Don't Know What To Do

[OutlawedSpirit]

So this is sort of bird related but then again sorta not. This summer has been a financial nightmare for us. I lost my job a few months ago, and with the current state of the state of Illinois, they have been fighting my unemployment tooth and nail so I've seen none of it for months. My wife injured herself around the same time so she's been off work and only collecting small disability checks from work.

One thing leads to another and we are facing eviction. We basically have until the end of August to be out of where we're at. We haven't been able to even properly go grocery shopping in weeks, our parents have been wonderful in that department. The birds are all well fed at least. That is one of our major issues though. It is really hard to find a place to rent large enough for us and the birds, that we can afford, and that will actually allow the birds. And we're running out of time. We've been saving every penny we can to be able to put up first months rent and deposit.

I'm just hoping someone has some advice on something. Maybe something we haven't looked into or something. I don't know. We've applied for state aid, as much as I hate it, but like I said, the state of Illinois is so horrible right now, it's getting harder and harder to get. I don't want to end up having to give up the birds, but I can't let my daughter end up on the streets trying to hold onto them either.

Boats, I'm hoping you see this, oh knower of basically everything. I've never seen a situation you haven't had advice for. I guess I'm done ranting. I love you guys. Back to house hunting and packing I suppose.


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[SailBoat]

Sorry to hear about your losses and bad luck!

Target your search for employment to the North and East of you (Wisconsin and Indiana) Both States have received huge numbers of companies that have and continue to leave the high business taxes of your State and the Northeast corner of the State is failing rapidly!

Unless you where let go with 'cause,' the State at some point has to pay you! The Problem is, your State is broke! So, as long as they can stall paying you, the longer they avoid paying out money they no longer have.

 

[SailBoat]

What trade skills do you have? PM if you like.

 

[SailBoat]

Your State has very strong Tenant Law structure that places protections on the Tenant side. Eviction can take months. That said, never depend on the Legal System, be packed and ready!

Have a face to face with your Landlord. You have likely been a long time renter and up until now paid your rent in a timely manner! If you have skill sets that your Landlord can use on your unit or others the Landlord may own - do a trade for your labor and work they need done!

At this point, use that mind set on everything!

 

[Scott]

You better believe this is bird related - what affects you influences your birds! I suspect many members understand your plight, may offer advice, and we will all learn from your solutions. I am very sorry you are experiencing an unusually rough patch and hope the skies brighten quickly.

Given the State of Illinois difficulties, waiting for eventual payout will not satisfy your immediate housing situation. Is it possible to take the State to small claims court? (I looked online and could not find an obvious exclusion thus far. Called the state AG office and actually spoke with a receptionist. They can't answer court questions, but gave me the small claims court #. They are now closed as you are 2 hours ahead. Will call tomorrow!)

Sailboat's suggestion to relocate has much merit. While the nation's published unemployment rate is low, it is terribly uneven. Your solution may lie a relatively short distance across state boundaries.

Networking! Besides the obvious need to score a job, might local bird clubs offer information about parrot-friendly housing? In the absolute worst-case situation, perhaps you can find foster families for your birds. Again, this is the unthinkable!

There is IMO no shame in applying for whatever state aid is due. We all have difficult times in our lives, and the fact abuse is rampant is no reason to deny oneself as needed ethically. Don't want to stray into the weeds, but corporations use bankruptcy rules without a shred of hesitation.

Wishing you and your wife the best and a speedy recovery!

 

[Kiwibird]

I am so sorry for your recent streak of bad luck Life can throw some cruel curveballs. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out something soon to get back on track and keep your birds

Depending on what unemployment is paying out (which doesn't sound like much), I'd take any job I could that would pay more than unemployment even if it wasn't a very good one (restaurants, big box stores, care homes, call center... anything with a higher base pay than unemployment). Then there would be at least an income better than unemployment to try and tie you over until you could find a more desirable/better paying long term job. How old is your daughter? 15 is the minimum age to work in many states 16 in others for jobs outside school hours. My husband started working at 15, I started at 16. If she's of that age range, she could learn a lot about financial responsibility buying her own lunch, paying her own insurance and gas if she drives, buying her own clothes and makeup, paying for her own sports/hobbies etc... and it would alleviate some financial burden from you. In between applying for jobs, go through the house. Gather up things for a garage sale or to sell on ebay/craigslist. Might not be a ton of money but anything is better than nothing, especially for things you no longer use/like and now don't have to worry about moving. I am probably the cheapest person on this forum when it comes to day to day expenses and can squeeze blood out of a beet when it comes to pinching pennies. I'd be happy to share more day to day saving tips, but don't want to come across as overbearing. Let me know if thats of interest, no worries if not

As for your birds, I know you foster. I would look into placing the fosters first into other foster homes. That would reduce the number of birds you'd be looking to rent with down to your personal pets. Do you have any family members willing to take any of your birds temporarily until you get back on your feet? Any friends? I know when we were in our housing mess last year, one of my top priorities was finding a SHTF plan for Kiwi where I place him with a trusted person I could get him back from and wouldn't have to surrender him forever. Besides someone locally from another forum who'd have taken him in for a few weeks, I had family out of state willing to have him shipped out to them longer term if it really came down to it. Strategize which birds would be least compatible with renting and find emergency placement for them first (the chewer, the screamers etc...). Now is the time to start seeking those arrangements so you aren't scrambling if it actually comes to fruition. It will take a lot of burden and ease your mind if you know your birds have a safe place to go and won't be gone forever. Splitting them up may be necessary, but as long as you can get them back when you get back on your feet, that is the important thing IMO.

I really hope that things start to improve for you quickly!

 

[plumsmum2005]

So very sorry to hear of your predicament and sincerely hope things turn around very, very soon.

Have you made personal contact with your landlord, do they know you and what you do for unlucky birds? It may help give you some leeway?

 

[Kiwibird]

Networking! Besides the obvious need to score a job, might local bird clubs offer information about parrot-friendly housing?

YES! When we moved from AZ to OR with just savings and no jobs lined up we put out an ad on craigslist seeking anywhere willing to rent to us with our parrot after no luck finding anywhere that wouldn't allow him or didn't want to rent to us when we were moving from out of state with no jobs. We got a reply within 24 hours from the couple we sublet their basement from for 3 years.

 

[Kentuckienne]

I'm sorry you are facing such troubles. I agree with SailBoat in that you can check the eviction laws in your state...don't delay until they put you on the street, but don't rush into a bad decision. I can only say what I've done in similar situations....

A very good jobs board is Indeed.com and they are a good source for jobs like chat support...it's not huge money but fifteen an hour or so to start, and you can work from home usually. I did something like that when I first moved out west. Depending where you are, Starbucks is actually a decent option, they pay health insurance and tuition for an online university. My sister and her husband advertise constantly for employees on Craigslist, worth checking there too.

One other thing I did back then was house-sit. Sometimes it was just to stay in a house over the summer while the owners were on vacation, sometimes I did renovation work in exchange for rent. It was never a problem finding places, but then I didn't have a family and parrots. Nowadays there is some neighborhood board, I don't remember the name but it's in several cities. Maybe there is a big enough city near you that has a similar board?

I feel bad throwing out all these suggestions without knowing anything about your situation but I don't know what else to say. Hang in there. This is temporary and it won't last forever, and if you can handle those crazy birds you can handle this thing.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Thank you everyone for your ideas. Some of them we've already started. We are having a garage sale next weekend. What better time to go through stuff you don't want/use than when your packing to move? We've also put a lot of stuff, especially electronics, on Craigslist and Facebook to sell. We've made a decent start there.

We have started looking into other rental options, although I'm going to see what I can find out about bird clubs in the area and see if I can get any info from them about bird friendly rentals/landlords etc.

I do have a job starting in a few weeks driving school bus for the local school district. The fact that I don't start working for a few weeks is a downfall, however there is a plus side. They are paying for my training to get my class B CDL with air brake endorsement, which is a skill set that can open many other doors in the near future.

Most importantly, I did go talk with a good friend of mine that does rescue work with me. She said that she will do what she can to help me keep my birds during this time, even if it means placing them all in foster homes while we are in the transition period. My mother in law said if we have to, we could stay there for a few months, although it would be majorly cramped even without the birds, to give us extra time to find a place willing to let us keep the birds.

I'm feeling a little better now that I have some plans in place for things, especially knowing that I will have foster homes available for my birds if necessary to buy us time to find a place to keep the flock together.

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[plumsmum2005]

Pleased you have a positive list of to do's, great start.

Is it beyond repair with your landlord to try and smooth over this bump and stay where you are? You are well set up with the birds there. Have you thought of becoming a charity re the parrots you take in and then re-home? You could then have a page and ask for funding? If you put a dialogue up, much as you already do here about your flock and the new members people love that, it is engaging, just an idea?

Maybe Wikibeaks could list charities/funding pages (including you) that are known and deserve funding as from my point of view you really do not know what you could be sponsoring really. A place over here was talked about as the bees knees in taking in birds for life. They received a celebrity endorsement it all sounded too good to be true, I even thought it might be an option for Plum if he out lived me? Then the bad stuff started trickling out, birds left out all Winter and literally frozen to their perches, knee high in detritus, miserable. They said they would not sell a bird ever, you guessed it the expensive ones disappeared and were never seen again. The parronts who surrendered the birds could not have their birds back if they changes their minds etc etc. Sorry to digress.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

We live in a mobile home now which greatly complicates things. Technically our rent is up to date enough that they would be willing to work with us, but the loan holder on the mobile home is not. On top of that, since they started the court processes, not only do they want the back payment, they also want all their lawyer and court costs paid by us in order to be considered caught up enough to stay.

We did consult a lawyer, and he said that unlike in an actual house, which can take months to foreclose on, a mobile home is treated more like a vehicle. He said that once they go to court, this Friday, they can repossess it in as little as 30 days.

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[SailBoat]

We live in a mobile home now which greatly complicates things. Technically our rent is up to date enough that they would be willing to work with us, but the loan holder on the mobile home is not. On top of that, since they started the court processes, not only do they want the back payment, they also want all their lawyer and court costs paid by us in order to be considered caught up enough to stay.

We did consult a lawyer, and he said that unlike in an actual house, which can take months to foreclose on, a mobile home is treated more like a vehicle. He said that once they go to court, this Friday, they can repossess it in as little as 30 days.

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Loan organization (very likely not a Bank) have the right to claim costs of lawyer fees. The Courts can rule in their favor -or- not! Gather your Payment History and bring it with you. Also, any documents you have from the School Bus Job. This can act as solid proof that you are working to have employment to pay the loan! Judges have a real hard heart for individuals that play the system on both sides! So, assure you can prove that you are not that person in this suit!

Also include information on your wife's illness and any money received, likely return to work date, etc.... It does not hurt to be able to prove that you're are doing everything you can to gather money to pay the open bills.

Our prays are with you!

 

[Kentuckienne]

Becoming a charity is expensive. Just the paperwork for WikiBeaks was over $400, and it's a lot of time and work. Have you looked at Gofundme? Anyone can set up a request for donations for a cause, I've seen everything from "help pay for my dogs surgery" to "fund my dream trip around the world" but it's worth a shot. Also, sometimes if you auction something on eBay, put in the title and body that you're raising funds to keep yourself and birds in your home.

One thing many people forget is to call your congressperson. At a local level, but mostly your state representative's office, and tell them about the difficulty getting unemployment, how hard you are working, all the things you are doing. Write a letter right away and also call. They usually jump on things like this, it's great politically and costs them nothing. I've had an unresponsive insurance company get an upper level manager into a discussion after one such call from the congressman.

I know it's easy to say don't worry, it will work out, when I'm not in your shoes. I believe you can do this, I know you can do this, and you may find that when you come out on the other side of things you are a much better place than you are now. We are cheering for you.

 

[LordTriggs]

Another good option in the looking for places is to use people's ignorance of birds against them right now

I found out when talking to the letting agent who showed me my place that at least over here when people say "no pets" they often are talking about roaming pets. also talk to the people renting places. You'd be amazed at what you find out. My landlord put my place up as "no pets" because in their words it's not suitable for a cat or dog. They had it that caged animals should be asked about which I did whilst looking round. I informed them I was planning on getting a parrot and they said that as long as I clean up after them (which I was going to do anyway) and didn't get complaints from neighbors they were fine with me having a parrot. The noise would be a bit more troublesome with the bigger birds but I'm sure a very pleasant neighbor who fore-warns and brings the occasional peace offering is less likely to be complained about, after all who can complain when they have cake in their mouth?

Best of luck in this time

 

[Kiwibird]

Good to hear you do have a job lined up. Government jobs tend to be more livable with more benefits compared to a lot of private sector jobs, so you're lucky to have gotten a position with the school district! And it's great you have some emergency temporary homes for your birds lined up, but fingers crossed you won't need to end up using those options. Hope your garage sale goes well too.

We've found it helpful to write a nice blip about Kiwi with some super sweet photos attached of him being friendly and cute that just gives a bit of information about how smart and well trained he is and just basically really sells him as an intelligent, funny, cute feathery family member instead of some kind of dirty feral feathered rat so many people seem to think of birds as. Our HOA actually bent their no exotics rule because of how we presented him in an informational letter with photos and prior landlord references with the pet application to the BOD and got unanimous approval to allow him. We've had prior rentals that had no pet policies do the same. A lot of misinformation is out there about parrots. Minds can sometimes be changed by presenting an intelligent and factual plea about how smart, sensitive, strongly bonded and well cared for your birds are and what a responsible owner you are. This forum provided me a lot of help perfecting that letter last year for the HOA, I'm sure we could all help get you something very convincing written up to include with applications or inquiries for rentals too

 

[LeaKP]

I just saw this! I'm so sorry for all you're going through but am glad for the bits and pieces of progress. heres hoping and praying this time next year this is going to be a memory and you and your birds will be together and settled.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Just an update: haven't gotten too far with finding a place yet, although we do have enough money at this point for first month's rent and security deposit with all the stuff we've managed to sell. It helps too, that I had a clutch of babies recently that are about ready to go to their new homes, so it's a little extra income. I haven't found any local bird clubs to ask about bits friendly housing, but I did join a facebook group that advertises pet friendly housing in my area, so I've been following leads on there. At least I have plans in place if we don't fibs a place by the end of next month, so that makes me feel a bit better. Plus I should start work in the next month, my wife is going back to work in a few weeks, and I have my appeal hearing for unemployment in a week, so hopefully money won't be quite so tight pretty soon.

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[Inger]

Fingers crossed for you!


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[clark_conure]

Being the pragmatic one.......what job did you have? What skills do you posses... you mentioned getting a job as bus driver but what are you good at? Maybe it's just me but I would have led with what I specialize in and sell myself and see if someone can help me out in a field I am really good at.

What are your skills, that might help us help you....

Someone might know a guy that knows a guy....