Skip to content
MCC-property

MCC-property

Epicurean real estate

Primary Menu MCC-property

MCC-property

  • Real Estate News
  • House for Rent
  • Construction
  • Furniture
  • Apartment
  • Building
  • About Us
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
  • Home
  • A Minneapolis woman was about to be evicted. Neighbors bought her home for her.
  • House for Rent

A Minneapolis woman was about to be evicted. Neighbors bought her home for her.

Rickey Andreu June 20, 2022

[ad_1]

Placeholder while article actions load

Linda Taylor was given two months’ notice from her landlord to vacate the Minneapolis house she has proudly called home for nearly two decades.

“It felt like the world had been pulled from under me,” said Taylor, 70. “My house means everything to me.”

She initially owned the house, but she sold it when she fell prey to a real estate deal she didn’t understand, she said, and has rented the home for about 15 years.

Earlier this year, Taylor received an unexpected notice from her landlord to leave her white stucco home in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood, just a few miles south of downtown, by April 1. Her landlord wanted to sell the house and was asking for $299,000 — a sum Taylor could not afford.

“I could not sleep, I could not eat,” said Taylor, who lives alone in the two-bedroom house. “I felt really defeated.”

She worked at a local nonprofit organization for nearly three years before she was laid off during the coronavirus pandemic.

She lost her paycheck but continued paying rent — about $1,400 a month — using her savings, money from family and government subsidies including RentHelpMN, a program started during the pandemic to aid Minnesotans at risk of losing housing.

When Taylor’s landlord, Greg Berendt, told her to vacate, it was like “a stone had just dropped on me,” she said.

He said he would evict her if she didn’t buy the home or leave, she said. Berendt declined an interview request from The Washington Post when reached by phone.

Taylor said that despite her distress, she was determined to stay.

“I’m going to do something about it,” Taylor remembered telling herself. “This is my house.”

Classmates wouldn’t sign his yearbook. So older students stepped in.

She decided to share her struggle with Andrew Fahlstrom, 41, who lives across the street and works professionally as a housing rights organizer. Since he moved to the neighborhood six years ago with his partner, he and Taylor have built a strong rapport.

“She has always been the one in the neighborhood who greets everyone,” Fahlstrom said.

He contacted neighbors to see what they could do to help Taylor. Given his line of work, Fahlstrom knew Taylor’s story was not unique, particularly as the local housing market has skyrocketed in recent years.

“So many people are losing housing right now,” he said. “If we actually believe housing is a right, then we need to act like it, because the next stop is homelessness.”

She found $36,000 inside a chair she got for free on Craigslist

As word of the grass-roots campaign to save Taylor’s home spread around the block, neighbors were eager to help.

“People listened to what Miss Linda was saying and wanted to do something,” Fahlstrom said. “It was just such a clear and compelling story that everyone rallied for her.”

According to Taylor, she originally bought the house in 2004, but she started falling behind on payments and felt she was tricked into signing the house back over to the previous owner, who allowed her to stay on as a renter. In 2006, after her landlord was caught in a mortgage fraud scheme — which affected more than 45 homes, including hers — Berendt purchased the house.

He raised her rent twice during the pandemic, Taylor said, and let repairs and maintenance issues linger.

Several times over the years, Taylor — who has five children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren — went to social services and applied for programs and grants geared toward renters who want to buy their homes.

“Every time I tried to buy it, I ran into a ton of different walls,” Taylor said, adding that although she knew “my children would always support me,” they were not in a position to offer significant financial help.

Her neighbors empathized with her predicament.

I’m a pediatrician. I unexpectedly became a foster mom to a patient.

“This is a person who has been paying for housing for 18 years. Her rent has gone to pay the property taxes, other people’s mortgages, the insurance, and supposedly repairs, too,” Fahlstrom said. “There needs to be more systemic intervention so that people can stay in their homes.”

The Powderhorn Park community decided it would not allow their neighbor to be displaced. The group was well equipped to mobilize on Taylor’s behalf.

“We have an active local neighborhood group because we’re within two blocks of George Floyd Square,” Fahlstrom said, adding that the 2020 protests over Floyd’s murder by a police officer brought the community closer. “The infrastructure was there, the communication line was there, the neighborhood relationships were there.”

Organizers sent a letter to the landlord, urging him to wait on eviction and start negotiations with Taylor so she could buy the house. It was signed by about 400 neighbors and hand-delivered to Berendt in February.

The plea worked. Berendt said Taylor could continue renting with an opportunity to purchase the home by June 30. He lowered the sale price to $250,000 — still out of reach for his tenant.

“Then it became a fundraising effort instead of an eviction defense effort,” Fahlstrom said.

Restaurant owners traded grilled cheeses for painting that later fetched $272,548

Neighbor Julia Eagles was at the forefront of the initiative.

“I don’t want anyone getting displaced or priced out of the community,” Eagles said. “We all believed collectively that we were going to do what it takes to keep Miss Linda here. So many people know and love this woman.”

Taylor is known for the little free library on her front lawn, which she keeps brimming with books, as well as her regular volunteer work around the community.

“They call me the mayor,” Taylor joked.

Community members organized fundraising efforts, including a block party, social media campaigns and an art show — in which Taylor, who enjoys painting, sold some of her artwork. Local media covered the story, drawing more attention.

Organizers created a campaign site and a fundraising page, bringing in donations in amounts of $5 to $15,000. A local church gave the largest sum — $200,000 — carrying the effort to the finish line.

“When that came through, my faith grew bigger than a mountain,” Taylor said.

In just four months, the people of Powderhorn Park raised $275,000 for Taylor — enough to buy her home and cover repairs. Any additional funds will go toward utility payments.

Taylor said she is stunned by the support.

“I knew my neighbors loved me, but I didn’t know how much,” she said.

By May 31, one month ahead of her landlord’s deadline, Taylor closed on her home. After nearly 20 years, the house was finally hers.

“When it’s yours, it gives you a different type of feeling,” Taylor said. “I’m safe, I’m secure, and I have a home.”

She plans to continue hosting backyard barbecues, movie nights and lemonade stands with her grandchildren. And she is determined to pay the kindness forward.

“I’m here to help the next person and the next person and the next person,” she said.

To celebrate the neighborhood-wide win, there will be a block party on June 25.

“It’s been an amazing journey, and it continues on,” Taylor said.

correction

An earlier version of this story included an incorrect date for Taylor’s deadline to purchase her home. The date is June 30. This story has been corrected.

Have a story for Inspired Life? Here’s how to submit.

[ad_2]

Source link

Post Navigation

Previous How to use social media for your construction business –
Next A Guide To West Hollywood’s Best Home Furnishing Stores

More Stories

Best Ways to Sell Your House During COVID-19
  • House for Rent

Best Ways to Sell Your House During COVID-19

Rickey Andreu August 17, 2024 0
Vacation Home Rentals-  Everybody Wins
  • House for Rent

Vacation Home Rentals- Everybody Wins

Rickey Andreu August 1, 2024 0
Disney Vacation Home Rentals – Get Luxury, Convenience and Save Money Too
  • House for Rent

Disney Vacation Home Rentals – Get Luxury, Convenience and Save Money Too

Rickey Andreu July 27, 2024 0
July 2025
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
« May    

Archives

  • July 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Apartment
  • Building
  • Construction
  • Furniture
  • House for Rent
  • Real Estate News

Recent Posts

  • Auckland Home Renovation Boom: What’s Driving the Trend in 2025?
  • Building Inspection Costs: Your New Zealand Pricing Guide
  • Discover the Appeal of Quartz Countertops in Richmond, CA
  • Inside Trump’s Private Jet: The Features That Make It Luxurious
  • Trump’s Luxury Jet vs. Air Force One: A Bold Comparison

Fiverr

Fiverr Logo

Tags

C&M Real Estate C&R Real Estate Services C.F. Real Estate C J Real Estate D&B Real Estate D'Arcy Real Estate D'Ettorre Real Estate D Real Estate Appraiser D Real Estate Daily D Real Estate Logo E Real Estate Agency E Real Estate Agents Act 2008 E Real Estate Corp E Real Estate Depot E Real Estate Depot Mission Tx E Real Estate Llc E Real Estate Logo E Real Estate Meaning F&C Real Estate Investments F&G Real Estate F Real Estate Developer F Real Estate Logo F Real Estate Management F Real Estate Words H&F Real Estate M&D Real Estate Real Estate Data Real Estate Definition Real Estate Degree Real Estate Desoto County Ms Real Estate Developer Real Estate Development Consultant Real Estate Dyer County Tn Real Estate Dyersburg Tn Real Estate Etf Real Estate Exam Prep Real Estate Exam Questions Real Estate Express Login Real Estate Express Reviews Real Estate Fayette County Tn Real Estate Florida Real Estate For Dummies Real Estate For Sale Real Estate For Sale Memphis Tn Real Estate For Sale Near Me
wisatajawatimur
grubhubz

You may have missed

Auckland Home Renovation Boom: What’s Driving the Trend in 2025?
  • Building

Auckland Home Renovation Boom: What’s Driving the Trend in 2025?

Rickey Andreu July 2, 2025 0
Building Inspection Costs: Your New Zealand Pricing Guide
  • Building

Building Inspection Costs: Your New Zealand Pricing Guide

Rickey Andreu July 2, 2025 0
Discover the Appeal of Quartz Countertops in Richmond, CA
  • Building

Discover the Appeal of Quartz Countertops in Richmond, CA

Rickey Andreu July 1, 2025 0
Inside Trump’s Private Jet: The Features That Make It Luxurious
  • Building

Inside Trump’s Private Jet: The Features That Make It Luxurious

Rickey Andreu May 20, 2025 0
Trump’s Luxury Jet vs. Air Force One: A Bold Comparison
  • Building

Trump’s Luxury Jet vs. Air Force One: A Bold Comparison

Rickey Andreu May 14, 2025 0
mendocinocoastproperty.com | CoverNews by AF themes.

WhatsApp us