My 82-year-old FIL wrecked his car yesterday, and he does not have the funds to buy even a junker for a replacement. I haven't seen it but according to him one wheel & tire were bent over 90 degrees from hitting a curb. On a front wheel drive 2000 Buick with 150k miles on it, that's probably totaled.
This on top of his living in an otherwise nice house that has suffered 30 years of benign neglect. Family room carpet is shag right out of the 1970s. When DW and I repainted the dining room, living room, hallway and one kitchen wall last fall it was the first wet paint to touch those walls since about 1982. He appreciated the efforts but it was very disruptive to his normal routine. We're going to have to get him out of there to do the kitchen - perhaps get SIL to take him to SC where they have a vacation home.
We, meaning all who are physically able, have been working on correcting the water problem in the basement. The house has a sump pump but it hadn't been working for 15-20 years and every time there was heavy rain one end of the basement flooded. The sump pump was in a closet underneath a shelf in a finished off basement bedroom, so earlier this month was the first time I knew there was a sump there. He attributed the water from coming in over the outside basement stairwell threshold, and thought the drain was clogged with leaves. Nope - running water in it showed the drain is clear but it drains to the sump. No surprise there.
We ripped out the paneling and drywall that was moldy, found more mold on the 2x4 studs - some were so rotted they crumbled when touched - and ripped them out as well, so now we're down to bare concrete floor and cinder block walls. Replaced the sump pump, put in a 65-pint-per-day dehumidifier that drains into the sump, and the humidity still does not go below 50%, from 75% when we started. I'm thinking of getting another one but I'll have to run electric service there to do it. (My father was an electrician, so I can do that.) But I'm not sure another dehumidifier will do much good if vapor moisture is still coming in. The new sump pump kept things dry during the last very heavy rains so the "wet water" issue is cured.
Maybe wet cinder blocks can hold a LOT of water and it will take a while to dry them out?
BIL, who has extensive masonry construction experience, dug out the foundation wall in the front and found that the last course of block was never waterproofed and the walls on the front and one side are now bowing in slightly from freeze-thaw cycles. He's taking care of the waterproofing.
We're doing all this in preparation for selling the house and trying to get FIL into a retirement community where he will have access to care when he needs it. He doesn't need assisted living yet but it's coming within 2-3 years at the outside. The only asset he has is the paid-for house, in today's market worth at least high 200's-low 300's, mostly for the 3 acres with a wonderful view. Two years ago they were going for near $500k. Getting him to move may be a hard sell, he's just a tad stubborn and has been there 30+ years.
Two months ago his house was three weeks away from a tax sale because he didn't pay the taxes. Last year he was undergoing chemo and radiation therapy for prostrate cancer (he's doing fine with that, thankfully) so we think he got confused about the due date on the bill. DW and I and one other sister were the only ones who could come up with the $2,700 on short notice to make that problem go away for the moment. He has $100 in a savings account and a $9,400 outstanding credit card balance. That's it.
So we suggested he take a $25k loan on the house to pay off the CC, do some home improvements and pay this year's property taxes, which he has applied for but not yet received. Other than the waterproofing issue, windows that don't open, and needing broken vinyl siding replaced on one side, the house is in good shape and needs only cosmetics, painting and new rugs.
Now he's wheeless in an area where you're stuck without a car. Hopefully it has finally sunk in that he can't afford to stay where he is and his wrecking the car may make him more open to moving to a place he can afford.
Good thing we're retired, we'd never have time for all this if we were working!
This on top of his living in an otherwise nice house that has suffered 30 years of benign neglect. Family room carpet is shag right out of the 1970s. When DW and I repainted the dining room, living room, hallway and one kitchen wall last fall it was the first wet paint to touch those walls since about 1982. He appreciated the efforts but it was very disruptive to his normal routine. We're going to have to get him out of there to do the kitchen - perhaps get SIL to take him to SC where they have a vacation home.
We, meaning all who are physically able, have been working on correcting the water problem in the basement. The house has a sump pump but it hadn't been working for 15-20 years and every time there was heavy rain one end of the basement flooded. The sump pump was in a closet underneath a shelf in a finished off basement bedroom, so earlier this month was the first time I knew there was a sump there. He attributed the water from coming in over the outside basement stairwell threshold, and thought the drain was clogged with leaves. Nope - running water in it showed the drain is clear but it drains to the sump. No surprise there.
We ripped out the paneling and drywall that was moldy, found more mold on the 2x4 studs - some were so rotted they crumbled when touched - and ripped them out as well, so now we're down to bare concrete floor and cinder block walls. Replaced the sump pump, put in a 65-pint-per-day dehumidifier that drains into the sump, and the humidity still does not go below 50%, from 75% when we started. I'm thinking of getting another one but I'll have to run electric service there to do it. (My father was an electrician, so I can do that.) But I'm not sure another dehumidifier will do much good if vapor moisture is still coming in. The new sump pump kept things dry during the last very heavy rains so the "wet water" issue is cured.
Maybe wet cinder blocks can hold a LOT of water and it will take a while to dry them out?
BIL, who has extensive masonry construction experience, dug out the foundation wall in the front and found that the last course of block was never waterproofed and the walls on the front and one side are now bowing in slightly from freeze-thaw cycles. He's taking care of the waterproofing.
We're doing all this in preparation for selling the house and trying to get FIL into a retirement community where he will have access to care when he needs it. He doesn't need assisted living yet but it's coming within 2-3 years at the outside. The only asset he has is the paid-for house, in today's market worth at least high 200's-low 300's, mostly for the 3 acres with a wonderful view. Two years ago they were going for near $500k. Getting him to move may be a hard sell, he's just a tad stubborn and has been there 30+ years.
Two months ago his house was three weeks away from a tax sale because he didn't pay the taxes. Last year he was undergoing chemo and radiation therapy for prostrate cancer (he's doing fine with that, thankfully) so we think he got confused about the due date on the bill. DW and I and one other sister were the only ones who could come up with the $2,700 on short notice to make that problem go away for the moment. He has $100 in a savings account and a $9,400 outstanding credit card balance. That's it.
So we suggested he take a $25k loan on the house to pay off the CC, do some home improvements and pay this year's property taxes, which he has applied for but not yet received. Other than the waterproofing issue, windows that don't open, and needing broken vinyl siding replaced on one side, the house is in good shape and needs only cosmetics, painting and new rugs.
Now he's wheeless in an area where you're stuck without a car. Hopefully it has finally sunk in that he can't afford to stay where he is and his wrecking the car may make him more open to moving to a place he can afford.
Good thing we're retired, we'd never have time for all this if we were working!
