I'm in a huge mess,what are my options?How to talk to landlord?

[missmich]

Please don't flame me or judge me,b/c I really can NOT take it right now. I'm super frustrated and at my breaking point,but can't break down since there is no one to pick me up if I do. I'm also feeling sick...again! It seems that all I have is a 20 minute window in the morning when I first awake that I'm not nauseated.

I have no rent. I thought I did,but spent most of my check on overdue bills so they would not be cut,then got some groceries that I needed. Normally I pay rent first,then bills,but I'd counted on other money coming to me and things suddenly changed. I'm on welfare and NO,they will not give me anything else at all,even though I'm pregnant.

I have no one at all to ask for money from. No friends and no family who can help me with money or a place to stay. No,I can not ask the father of the baby for anything at all. No,I can not go to borrow money from any "loan" place either. It will make it all worse for me. Maybe,someone can help me move though to a new place. Maybe. The options that I'm saying NO to have all ready been looked into and they are all a no.

What I need from you is advice on what to say to the landlord or $520!

What I need to do when landlord comes over,later tonight I think is talk to him about a deal I can make for March rent,when I can pay it etc... and also talk about breaking the lease early. Normally you must give 3 months notice to move out and moving day is July 1st. I need to avoid this as moving day since it will be much more $$$ to move and since everyone moves that day good,cheap,clean places will be hard to find and I'm probably going to be very fat then.

I'm still holding some hope of finding a last minute roommate for March to get some of the rent covered. I'm hoping this next roommate will be happy to take over the lease when I move. That way LL will be happy with me and not so angry that he has to wait for his full March rent.

I now know that I need to move for various reasons (he's raising the rent in July,I found a mouse,I'm sick of the ants,and of course unreliable roommates who threaten and steal from me all in this past week). I have no money saved for a move either.

Any ideas on how to approach the landlord?

[KatWrangler]

I would just be honest with him (you can't afford the rent anymore and can't pay the current month). You don't have anything to lose. I mean I guess he could evict you. That is always a possibility. You can't pay him.

I feel for you. We were in a similar situation last summer. We had to walk away from the place we were renting.

[mazajo]

I'd just be honest with the landlord, tell him the situation and tell him when you'll have the money, and hope that he'll take pity on you! My landlord has always been incredibly easy to work with; we've had to pay our rent as late as the end of the month on more than one occasion.

Another thing to try is calling churches in the area. I don't know about where you're at, but here food pantries, United Way, Salvation Army are all good places to look for help that aren't directly connected to government welfare. Even thrift stores might have some phone numbers for you.

[missmich]

The thing is,is that I don't know when I can pay him anything. I have $80 right now that I'd really like to hang on to for as long as I can. I can use the food banks for food and maybe even some maternity clothes soon,since I'm really going to need something else to wear. I don't know if they can hep with money though.

[missmich]

I'm trying to avoid eviction by explaining why I can't pay now and making a payment plan that will work for me. I need to have his permission to break the lease early otherwise I'm going to have to pay the rest of the rent of $510 x 3 months if I break it and leave early. Sure it will cost him a lot in time and paperwork,but he may go that route. I'm hoping he's understanding with me and allows me to break it early.

[yeahwhat]

Originally Posted by missmich

I'm trying to avoid eviction by explaining why I can't pay now and making a payment plan that will work for me. I need to have his permission to break the lease early otherwise I'm going to have to pay the rest of the rent of $510 x 3 months if I break it and leave early. Sure it will cost him a lot in time and paperwork,but he may go that route. I'm hoping he's understanding with me and allows me to break it early.

Making payment arrangements is probably your best bet.

If he decides to evict you, know that you're going to have at least 2-3 months before you need to be out of your apartment. He can't even go to the regie to evict you before the 21st of March. It will then take 1-2 months to get a date there. You will then have 3-4 weeks after the date at the regie before he is able to evict you. Not a great thing to have on record, but know that he can't force you to be out by next week or anything like that.

[springbride]

No ideas for you mama but

[EFmom]

Would one of those "crisis pregnancy" places help you out with rent?

[missmich]

Hmmm....I don't know about a crisis center for help with rent. I could check into that though. They may at least be able to offer some maternity clothes or baby items that I'll be needing later on. Thanks.

[KempsMama]

If your LL won't work with you, call your welfare workers office, they should be able to give you information on other places in your community that can help. A few examples are: Lutheran Social Services, Salvation Army, Bridges of Hope. No religious affiliation required. Also if you are a member of a church, most have a Social Concerns budget to help out parishioners in a time of need. If you have questions, let me know, I've had some experience with these agencies and can offer some guidance.

Keep your chin up!

[Nitenites]

Originally Posted by missmich

Hmmm....I don't know about a crisis center for help with rent. I could check into that though. They may at least be able to offer some maternity clothes or baby items that I'll be needing later on. Thanks.

Sure they can! Have you checked with Montreal's St. Vincent dePaul society?
http://www.ssvp-mtl.org/aidez.php

[missmich]

Thank you for the link. I sent them a message just now.

[cappuccinosmom]

Be honest with your landlord and ask for a payment arrangement with him.

We are LL's and we didn't like getting late payments (that's our only income right now!) but we let our tenants go about three months before we handed the houses over to a management company to either pursue the money owed or find paying tenants. These two tenants were having a tough time and we try hard to work with them.

The one I appreciated most was the one who called me and was totally honest about her situation, the mistake she made resulting in not having rent money, and her consistent efforts to pay, even if it was split up over the course of a few months. She's still in the house, and may stay there as long as she's making an effort.

I second the crisis pregnancy center idea. Call around. They may not have funds themselves but they may be able to connect you with someone who can help you out.

[Thystle]

[missmich]

Thank you for all the support and advice. I called one church and explained a little what my situation was,but they don't really offer that type of help. I will have my first prenatal class Thursday at the local health clinic and they have social workers I can talk to there. They may have info about low income housing etc... I sent an e-mail to the Salvation Army to get a number to call and find out what help they can offer me as well.

In a couple hours a girl in need of a room said she'd call me,so I may still be able to get some money for rent if she moves in this week,though I'd have to adjust the rent since it's the 8th now. It's better then nothing though.

With the LL I think he'll be understanding and I know he's having a hard time also b/c the place downstairs is empty cuz he was doing renovations and his taxes just went up. He'll probably let me go early with no penalty since he'll be able to raise my rent for a new tenant to whatever he wants to and not the $10 he can only raise it to for me if I stayed another year. He can raise it sooner then July when my lease ends I mean if he lets me out early. I'd offer to find a good tenant for him as well.

[Ellien C]

You might post in your tribal area for maternity clothes and to see if anyone is looking for a room mate or KNOWS anyone looking for a room mate.

[KatWrangler]

Unfortunately alot of charities are hurting for funds. At least here in the US. We looked at several charities back last summer. They would only help us if we were already homeless. They had no funds to prevent you from becoming homeless.

[possum]

That sounds like a difficult situation, and PPs have had some good suggestions. In addition, are there things you could do to earn some money to help cover expenses? What kinds of jobs have you done before? I know getting a job while pg can be difficult, but if you need money, that's always a good place to start.
Melinda

[Ellien C]

I was going to ask if some kind of barter with your LL might be an option? Cleaning? Cleaning the common areas? Any work on the vacant apartment downstairs? Being on-hand to show the apartment?

[missmich]

I was working as a nanny until the family got daycare then was doing housecleaning until I got sick. Well pregnant,but I thought I was just super,super sick. I've placed ads for other childcare jobs and answered a few with no luck so far. I'm not I can handle working now though. I'm still really barfy feeling most of the day.

I have nothing to sell or barter with. There are no common areas to clean here really,it's a 6 plex and not a building. I could offer to show the place,but I think he prefers to do it,though I can offer.

I've asked around on CL and kijiji if anyone wants my place or wants to be my roommate and take the lease over when I move etc... but only since yesterday. I'll keep asking around.

There are a couple of different guys interested in a place,but to be honest I'm now scared to have any roommate,especially a man. The last two messed me over financially. One threatened me and one stole from me,makes me fear that the next one will do even worse to me. If he's a man he's much stronger and can cause more harm to me. Probably not going to happen,but that fear is still there and I'm going with it.