLine]

He and his sister have nothing in common except DNA. He feels sorry for her. But I’ll break his fingers before I let him co-sign a loan for ANYONE, especially someone like his sister.

he's lucky you won't let his sister waste his money. sad is temporary, I guess.

is it too personal to ask what the town is? ghost town, except for all the people stuck in it! I think that happens a lot in rural America.

 

[DianaCox]

That’s a whole lotta nope.

 

[Munchkin]

Nope.

But...if he does it, you need to realize it's a gift to her. They know they can't pay it back.

 

[southernlady]

I’d be a whole lotta nope on this one myself.

 

[Larra]

A hard no. Your first obligation is to yourselves and mini-Sue.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

he's lucky you won't let his sister waste his money. sad is temporary, I guess.
is it too personal to ask what the town is? ghost town, except for all the people stuck in it! I think that happens a lot in rural America.

May I limit the details to “one of the many failed/failing small towns in the Ohio River Valley,” so that I don’t insult someone who lives nearby?

Nope.

But...if he does it, you need to realize it's a gift to her. They know they can't pay it back.

Yes. It’s been a few years since her bankruptcy, but at that time she was grossing $2k/month, netting $1.6k/month, had $1.2k in assets, and…are you ready…$127k+ in unsecured credit card debt.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

A hard no. Your first obligation is to yourselves and mini-Sue.

...and our kitchen, which right now looks like:

 

[Spiky Bugger]

...and our kitchen, which right now looks like:

View attachment 2252
View attachment 2254

That big black thing is either the fridge or a Kia Soul parked there. I’m never sure if I should grab some ice cubes or check the mileage.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Also, MiniSue had a moment of insanity, at which time she thought SHE should buy it and rent it to her aunt. She says my reply is a bit “negative.” She is SO critical.



Brilliant!

…

Oh! And if you wanted to rent it to others? US poverty rate is +/-12%. That booming metropolis, with its population of about 1500, has a poverty rate of +/- 28%. You’d need to find GOOD tenants who want to live in a sketchy house that has walls RIGHT ON the sidewalk.

And then there’s the whole “the house itself” thing. The floor plan is a maze. It says the house was built in the 1920s? It was originally built in the 1830s give or take...and then additions were made when subsequent owners got drunk enough. They’ve redone the heat. That’s good, because the original coal fired furnace was in the basement, but the stairs dissolved so you needed a ladder to get down there. So by the time you arrived, there were natural gas heaters in each room, now there’s something newer.

Anyway, no. You guys would be better off if you each just took the money out of your retirement accounts, shredded it and set the shreds on fire. Far less clean up.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

he's lucky you won't let his sister waste his money. sad is temporary, I guess.

is it too personal to ask what the town is? ghost town, except for all the people stuck in it! I think that happens a lot in rural America.

Back in the day, you could “size up” a small town in those parts by asking, “ Is it a One Dairy Queen or Two Dairy Queen town.”

This town has no Dairy Queen.

But it does have A traffic signal. It has lights on all four sides and hangs over the middle of the intersection and is connected by a decent extension cord. I always went out of my way to avoid the area...even when I was the only Avon Lady in town and had to roam around a lot.

 

[k9ophile]

Back in the day, you could “size up” a small town in those parts by asking, “ Is it a One Dairy Queen or Two Dairy Queen town.”

This town has no Dairy Queen.

I think today's measure is, " How many Dollar Generals does it have?" That aside, yep a hard NO. I do understand. My family house that my brother lost in foreclosure was flipped. My brother pretty much destroyed it. It's a very sturdy concrete block structure and had to be gutted and re-built inside. The result is incredible. For a teeny, tiny second, I thought I'd buy it and let him move back in until my husband dies then I'll move into it. (DH is ten years older and statistically supposed to die first.) However, if I did buy it, I'd be a divorced lady before a widow. Yes, Mr. Sue is understandably sad.

 

[hilary1617]

Whole lotta nope.

 

[Sheanie]

"You can never help someone by giving them money". One of the lessons I learned the hard way.